Fakarava is one of the few atolls in the vast Tuamotos Archipelago we knew by name before we arrived. Everyone has heard about the exotic destinations of Tahiti, Bora Bora, and the Marquesas but relatively little is known about the Tuamotos, the largest chain of 80 atolls and islands in the world which stretches from northwest to southeast through the center of French Polynesia. The total area of land within this chain is only 850 square kilometers but it is spread out over a distance roughly the size of Western Europe. Tuamotos means ‘Distant Islands’ in the local dialect but they are known as the ‘Dangerous Islands’ by locals and sailors, no doubt because of the dangerous passes to the interior lagoons and crashing seas upon these low lying lands rising out of astonishing ocean depths. These islands were discovered early on by various migrations of Polynesians but were left relatively untouched by the Europeans until well into the eighteenth century. Inspired by the numerous videos of other cruisers to this area, we looked forward to exploring these remote and savage lands.
The second largest atoll in the group, Fakarava, has the advantage of being centrally located within the archipelago and also between the Marquesas and Tahiti, making it a popular stopping point for cruisers on a South Pacific voyage. The rectangular shaped atoll is oriented at an angle of SE to NW and has two convenient and easily navigable passes at each end allowing for smooth sailing from either pass through its calm lagoon in the prevaling winds. As our own routing has been backwards from West to East due to the Covid Pandemic, we entered from the large northern Passe Garuae and anchored near the village of Rotoava first.
Rotoava is indeed a yacht friendly place. We were able to find fresh bread and a few other staples in the three small grocery stores. We also found a nice shoreside restaurant patronized by the locals which had a dinghy dock and good Poisson Cru! The real prize was Fakarava Yacht services run by a local family out of their house only a short walk from a safe shore to park the dinghy. Their abundant porch area attracted many sailors in dire need of WiFi and they offered many helpful services including bike rentals and a refill of cooking gas tanks, both of which, we gratefully partook. The bike ride was a good workout providing a scenic tour of the long narrow strip of land on the main motu. After a quick visit to the village in the north, we set out along the one well paved road stopping intermittently to admire a view until we found what we were looking for in a charming seaside seafood restaurant. We shared a wonderful lunch of local fish prepared in both Traditional and French Styles while watching a kaleidoscope of fish from our table and an occasional cruising shark. And we were thoroughly entertained by a young local couple and their three dogs getting into a small boat to fish the reefs.
We broke the long voyage south through the lagoon into two easy daysails by stopping at a point 12 miles along the route where there was a good anchorage and another yacht services for WiFi. After a few hours of dodging bommies and pearl farms on a nice point of sail we arrived to Pakakota where another family ran a small pension and restaurant. Unfortunately, they had closed because of the pandemic, not planning to reopen for some time yet. Matthieu, the patriarch and only one around during our stay, provided us internet, a few Hinanos and Oranginas, and great conversation on the beach. Originally from Monaco and a Scottish mother, Matthieu grew up in French Polynesia and is busy raising a family and running a business in this beautiful shoreside spot and very wisely controls the fiberoptic internet to the southern motus.
Within a few days, we were back on course in another great sail of 16 NM to the Southern Passe of Tumakohua and the very small village of Tetamanu. There we spent a few days snorkeling the pass in various light while towing the dinghy in the current. It just never gets old gliding through the water looking in on the endless coral abodes of generations of fish going about their day. And sharks! There were plenty of them, so stealth in their approach we hardly noticed as we myopically focused on fish. And this is how we spent our time while waiting for the Mara’Amu that was forecast to arrive when we would position ourselves 5 more miles into the eastern most corner for Kite Boarding lessons!
We arrived to the Hirifa anchorage before the wind and had a few calm days to fly the drone and explore. The serene anchorage is home to a local family who run a restaurant and, as we soon discovered, is the sister of Valentina from Taou! It was soon brought to our attention that a pig roast was in the planning so we hurried to put ourselves on the list of attendees. David, in the meantime, was busy with kite boarding lessons while I edited some of the drone footage. Otherwise, we spent our days swimming and paddling around on the SUPs and generally enjoying the calm water protected by the motu as the wind increased.
The pig roast coincided with our last night in the anchorage. It was an enjoyable evening which included a birthday and some music and dancing but the highlight, of course, was the delicious meal of roast pork, curried octopus and fresh fish carpaccio. A festive gathering of locals and sailors under a near full moon was the perfect way to end our stay in Fakarava and another special night in our French Polynesian Adventure to cherish in our memories.
