The Dazzling Lagoons of Taha'a and Bora Bora

Beautiful Taha'a!

Under the strangest of circumstances affecting the entire planet, David and I find ourselves exploring the ever popular and wildly remote Society Islands of French Polynesia and there is virtually no one here!  Since the borders have been closed since mid-March due to Covid-19 and are not expected to officially open for international travel until July 15, we have the unique, perhaps once in a lifetime, opportunity to see some of these amazing motus, beaches, and atolls completely tourist free!  Even now as we are currently moored in one of the most famous clear water lagoons in Bora Bora, there are only two small monohulls and one other catamaran exactly like ours in this immense aquatic playground.  This is precisely why we chose to go north from Moorea to the more popular and well known Society Islands as soon as we were allowed.  And this is exactly what we wanted to see; the serene beauty that lies beneath all the confusion of an epic tourist destination, and the once quiet and tranquil sands, rustling coconut palms and lapping waters that made these islands famous in the 1960s.  Just this morning I spent an hour or so drifting with mask and fins, dingy in tow behind, meandering hand in hand with my husband while casually following rays around the enormous pool around us.  A liquid journey so perfect and refreshing, sun light marbling the ocean floor, luxurious and languid motions barely moving at times.  Incomparable visibility through so many shades and shadows of blue I never imagined could naturally exist.  And I thought to myself that this is the happiest and most content I’ve been in a while.  Completely relaxed, no effort needed, floating far far away from anything else demanding my attention, almost in a trance.  I was so focused on the moment and warmth of being that if I ever attempt to meditate again, this is where I will let my mind go.  This moment, this time, this place.

Taha'a Resort and Spa

Our private island for sunset!

The Coral Garden

Huahine is charming.  The lagoon there lead us to stunning Avea Bay rich with royal blue water and roaring breakers throwing spumes of white foam across the shallows.  After Tahiti, this was the most beautiful island we had seen until Taha’a, which then became the new favorite.  After a couple of nights in near seclusion (only one other sailboat) on the eastern banks we ventured through Taha’a’s surrounding lagoon easily sailing with the Genoa.  The channels were wide and well marked and offered terrific views of the main island, which is shaped like a hibiscus flower with deep rugged bays, as well as the low lying outer motus.  Again, transparent waters in pastel hues and deeper colored channels, traversed by friendly fishermen and waving families on boats, dwellers of the outer-banks perhaps.  Located behind a large tract of oyster beds, was our intended anchorage on the west side banks, Tau Tau Motu and the beautiful Taha’a Resort and Spa, temporarily closed. 

It is also the location of the Coral Garden, the best shallow snorkel drift I have ever seen.  The fact that it is in a ravine between two motus, Tau Tau and the much smaller Maharare, and so accessible to the resort, makes it even more impressive.  The vast expanse of coral is thriving with animated marine life and marvelous sea creatures who are only vaguely concerned with their proximity to swimmers. 

The coral is very healthy in vibrant colors with no real visible damage from the onslaught of swimmers that must occur daily under normal conditions.   The current is swift in places and it takes great care not to bump into the coral or swipe it with fins even for those who are comfortable with their aquatic skills. 

We have noticed many varieties of fish that are new to us in these Pacific reefs and have taken great pleasure in their identification!   With all of the fantastic markings and bright designs, David remarked how sad it must be to be a plain brown fish on a reef like this!  But those little fellows were amongst the most friendly.

Taha’a is known for it’s vanilla plantations.  In fact, we had read that the island has vanilla essence in the air, so to speak.  If that is so, we must have missed the harvest.  It was a fun thought though, none the less.  We did not visit a vanilla plantation but we did view vanilla plants grown at the Pari Pari Rum Distillery.  Theo, the young man who gave us the tour, explained that both vanilla and sugar cane are grown almost exclusively on Taha’a with Tahiti and Moorea being the only other contenders in the Society Islands.  Pari Pari produces some finer sipping rums as well as vanilla and passion fruit infusions.  The samples we tried were delicious and we showed our appreciation for the very informative tour by purchasing some vanilla beans and a bottle of Rum Agricole which is our favorite for Ti Punch.

Vanilla Plant

German Engineering

Full Display including Theo.

