Ahe Tuamotu 19 June 2024
We all slept well after the last few days and we woke to what was initially a slightly cloudy grey day. It was calm and quiet and peaceful. We had breakfast and prepared to go ashore and explore.
We got the dinghy down and then headed ashore and moored up at the concrete wharf. There was a large flat area at the wharf and we discovered later that a supply ship comes every week and moors at the wharf. There were a few people ashore who waved at us or greeted us and we found this as we explored. The village was laid out in a French sort of way with grids – a long road through the middle and roads every so often going to the side. The buildings and houses were one story and a lot of prefabricated huts but they looked nice with the pretty shrubs and flowers surrounding them. At the wharf was a post with a lot of wooded signs indicating various parts of the village – magasin (shops), infirmarie, marie etc and Tahiti! We came across the post office and opposite was a small shop with not a lot in it – crisps, tins, cleaning stuff etc. We walked along the long road which led to the most southern point of the island and the reef. This was lined with houses and some with cars – odd really as they do not need them here as you only drive about a mile maximum.
We reached the end of the road and there was a grassy bank with a few trees and then there was what looked like a beach but it was just a coral reef white and brown and beyond it the sea for miles. We walked west in a round circle and the concrete road become a dirt track. For such a small village there was quite a lot of building work going on and various JCB’s and tractors and a lorry carrying sand. The houses were not large but had lots of outdoor space for sitting and dining and drinking with lovely lush gardens shaded by palm trees. People waved as we walked by and there were quite a lot of dogs mostly tied up and a number of pigs tied up under trees. There were also a number of dogs off the lead and many were quite thin I thought.
The motu (islet) we were on came to an end and there was a coral field ahead of us over which they had built a road which led to the next islet. Ahead appeared to be a whole load of solar panels which I assumed to be their power station. The weather by now was warm and sunny and the grey clouds had gone. We continued on and at one house instead of mowing the lawn they were burning it with little fires which sent a lot of smoke through the village. The road meandered round and headed back toward the central road we had walked up initially. Whilst the houses and gardens were mostly cared for there was quite a lot of jetsam and flotsam around if you get my meaning. Old bits of this and that and I am not sure what they do with rubbish as there are no bins around.
As we walked along we came across a house with an opening which was a little snack bar/shop and we bought a bottle of lemon water which was nice. We walked on and found the main road and went straight across finding the Marie (town hall) and then the church which was Catholic and painted pink. We went inside and it was simple with biblical pictures on the walls and lines of coral beads and coral carved ornaments on the ceiling. The road continued east and we came to the end and there was another inlet this time with flat coral and a gap to another islet which had a large house on it with two storeys and it was the islet we can see from Stormbird. We carried on round now going back toward the wharf again and came across what looked like a builders merchants and opposite was a huge pile of sand which I assume they make concrete with. It had a JCB on top of it. It was right by the harbour with the lovely colours of the clear water of the lagoon. I took a picture toward Stormbird which is the picture of the day. Not a bad picture I think!
We then came across another snack bar and a shop with tables outside where some were eating but there were a lot of flies which were attracted by the food. We then came back to the wharf and went into the post office – their hours are only 7.00am to 11.00am during weekdays. The guide book says they have free Wi-Fi bit they did not. Opposite was a shop and at the back of the same building was another shop. We saw no fruit or vegetables and asked about this at the post office and the lady said that they will come when the supply boat comes on Saturday. I guess they only get a delivery once a week.
We returned to Stormbird and decided to have a swim off the back of the boat. The water was clear but we could not see the bottom clearly at 10 meters. We swam around and I headed over to a buoy on our left which had a pair of crocs stuck on the top. It was marking a coral bommie. A coral bommie is like a coral column which often starts to grow on rock and it grows about 0.2-2cm a year. There are coral bommies on the great barrier reef which are 600 years old (10 meters) and these bommies in Ahe are about a similar size and I assume age. You can see them just below the surface due to the change in colour and they are generally a round or rectangular shape and tower up from the bottom. Fish like and live on them and in them in crevices and holes. You can see why you do not want to get your chain wrapped round them. We swam behind the boat and about 30 yards away was a coral bank which again had live coral although a lot had died. It also had quite a bit of fish life and what I can only describe as coral clams which had blue and turquoise interiors which closed off then when the shell closed. I also noticed a coral bommie to our right which we may hit if the wind swung round to the Northeast.
We enjoyed this and had lunch and then a sort of siesta. We had read about the white sand and coral at the south of the lagoon and thought we would go over by dinghy and explore. We set off at 3.00pm and hugged the shoreline but in deeper water and had to twist and turn from time to time to avoid the coral bommies which we could see from the colour in the water. We stopped at three different points en route and anchored the dinghy and snorkelled from it. The water was the clearest we have swum in so far and around the coral and bommies we saw lots of different fish – brown, blue, green and black striped, yellow and black, see through colour, parrot fish and I could go on. I did see a fish which looked like a large leaf but it was not clear from its shape where the head was. Andy saw a black tip reef shark.
The bottom was sand closer in which the coral sat on. The shore was lined with palm trees and the water was turquoise blue. It was a beautiful setting and we were the only ones there. The three snorkels were excellent but we all noticed that the water was cooler than we had been used to and felt quite cold oddly as we headed back to Stormbird. Joyce said she wanted a hot chocolate and I remembered that Rosanna (she is my youngest daughter and she got her degree results today and she got a first from Durham in Natural Sciences – well done Rosanna and I am very proud). had given me some Batangas which are coca tablets which you can make hot chocolate with. We made some and it was delicious so thank you Rosanna. It was even better when we put some brandy in like we had in the Galapagos.
We then chilled and Joyce and Andy made a Spaghetti Bolognaise which we enjoyed in the cockpit with lighting from our solar lights. This was washed down with a nice bottle of Bordeaux.
It had been an enjoyable day and we had got to know Ahe a bit better. It is a lovely quiet place and there are some nice houses going up on the shore. It is a place where time does not seem to matter (unless you need the post office or shops!!) and we spoke to the couple on the boat near us and they had been here a month. You can probably see why a month can pass before you know it.
Crewing Opportunity Year Two
In addition, in year two I will be going from New Zealand in early January 2025 across to Sydney and up the Eastern Australian Coast, Indonesia and probably across the Indian Ocean to Cape Town and I will need some more crew.
If there is any interest do email me at hine.nick9@gmail.com
The blog will continue as we move through French Polynesia and beyond.
If you have any comments or suggestions about the blog do email me on hine.nick9@gmail.com I can only upload one picture a day and visit our website www.stormbirdgoesglobal.co.uk