Now the remains of this ecological disaster are an astonishing mix of deep holes and caves, scrapped trucks and rusted railways. Like Nauru, Makatea was once an important mining field for phosphate and seriously dug out by thousands of men trying to get all that was possible from the land. With an altitude between 80m and 120m above sea level, Makatea is safe for the 21st century’s adventurers, but the 20th century was not so kind to her. Makatea, laying half way between Tahiti and Rangiroa atoll, may remain the last bit of the Tuamotu archipelago to be seen out of the water if the worst GIEC predictions of sea level rising becomes a reality. Tahiti Te Pari – Image credit to Asia Pacific Superyachts Tahiti and Thierry Zysman Recently the owner of a 100m+ yacht dove in these waters and afterwards, saying he was amazed at the number of whales he could closely approach in the protected waters of Te Pari. Many humpback whales come to French Polynesia from mid-July to October to give birth to their calves and rest. Yachts can stop in some superb anchorages where guests are sure to find only undisturbed fish, curious sharks and splendid manta rays. Once a shelter for those seeking a natural environment and escape from the modern world, the 20 mile Te Pari coastline is worth exploring by foot and searching for ancient petroglyphs. The lagoon offers good protection in several places when some of the deep bays are hit with the remains of large Antarctic swells. Starting at the worldwide famous surf spot of Teahupoo located at the end of the west coast tarred road, are miles of long a uninhabited seafront made of rugged black cliff and contrasting layers of tropical lush green foliage. The south coast of Tahiti Iti is very isolated as there are no roads. Tahiti is made of two islands joined by an isthmus, Tahiti Nui and the smaller Tahiti Iti. In my view, the following locales are very much worth a visit. But, for the exploring mind there are other wondrous areas to visit specifically, five places around French Polynesia which are not commonly known and offer new and enchanting underwater and above ground scenic wonders and thrilling adventures. I have been a yacht agent in Tahiti for almost 20 years and have worked with many captains to open new itineraries to some remote and seldom cruised places in French Polynesia – however, I must admit most guests eventually decide to go to Bora Bora. June 4 - Anse Amyot, Toau.Tahiti Te Pari ‘Whale Waving’ – Photo credit to Asia Pacific Superyachts Tahiti. June 20 - Tonae, Fakarava Atoll, Tuamotus - A nice.June 23 - Fakarava south pass - It finally happene.June 27 - General thoughts on the Tuamotus.June 28 - What we did the last two days.Always something going on, and people coming and going here in Anse Amyot. We were all stuffed! Valentine and Gaston gave me a beautiful shell necklace and a perfectly polished pearl shell, and our cruiser friends gave me unexpected, and much appreciated, gifts of rum, fishing lures, a red flare and an LED finger flashlight! We then watched a slide show on Sherry's computer of their recent dives just beautiful! A very memorable evening, and tomorrow morning there's a beach clean up scheduled at 1000. Everyone sang Happy Birthday to me in English and then French, and one couple even sang it in Portuguese! For dessert, there was chocolate covered coconut cake, an upside down pineapple cake, a banana tort, and a peach broulee. There was freshly caught mahi mahi, chicken stew, rice, couscous, cornbread, baguettes, pate on homemade bread, cole slaw and other food there. For dinner, Valentine and Gaston had suggested we use the restaurant area for a cruisers potluck, and all the boats in the anchorage participated. We later snorkeled the reef nearby, seeing eels, grouper, and multitudes of tropical fish. Jon and I then helped several boats with their mooring lines as they came into the area. We then went for a beach walk and exploration, shelling and going to the ocean side of a neighboring motu. What a wonderful birthday! Sue cooked multigrain pancakes and we had them with the real maple syrup, unavailable here, that Jon had brought with him.
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