Help! Kym help!! No response. Oh well I'll just have to drown then. I was half in and half out the water. It was pitch black and the dinghy was bucking in the two foot chop. One minute I was reaching for the stern mooring line the next I had my left leg wrapped around the outboard, my arse and shoulders underwater and hanging onto a dinghy strap with my right hand. I couldn't move. HELP!!! Finally she came back on deck, saw me and my predicament and just burst out laughing, never mind me being seconds from a watery grave. Eventually she jumped back in the dinghy and pulled me up still laughing.

We had just been ashore to have a few scoops with Steve and Cheryl from Emma Louise only Kym and I stayed on and had a few more plus a meal. So, the moral of this tale is never to eat burger and chips when in charge of a dinghy.

That happened when we were still in Huahine. We are now moored off the carenage in Raiatea getting ready to head off for Bora Bora in the morning, so by my reckoning we've been here for two weeks.

The two islands of Raiatea and Tahaa share a common lagoon so you can imagine there are plenty of secluded spots and spectacular reef anchorages to be had. We spent our first days moored up in Faaroa Bay. This place boast the longest navigable river in French Polynesia so off we went in the dinghy, up the river and back down again. Yep, it went on for a bit and Kym managed to snap off the end of an ore blade fending off from a rock - she blames it on UV degraded plastic but I think she's just a bruiser.


Arriving at Faaroa Bay after a 5 hour passage from Huahine


Mountains surrounding Faaroa Bay


Hardly a breath of wind as we start up the river


Heading up the Faaroa river


Passing the plantation along the riverside

Off round the corner at Opoa we found yet more of those Marae stone platform gubbins. However, these ones are super important as your tour guide will inform you.


Marae Taputapuatea - the religious and political center of the Tamatoa chiefdom of Opoa which reigned in the 17th and 18th centuries throughout Eastern Polynesia


The Hau-viri marae at Taputapuatea which faces the pass and on which Te Papa o Tea Ruea, the inauguration stone of the Huiarii Tamatoa, stands in the center of the court

We found solitude in another lovely bay at Vairahi and embarked on a pretty spectacular trek into the interior to search for the "three cascades". Despite an initial wrong turn we soon managed to follow the path up the valley. The going was pretty treacherous underfoot with wet boulders and tree routes and we had to ford the river a few times as the path zig-zagged its way upwards. Some of the steeper bits had ropes deployed to help the old and infirm up the slippery slopes.

And so, we ticked them off. Cascade No 1 - a few meters high; cascade No 2, about 20m high and finally cascade No. 3 about 100m high, and a pretty imposing sight it was. All I can say is that I wouldn't like to get trapped in this valley in a downpour.


Cascade No.1


Cascade No.2 , with rope assistance for the old and infirm


Cascade no.3, well worth the hike


Going back down the path required the use of the ropes for even the less old and infirm


A handy tree to help cross the river without getting wet feet

The going took its toll on poor Kym's shorts that just ripped apart when she extended her leg to climb up a slope. She blames it on UV degradation but I think she's just too big (ouch).

Getting adventurous we legged it up north to Tahaa and motored down the long inlet of Haamene Bay, about two miles long. We found a mooring buoy at the head of the bay that suited us well and went ashore to explore. Our plan was to hike up a jeep track over the tops of the island to the coastal village of Patio but some bugger had fenced off the beginning of the track. Oh well, and of course the local post office internet service didn't work so bit of a dud bay really.

Onwards! Circling the island now on the west coast we found ourselves in another tranquil and secluded spot of Tapuamu Bay. Well it wasn't quite secluded as numerous small water taxis were buzzing to and fro from the everso expensive resort on the motu opposite us. But they didn't really bother us that much and ashore we found a reasonable shop, a petrol station, a rum distillery and a pizza shack - way to go boys! Oh and we had some pretty splendid sunsets too.


Tapuamu Bay and the mooring field, with Bora Bora in the distance


The luxury resort on the Motu across from Tapuamu Bay, with Bora Bora lurking in the background


Sunset from Tapuamu Bay

For once water conditions were pretty calm with no noticeable current so we got the hookah dive gear out and cleaned poor Phylis' bottom. What a dirty girl and I can only wonder what the antifoul paint is supposed to do.
I must mention Uturoa the main town in these parts. The first time we visited was from Vairahi Bay and we walked there about 8km - bit hot, but we were rewarded by a well stocked supermarket and pleasant restaurant overlooking the town dock. Over all a very nice little place where you can get most things.


Uturoa town dock and Haiwaki Nui, one of the interisland freighters

The second time we visited was from here (carenage). We walked again this time only about 5km to stock up on rum, beer and a tin of tuna. Of course, on both occasions we got a taxi back to the dinghy as it's beyond my ability to carry two crates of beer and three bottles of rum - and a tin of tuna.

So, it's off to Bora Bora in the morning to rub shoulders with the rich and famous only we've just found out that we've already been kicked off our reserved mooring buoy by the bloody World ARC rally (brave souls who circumnavigate the world in just 15 months - I mean, why would you want to rush around like that?). Needless to say, we are not amused! It also means waiting for them to clear out of Bora Bora before we can go west as they will totally occupy any potential landfall. Oh well I can think of a lot of worse places to be.

Oh, remember that oil pressure thing. Well I drained all the crappy oil out that I was forced to use in Fakarava and put in the recommended SAE30 and hey presto - no more issues - simple really - read the bloody manual!