Fakarava

FAKARAVA

Finally we have reached French Polynesia's diving Mecca: Fakarava.  Both the North and South passes are famous among divers, but for very different reasons.  The North pass, with its 7 different currents, is a fast drift dive; the South pass is the most famous shark dive in the Tuamotus.  Fresh from our Anse Amyot experience, we were game for more shark diving... and perhaps some Tahitian black pearl shopping?

Back to civilization.  Well, kind of... There is no HOTSpot WDG relay, so no Internet connection.  The only Internet service is MANASpot, which we purchased at the post office (500 francs/hour = $5.20/h,) but the service is dismal and, in the end, we were not able to connect.  The 3G phone Internet is good but the chip can only be purchased in Papeete... a lot of good that does us!  Some cruisers connected at the local cafe, but it's "a la tête du client."  So, we're going without Internet, once more relying on our Iridium connection for weather and email.

All our tide and slack water estimations were off as we got into Fakarava.  The North pass (Pass Garuae) is the widest in all the Tuamotus: 1.8 km.  We entered the pass with 1 meter swells on our port, surfing all the way inside the lagoon.  When was slack water?  We have no idea!  We're finding out that our predictions are not always accurate, but in the absence of big winds we've never had to face large standing waves... so far!  Other yachties agree with us that slack seems to be occurring 30 min. before predictions, perhaps due to the low level of water in the lagoon (so much for rising ocean water levels!!!)

The anchorage at the village is a no-brainer.  We looked for the blue hull of Serge and Karyn's boat (they are the dive operators FAKARAVA DIVE CENTER) and dropped the hook not to far from them.  After weeks of "wild" cruising, it was nice to be in a town again.  The concrete small-boat harbor makes it easy to unload our bicycles, but the small wooden dock on the beach off the anchorage is also a viable option--if you don't mind the village kids using your dink as a toy in your absence!

When in Fakarava, look for the newly opened FAKARAVA YACHT SERVICES  (VHF ch. 16 & 77) (fakayachtservices@gmail.com) - Aldric and Stephanie are a young couple, capable and hungry to serve the cruising yachties.  Laundry, Internet, morning fresh bread delivery, bike rental, fuel and water, basic mechanic help and workshop, airport and island transport, etc... they are the cruiser's support for the atoll.

What to do in Fakarava North?  Plenty!  We rode our bikes to the Km 12 (and back) to the "chateau" of Gaston Flosse, President of Polynesia; we stopped at  Pascaline's Faka Delices for Eclairs au cafe & Tarte au chocoloat, not leaving without jars of hibiscus jelly and Tiaréjam; shopped for black pearls directly at the farm and at the jewelry stores in town; had a lunch of 'poisson cru" at the Kori-Kori snack on the lagoon --perhaps not a good idea as I was really sick the next day and JP suffered a nasty rash for 2 weeks, only relieved with cortisone!  A touch of ciguatera perhaps?)

But the most intense experience was diving the North pass.  Oh yeah!  Serge and Karyn of Fakarava Diving Center are THE diving authority for the north pass.  Really, you don't want to guess through the 7 different currents that sweep the pass all on your own.  Our 45-minute dive started with a 35-meter drop straight into the blue, like parachuting into the deep, followed by a 2 km speed-drift through canyons of iridescent coral.  We only stopped for sharks (grey, black tip, white tip, nurse) while grabbing on to dead coral, and rested a few minutes at "Ali Baba's Cavern," a sand depression in the canyons where the water is placid and where you could find shark teeth if you were so inclined to dig into the sand rather than enjoy the sights: schools of hundreds of angel fish, snappers, and all sorts of multicolored lagoon species.  A kaleidoscope under water.  Honestly, speed-drifting through the canyons, I felt like Luke Skywalker screaming through the ravines of Tatooine.  Epic dive!  We had some 12 guests on board that night and I have no idea what they said or did: I was still flying 20 meters below... a big thank you to Master Serge Le Magnifique!

"SHELL BEACH" - S 16°13.95 - W145°33.52  - This stop was recommended by Stef and Aldric (Faka Yacht Services) as an easy stop on our way to the south pass.  Yes indeed.  We dropped the hook in 15 meters, into sand bottom, and had a blast snorkeling the coral along the shore.  Excellent shelling here, where cowries of all sorts litter the coral beach.  It's a great spot for kids where the snorkeling is easy and the coral and fish are sparkling and plentiful.  But watch out for an enormous head of fire coral!

We're here at last.  The legendary Tetamanu Village, its genial hosts la Belle Anabelle and Sané, and the very first church in the Tuamotus.  Anchoring was a bit difficult.  We did not grab the mooring in the pass; it's a private mooring belonging to Aqua Tiki and you never know when that charter yacht is going to appear and kick you off the mooring.  We arrived when the current was outgoing and did not appreciate the magnitude of the "mascaré" that would later sweep into the lagoon.  We anchored a bit too much in the center of the small pass, only to be rocked by the current some 30 minutes later... time to move closer to shore.  We dropped the hook in 13 meters, coral heads all around.  Inspection diving showed our anchor lying on the bottom, neatly surrounded by 6 or 7 tall coral heads standing guard over Big Bertha, sure to hold her tight in their grip if any kind of weather decided to tug on it.  We re-adjusting the chain to lay over the "bommies," secured the floating fenders to buoy the chain, and hoped for no wind... which was granted to us for the following 2 days.

 Of course, diving "Faka South" is THE thing to do in the Tuamotus.  Feeling better with sharks after our dives in Anse Amyot and Faka North, I was ready for this dive, even more so since 2 guys from Papeete's MRCC (Marine Rescue and Coordinating Center) were joining us.

 A wall of sharks indeed!  We spend most of the dive holding on to dead coral, just observing dozens of sharks (mostly grey and black tips) doing figure eights in front of us.  I did stray a bit to observe giant Napoleon wrasses and very large queen triggerfish, anemones and more Nemos.  The coral in the pass is incredibly healthy, the water gin-clear, and the current a blast!

The next few days were spent in more speed-drifts with the hookah and quiet excursions at the Pink Sands beach.  Soon, it was time to leave as the winds were promising to return and we didn't want to have to dive and dig Big Bertha from under the coral heads. 

Our diving orgy continues... next: Faaite and Tahanea.  Till then...

dominomarie