Fakarava -Tuamotu 12 July 2024
The atoll is roughly rectangular and its length is 60 kilometres (37 miles) and its width 21 kilometres (13 miles). Fakarava has a wide and deep lagoon with a surface of 1,112 square kilometres (429 square miles) and two passes. The main pass to enter the lagoon, located in its north-western end, is known as Passe Garuae (which is what we came through) and it is the largest pass in French Polynesia; the southern pass is called Tumakohua. It has a land area of 24.1 square kilometres (9 square miles). Fakarava has 837 inhabitants; the main village is called Rotoava off which we are anchored currently.
In the 19th century, Fakarava became a French territory with a population of about 375 inhabitants, which developed a small production of coconut oil (about 7 to 8 barrels per year around 1860), but became, due to its geographical position and the seaport offered by its lagoon, one of the main centers of trade in this resource and of mother-of-pearl production. The atoll was evangelized by Honoré Laval, a Catholic priest in 1849: the Rotoava church was blessed in 1850 and the Tetamanu church, dating from 1874, was built in coral. At the beginning of the 20th century, the atoll was divided into two districts: Tehatea and Tetamanu. In 2016, Fakarava became part of the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve created in 1977.
Geologically, the atoll is the coral outgrowth (150 m) from the top of a very small volcanic seamount of the same name, measuring 1,170 m from the seafloor, formed some 53.7–59.6 million years ago.
Like all the other islands in the archipelago, Fakarava has some of the most pristine and undisturbed coral reef ecosystems in the world. The south pass of Fakarava has been protected since 2008 and is now home to the highest concentration of Grey reef sharks in the world with an estimated 700 sharks comprising the single school that inhabits the area. This is also one of the only reefs where sharks are fully protected and can be found in anything like their historical numbers.
We had decided to take a boat tour to the Blue Lagoon which is on the Northwest end of the atoll. We had an early breakfast and then went ashore about 7.30am where we were due to meet the boat about 8.00am. It was a cloudy day but warm and we met the boat which had a French family of four on already. There were two crew and one of them spoke good English. He had spent 5 years in New Zealand but had returned to work here. He said he hopes to go travelling again in about a year. He explained that we were going to the Isle de Oiseau (bird) where we will snorkel. This meant going west again from the anchorage a high speed and we passed the old lighthouse and the airport. We went across the passe and as if to remind us it can get trickly there were some quite large waves outside from the ebbing (outgoing) tide with currents up to 6 kts. We continued on and as we did so the water was very clear and we could see the bottom with the coral and we must have been in about 20 meters of water. We then saw a mutu (island) on its own in the lagoon with trees on it and as we approached we began to slow down and came to anchor. As we approached one of the crew whistled and all the birds took off in flight – frigate type birds and black birds and lots of others. We could see the water so clearly and the coral. We were told not to go on the island but that we could snorkel.
The water was very clear and the coral was some of the healthiest I have seen in the Tuamutos and the snorkelling was excellent. The picture of the day is from my phone looking at the coral from the boat. Excellent coral means plenty of food and the right environment for the fish. This was certainly true as there were lots of different fish of varying sizes and colours. Yellow, green ,brown, black, silver, blue, orange etc. There were lots of saltwater clams with lovely colours of blue, green turquoise and variations in between. One of the crew went down and collected a number and levered them out with screwdriver. This was an excellent snorkelling experience and one of the best in the Tuamutos so far.
We then upped anchor and headed further west for about 10 minutes and we could see the bottom clearly and lots of coral bommies which we were having to avoid. We then came to quite a shallow stretch and we inched our way through the shallows and coral toward a line of palm trees and anchored about 40 yards off. Beyond the trees was another lagoon inside the reef and that was the Blue Lagoon. As we had been approaching the water was getting a bluer tinge and the Blue Lagoon was blue. We got off the boat and waded the 40 yards on to the sandy spit between it and the Blue Lagoon. This was covered with palm trees and there were coconuts everywhere and little holes which were homes to some quite large crabs. They were not coconut crabs but about 3 inches across with claws like you see in the UK.
We were told we could snorkel in the Blue Lagoon and where we got in there were lots of little sliver fish and of course lots of Nobbies (Nobby Clarks -sharks) – Black Tip Reef sharks. The Blue Lagoon had an amazing variety of fish and some coral but it was not as healthy as Bird Island we had just been to. We were then given a snack of two different parts of the coconut, some saltwater clams raw with lemon juice (which tasted a bit like a cockle or mussel and was quite chewy) and some fruit -apple, pear and orange. This was all very nice and we had water or lime type juice. We had a good hour here swimming, eating and exploring and it was very quiet and peaceful.
Once time was up we left and retraced our steps back past Bird Island and on to the passe. They had said we may snorkel there but the current was still too strong and we therefore went past it. However, they stopped off at the first Red Buoy (which they called the Aquarium) toward the village which is on top of a very large bommie. We were dropped off at the east end and we drifted with the current going west across this large bommie. The range of fish here was even larger and it reminded me of the amount I had seen in the Galapagos- yes it was that good. We also saw grey sharks and white tip sharks in addition to black tip sharks. This drift snorkel took about 20 minutes and the coral was of excellent health again and the water was also very clear.
Once done we clambered back on the boat and zoomed back to the quay. It had been an excellent morning and we had now seem the main sights of the North of the atoll. We returned to Stormbird for lunch (with our baguettes we had bought earlier). We then rested and chilled and I looked at some of the footage I had taken of snorkelling which was good.
It rained early evening but not for long and we sat and watched the sun go down and a plane land at the airport – one of the few we have seen here. Andy cooked duck breast with red cabbage and courgette which was very enjoyable. It had been another day in a great location.
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