Another lucrative industry in Taha’a is the cultivation of Black Pearls.  We visited a waterfront company we passed in the lagoon called Love Pearl Farm where the lovely Belinda guided us through the laborious process.  Black pearls are an organic gem formed in the black lipped oyster (Pinctada Margaritifera) found in the South Sea Ocean waters primarily around the Cook Islands and French Polynesia.  The pearls are formed naturally when a grain of sand lodges in the bodies of these oysters, but in the case of cultivation a small bead is inserted by an expert grafter in addition to mantle tissue from a donor mollusk which influences the color of the developing pearl and the nacre, the strong resilient and iridescent coating.  That is, of course, the simple explanation of a painstaking operation but the results are extraordinary and these gems are prized all over the world and sold in the Hong Kong Markets for a lot of money.  The color of a black pearl is a myriad of deep purples and greens to roses and gold or the lightest of silvers.  A single oyster will produce one or two and maybe three pearls in a lifetime and each harvest will take 12 to 18 months at a minimum.  They are graded by their color, shape, nacre, and size and percentage of imperfections.  Now that David has surprised me with the gift of a beautiful multicored black pearl bracelet of very good quality, I have developed an eye for them.  I am delighted with the variation of tones as they catch the light and love the dazzling display of color.  It is the best kind of souvenir from such an exotic place!

The Black Pearl

 

The sadness of leaving Taha’a was only alleviated by the glamour of our next destination, Bora Bora.  Made famous by vacationing celebrities and expensive luxury hotels, I especially, wanted to see what all the fuss was about and I was anxious to see it before all the tourists returned.  Since new regulations are now in place prohibiting any anchoring of visiting sailboats, I knew it would spoil the fun if we had to compete for moorings at every anchorage.  There are only four mooring fields for approximately 100 boats in the surrounding lagoons and we are told that in high season, under normal conditions, once a mooring was obtained, a yacht would spend it's entire time at that location for fear of abandoning a spot and not finding another one available for the exchange.  As it has not been a problem for us, we have enjoyed the luxury of changing fields at our convenience and have stayed a couple of nights in each one.

Our first night in Bora Bora

The well deserved Pina Coladas with fresh nutmeg and toasted coconut we like to make!

Waiting for weather windows for inter island travel can be a challenge in French Polynesia due to constantly changing winds and swells that are hard for the weather stations to accurately predict.  We were sipping coffee the morning we almost decided to stay another day in Taha’a based on that day’s report of light winds when a big front of black clouds rolled in from the southeast.  We had been watching for some time when the wind suddenly freshened and we both sprang into action in mutual agreement to ride the squall line to Bora Bora!  By the time we were motoring to the pass the gusts were up to 26 KTS with big chop in the lagoon!  It was a rodeo ride to exit the narrows until we were well clear of the breaks and a brisk sail from then on with only the Genoa at 8 KTS of speed!  We hadn’t unzipped the main from it's cover for release and had no intention of turning into the rough weather to raise it anyway!  We covered the distance between the islands in an hour and a half and did a seamless sail change to the Code Zero as we rounded the southern point and headed north losing no ground and none of our speed as the winds calmed.  Whew!  What a sail that was!

Our Second Mooring Field near the Bora Bora Yacht Club

The Bloody Mary Mooring Field 

The letter "B" doesn't exist in Tahitian, so Bora Bora is actually Pora Pora which means First Born.  It was a culture of indomitable warriors who raided the nearby islands of Maupiti, Taha'a, and Raiatea until discovered by Roggeveen in 1722 and visited by captain James Cook in 1777.  In 1945, the Americans set up a refueling station to serve the shipping lanes to Australia and New Zealand and there are still naval guns on strategic bluffs overlooking the entrance to the lagoons.  If the stories are true, there are still a few offspring from the military who spent many years here as well!

The infamous Bloody Mary's Bar and Restaurant

Exclusive Overwater Bungalows

Our last mooring area and favorite place of all!

Sundowners in the shallows

David and I really enjoyed our week in Bora Bora.  It was quiet, unhurried and relaxing and not at all what we expected it to be.  It will be our version only in our memories forever more, which is as romantic as any honeymoon photos the paparazzi could capture of any celebrities vacationing here because we had it all to ourselves!  And we were lucky enough to enjoy many meals out here, at the Yacht Club, Bloody Mary's and the local Matira Snack as they were celebrating their 'ouvertures'!  What an incredible experience and opportunity to play here in paradise this way!

My favorite underwater action shot!