The Society Islands

3rd August 2009

16.31 S 151.45 W

Since our arrival in Tahiti and completion of the dental treatment we took time to explore the southern part of Tahiti Nui before moving on to some of the other Society Islands. All the islands

in this group are similar geographically. They are volcanic islands surrounded by reef. All are ruggedly beautiful with their steep mountains cloaked in rich shades of green and their reefs glowing in shades of turquoise and azure blue. Dotted around the reef are small islets, often palm fringed, known as ‘motu.’ (The photo is Bora Bora) Access to the islands is through passes in the reef which can sometimes be quite tricky.

After an extremely rolly ride to the south of Tahiti we anchored in a peaceful bay, protected by the surrounding reef. The swell outside the reef was huge but tucked up inside the water was so calm that Andy decided to do the jobs he had been putting off up the mast and tackle a few other problems to keep Chinook in shape. We were lucky to find an anchorage where we were able to get ashore. Most of the shore is privately owned and therefore not accessible, but by chance we stopped close to an abandoned surf school with a nice dock on which we could tie up the dinghy. A few meters up the road was a beautiful ornamental garden with ponds filled with water lilies in pink, white and blue, and many native trees and shrubs. A pretty waterfall sat at the back of the garden, providing a cool shady rest and beyond that a series of trails beckoned us to explore. We spent a pleasant day hiking up the trail, in the shade of a pine plantation as we climbed towards the rainforest which had re-established itself above the line of introduced trees. On the way back we scrambled down the river bank as far as we could before being forced back onto the trail when it became too steep to manage.

We moved further south to an inlet between Tahiti Nui and Tahiti Iti. Again the swell was huge that day and as we approached the reef pass we had difficulty seeing the entrance. The swell rose up in front of us masking our view and we watched as the huge waves tumbled over the reef, the breaking water flashing turquoise in the sunlight and the spray rising up to feed the clouds above. We nearly chickened out but, with hearts in our mouths, we crept forward and just when we were ready to give up the pass opened out before us, almost mocking our timidity!! On the way out the next day it seemed like a piece of cake!

After a brief stop back in Papeete we headed over to Moorea, a horrible rolly passage that was no fun at all!! Just as we rounded the northern end of the island a fish took our line, which we had trailed all the way across. At the time the boat was rolling from rail to rail and it was too dangerous to even think of bringing in a fish so we left it and resigned ourselves to loosing it. However, a couple of miles later as conditions eased we found the fish was still there and still fighting. Andy wrestled it for a while and eventually got the gaff hook ready to haul him in. As he began to lift the beast up the gaff hook, which had a solid wooden pole, snapped in two! We couldn’t believe it and were at a loss as to how to get this monster aboard. Eventually Andy managed it and was very proud to have caught a Wahoo around 1.5 meters long. After giving some away to two other boats we still had enough food for a couple of weeks!

Moorea, which was the backdrop for the film ‘South Pacific’, is the honeymoon isle and is very much a tourist resort, with hotels and gift shops lining its shore. However there are some great hikes into the hills, where the views were spectacular and these were the highlights for us. We hiked every other day and got to know our way round pretty well, we found several abandoned orchards and plantations where we picked our fill of papayas, bananas, citrus and pineapples. Moorea is the pineapple growing capital of French Polynesia and the air is filled with their sweet scent. We found an old field where the plants had become completely overgrown and were being strangled by bindweed and the fruits were being eaten by rats. Our legs were cut by the razor sharp leaves as we picked the fruits – the ones near the edges had all been taken and the remaining ones were only for the determined!

We had a lovely overnight sail to the next island, Huahine. The main village of Fare had a distinct Polynesian flavour and was like a breath of fresh air after the heavy French influence on the previous two islands. Despite that they still had Bastille Day celebrations on the day after we arrived .There was a procession in town with all the local clubs and sports teams represented and musicians and dancers dressed in traditional costumes.

Our guide book showed an archaeological site which looked worth a visit so we set out on foot to see it. It was much further than we thought and by the time we stumbled back home we must have walked at least 16 miles! Anyway, it was well worth it. The first marae (ancient sacred sites, same as pae pae on the previous islands) we came to had been restored and wooden huts built as they would have been in ancient times. From there we hiked up a trail into the hills, where vanilla was growing wild, to sites of several other marae. On the way back we left the road and walked down a track beside the beach. Two dogs joined us and stayed with us for about 7 miles, until we hid in the airport in an attempt to lose them! As you may have come to expect now, on the way we found some fruit. The land was cultivated in this area with many fruit trees and several small holdings where tomatoes and salad veg were growing. We came upon a field where cantaloupe melons had been recently harvested. All that was left were a few small, misshapen melons which the rats were eying hungrily. Well, what were we to do but rescue them from these vile creatures!

The next day our friends arrived in Fare and we all moved down the island to find a place to go hiking, we also stumbled upon the best snorkelling we have found in these islands. There were some lovely coral and many fish that we had never seen before, all in wonderfully exotic colours and patterns. Andy had his birthday here and we had a great day. After snorkelling we went to our friend’s boat for tea and birthday cake. Then in the evening we had a sundowner on the beach sitting around a bonfire followed by dinner and rum punch on Chinook.

The highlight however, was when we came across octopus mating in the shallows. We watched as the female moved slowly through the water, dragging the male behind her, all but one of his tentacles curled up tightly. Then they stopped and the male seemed to turn inside out as he changed colour to pale blue followed quickly by some strange dance in which they both changed colours as their bodies writhed together. It was an incredible display but I was told later that after laying her eggs the female would die. It seems very sad but what a way to go!!

We motored in no wind from Huahine to the next islands of Raiatea and Taha’a, the vanilla growing capital of Polynesia, where we only stopped for a night. By the next morning the weather was blowing stink and the anchorage no longer seemed good so we decided to move on. We had a feisty sail to Bora Bora in about 25 knots of wind using only a scrap of sail.

Bora Bora is to be seen to be believed. The crystal clear water of the vast lagoon reflects a myriad of blues which seem to change from moment to moment with the movement of the clouds across the sun. When seen from high up on the hills it is breathtaking. Photographs cannot do it justice. The islands only income, as far as we can see, is from tourism. Resorts line the shore of the mainland and some of the motus. Fortunately, as on the other islands, there are no big hotels, rather straw roofed cabins, often on stilts over the lagoon with their own swimming platform. I can’t imagine anyone arriving for their holiday and being disappointed!

We were very lucky to be here for the final night of a big dance festival. A ‘Dance Spectacular’ was held in an open arena in the main town of Vaitape, with 60 or 70 dancers performing traditional dances, telling ancient stories. Not being able to speak Polynesian meant we missed a lot of the story but the dancing was wonderful and yes, there were grass skirts aplenty! Hundreds of locals came into town for the show and set up seats and blankets outside the arena and there was a real carnival atmosphere. It was well worth our long hike over a very steep hill to get there, but fortunately we were able to hitch a ride back with a local school teacher.

Bora Bora is much drier than the other islands in the group and the hills more brown than green. There is little sign of agriculture and the only fruit trees we have seen are in gardens. Such a shame as the mangoes are back in season!!