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| View of Mangareva from Mount Mokoto |
We had been hanging out in Hapatoni, Tahuata since mid February, enjoying the wonderful friends we had made in the village, some epic diving and getting to know a few of the French boats that had also decided this was one of the very best spots in the Marquesas. We enjoyed a brief side trip tp Hiva Oa to see the world biggest tikis and pick up some fuel. We would regularly pop around to jimmy’s for a bit of internet and steak frites but mostly we went diving, went to Tehina’s house and to Imelda and Tafeta’s. Andrew learned Petanque and we took a liking to the local dried fish. The Fat Susan’s joined us for a bit and we had a great dive with them; Floss and I even went to church one Sunday morning. It was easy to stay but a brief sail down to Fatu Hiva on 12th March to meet up with the Fatties reminded us how much we love sailing too…..
So we got back to Tahuata on 14th March, did a couple more incredible dives at shark point then called on our friends in the village to provision. Tafeta was out of town so Imedla walked us around her family properties stocking us up with no end of goodies, from Mangoes and Breadfruit to their fabulous tomatoes, salad and of course dried fish. She even shared avocado’s with us that they usually ship to extended family in Tahiti. We made one last trip to the main village for eggs, beer and potatoes and we set sail south on 18th March.
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| Shopping in Hapatoni with Imelda and Arun |
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| A good start |
We were keen to make it the Gambier Islands over 800 miles south and east of us - officially inside the cyclone belt for our insurance until end of April, but given the La Nina forecast and how south and east this group is a Cyclone would be very unlikely, so we opted to take the risk. We were not sure how easy it would be to get the easting, however with a forecast of north East winds for the first few days we felt confident in Askari. As it happened we easily made the easting and then were able to sail off the wind to the Gambiers arriving after 5 nights at sea.
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| Sailing on the wind in the Pacific Ocean |
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| Land ho! |
We were sailing so hard on the wind we sucked air into the generator intake and that resulted in Andrew having to change an impeller at sea whilst still gaining his sea legs with a bit of bouncing in the bilges. We had a bit of a mixed bag of perfect sailing to one frustrating days with huge squalls that then sucked out all the wind to gently motor sailing into the island group west pass at midday on 22nd March.
The island group looks like nothing else we have seen in French Polynesia. Small pointy islands sit on a beautiful lagoon, mostly reef fringed. Seeing the bottom under the boat and the reef as we motored into the pass was incredible after so many months in the Marquesas; where the water is not clear like this. We were super excited to be somewhere new and so remote. We then spotted about 15 boats all anchored at the island of Taravai - our hearts sank - in days of old only a handful of boats came to the Gambiers in a year. The notes we had included some of the most adventurous cruisers we met on our first trip across the Pacific. It turned out that nearly all the boats in the group were in one bay as there had been an event and when we got to the main town anchorage at Rikitea it was virtually empty, however there were about 25 boats in total in the archipelago - as a result of covid, the fact boats can stay longer in French Polynesia (when previously it was just 3 months) and finally improved navigation tools.
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| Approaching Gambiers |
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| Askari at Rikitea |
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| The anchorage when we arrived |
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| The cathedral in Rikitea |
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| Cathedral at Rikitea complete with Pearl shell altar |
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| Out exploring Rikitea - one of the many old stone buildings in the village |
We anchored near friends Brian and Sue on Sea Rose and got a warm welcome from them. We promptly went ashore to check in with the Marie (Mayor’s Office) and the Gendarme (police) - he was however busy painting his fence so we agreed to come back the next day. The anchorage and village of Rikitea on the island of Magareva, is stunning, sitting between the ridge of the island and the inner reef with views out to the island. On shore there’s a fantastic network of hiking trails, so after clearing with the Gendarme and a quick walk around town, we set off with Brian and Sue on our first hike. Sue’s shoe broke, but Andrew found some friendly builders who provided tape and raided a bin for a rag that held together for several kilometres. We hiked via the Meteo France weather station that sends up a weather balloon at 2pm everyday - the grounds of their complex must have one of the best views of any Meteo France Office….
We made it to the 12 Apostles trial which wound through pine forests and along the shoreline. After a picnic lunch we left Sue and Brian as the shoe wasn’t up to the next bit - hiking Mount Mokoto. This was the slightly lower than the highest peak of Mount Duff (not the Polynesian name). Getting up there was a challenge as it was really steep and often had sheer drops, however it was a great hike, however the drop on the top to complete the loop was quite something and beyond my comfort zone.
