We arrive in Tahiti on 2 October. We are greeted by our friends from Tara Mea (last seen in February in the San Blas) and Pascal our Swiss neighbour from the Galapagos. Sadly Tom is also leaving us in Tahiti heading to New Zealand ahead of us as he needs to find some work. The boys will miss their big brother. The arrival of our family from Europe ensures a fairly smooth transition.
The other purpose of our stay is to collect our new inverter and also wander on a food shopping campaign as our cupboards are desperately empty. We leave for Moorea as soon as Chasse Spleen is ready, unfortunately with poor weather. We will barely see the landscape of Moorea during our 4 days stay. There is unfortunately not much point renting a car going around the island either. What a shame, I had been describing to Marc the stunning 360 degrees view from the Belvedere!
We need to move on in order to meet some deadline for our visitors and head to Huahine which is as beautiful as the guides describe it. The island remains relatively wild with very few tourist developments. As we enter the pass near Fare, we go to the South of the lagoon. The coast along the channel is pristine with delightful beaches, few houses and very dense vegetation. We drop the anchor in the Avea bay surrounded by superb water offering all shades of blues. In the shallower end one sees all sort of rays (manta, eagle, stingrays), we have regular visits huge turtles by the boats. We access numerous beaches as well as a hotel which offers traditional dinner (with tamoure) and extremely nice cocktails for the sunset on the beach. Well one would be difficult not to enjoy this place. There is nearby a smaller pass which can be entered with a dinghy with calm seas; Marc and our guests have the luck to swim with two humpback whales for ten minutes. I was on the boat for a school session and have to admit that I was pretty jealous when I heard the news on the VHF.
It is time to drop our visitors in Raiatea as they need to return to Europe. We return to Huahine a few days later with our friends from Enide (during school holidays).
Our second visit is very special with the departure of the annual race, Hawaiki Nui Va'a (pirogues race between the islands of the region) which runs between Huahine, Raiatea, Tahaa and ends in Bora Bora. While the racers get ready we have the visit on of three humpback whales (2 adults, 1 calf) hardly bothered by the numerous boats. A stunning sight greeted with delight by all the family. At last we can explain to Alexis that whales are friendly creatures unlike the monster described in Pinocchio. After 10 days in our favourite anchorage, we move in front of Fare (main village of islands) where we finalise our fresh vegetables and fruits shopping before our departure for Tonga. I am very pleased to see that Fare has not changed a bit since my last visit 13 years ago, the locals are absolutely charming so are our friends from Captain George who volunteer to look after the boys hence allowing us to enjoy a bicycle ride to the marae (north of Fare).
We leave Huahine for Raiatea to pick up Armel from Enide, who is joining us as a crew member for our journey to Auckland (New Zealand).
We decide on our way to make a brief stop in Bora Bora which is somewhat disappointing. The lagoon is beautiful but the place is full of hotels, locals have lost of smile and the sight of a yellow submarine taking tourists to see fishes in the pass is a killer. We enjoy our last opportunity of a nice drink by the beach for while but this place is overall not for us.