Society Islands, Bora Bora – July 2007
We pressed on directly to Bora Bora, the island almost at the far end of the Society Islands chain, known for its spectacular scenery and substantial lagoon within its fringing reef. Yachts often leave French Polynesia from here. Our journey had some wind but we did end up motoring quite a lot. We passed the islands of Huahine, Raiatea and Taha’a on the way. The journey was 120 nm and took just over 24 hours.
Bora Bora was really stunning. Within the large lagoon there are plenty of minor islets, protected clear waters and great beaches providing a huge variety of anchoring, swimming and snorkelling possibilities, all backed by spectacular scenery.
Vaitape, the main town is small and touristy, and there is a wonderful cheap market just by the port selling black pearl jewellery and woven goods. Bora Bora is a superb place to be so far, .
We anchored outside Bora Bora Yacht Club in a rather deep 25m, and the Iaoranet wireless internet worked very well here. The next day we tried to anchor near the town of Vaitape but the anchorage is really too deep at 27m. We tied to the fuel quay where we finally found out that we can get duty-free fuel once we clear out but we also need another form from Tahiti! Apparently the Tahiti Customs can fax the form to the Total Fuel Station here but I have to call them to organise it. The price for diesel is 125 CPF including duty but only 76 CPF per litre duty free, a major difference when we need 250 litres!
Then we looked around for a beach-type anchorage which we found in front of the smaller island of Teveiroa within the lagoon, by the Pearl Beach over-water hotel. After three attempts we got good holding. The wind and sun were good here so we windsurfed and made water with all the wind and solar amps we were collecting. The next day there was less wind, and we took the dinghy to the beach on the south end of Teveiroa, which is a shallow calm beach with no swell, and further out there is easy snorkelling with very clear water. The beach has quite a bit of natural shade from trees. A perfect beach for kids! Lisa crawled in the shallow water and collected pieces of coral, and Dan came snorkelling. Now that he has mastered using his fins he has gained speed and confidence, and here he was diving three metres to fetch shells and blowing out his snorkel effectively once back up. The sea bottom was very clear with no drop-offs, so there was no worry if he dropped a fin. There were quite a few fish to see including a good size ray.
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At this point we had to make a decision, as Elaine was expecting another (!) baby in September – where to have it??
We had hoped to stop at Rarotonga in the Cooks, but were dissuaded by friends who said the harbour is just too small and unsafe in certain winds.
Finally we decided to make the rather longer trip to Fiji, of 1700 nautical miles. This would give the shortest journey with three kids to New Zealand in November.
So with about seven weeks before due date, we left for Fiji.