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| The Meteo France Station |
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| Signed trails - how fab! |
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| View out to Akamaru |
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| Approaching the top of Mokoto 1,394 ft |
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| This hike trial even had an underpass - with Sue and Brian |
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| Sue tackles the ropes on the ridge trail |
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On Mokoto - Mount Duff behind
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| We celebrated Marin's birthday onboard Amaryllis |
That first weekend two supply ships were due in - our only chance to get fuel so we stayed in town and enjoyed some more walks on the ridge and to the otherside of the island and of course Mount Duff. The weather was stunning and calm. The cooler evenings this far south were such a treat too.
We had a forecast of a bit of bad weather so all the boats headed into town but there was plenty of space, even if not totally great. It meant we got to catch up with new and old friends.
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| Baguette on top of Mount Duff - 1,447 ft |
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| View from Mount Duff |
Christine on Sugarshack agreed to take me out to meet some of her artisan friends. We started at Taina’s pearl show room where we spent hours before meeting Sandra from Pico and heading to the carving school. After a chat with Heifara, the carving tutor, we got invited back that afternoon - it was the last day for Easter holidays and he only had a few students finishing a wedding ensemble so had time to show us. We all jumped at the chance and after lunch on a rainy day we learned to carve pearl shells - practising straight lines, marking out a shape, cutting it, refining it cleaning it, carving it and polishing it. With A LOT of help we all created stunning items. We were quite proud of ourselves!
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| The wedding pieces finished - crown and tie |
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| Now our turn to make something |
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| Sandra polishing her flower |
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| Working on the outline |
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| tidy up the edges |
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| Proud artists |
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| The finished articles |
Getting fuel turned out to be quite a lot of fun….. there is no formal schedule for the ship so you wait for rumours that it's coming then start monitoring for it's appearance. Then it rounded the headland a day before we expected it - argh quickly finish lunch and grab the fuel cans. By the time we got ashore there was already a queue; of sorts. Containers flew over our heads manually controlled and without guide ropes as we waited for two hours for the payment booth to open. Finally after the aircon in the 'office container' was working enough the officer came and I got the chance to go in with two other shoppers. I realised why payment was taking so long when the girl ahead started unwrapping small rolls of cash from all her extended family to buy water and cooking gas - when she worked it all out she gave me and the other guy a high five. I was a bit quicker to pay for a 200l drum of diesel only. Then next we take the receipt to the ship's engineer - he then fills a drum from the ships fuel tank - we then siphon that into our cans (and some we bothered from another boat) and then take that to Askari and siphon it into our tanks - super easy!! It actually was quite fun and a real island experience. We couldn't believe that people wouldn't drink the water here and were buying it in containers. The ship was also out of cooing gas and flour - some people were dissapointed. The internet is so bad on the island that most people can't even pre-order basic things. Other cruisers were excited as they had boat parts on the ship and some even had food deliveries from personal shoppers in Tahiti.
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| Here comes our fuel |
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| Pumping about to start |
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| The office for payment |
We found the Gambiers nice and the people friendly; proud of their own language but a little lacking in culture - after the Marquesas where culture is very strong perhaps this was more evident to us. That is probably not a surprise as these islands were probably one of the worst impacted by the impact of missionaries. A jesuit priest arrived here in 1834, converted the king and then forced people to erect the stone churches, convents, etc resulting in the death of over 5,000 people - destroying an entire culture. We also heard that many people left here when the French nuclear testing started - family land was held onto and more recently people have returned to be involved with pearl farming and as a result many are very well off - very fancy cars, fast boats and even jet ski's are the go here. We tried to get a couple of packages flown from Tahiti but the freight was always full - we even heard the covid vaccine had to be hand carried as the freight was full - giving the impression money is plentiful here. Many people we saw flying in and out, decked out in long strands of huge pearls and fine dresses. Meanwhile vegetables are hard to come by despite the islands being very fertile with stunning gardens full of flowers - why farm veg when you can farm pearls I guess....
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| It wasn't always paradise |
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| We walked to the West of Mangareva - many pearl farms |
We celebrated Easter with hot cross buns, a social drinks night with other cruisers and then I cooked roast lamb for Sue and Brian with a couple of bottles of wine for a real treat - yummy.
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| My first ever hot cross buns |
After two weeks in Rikitea we decided it was time to go and explore. We headed out to Taravai for some great snorkelling and to meet the famous couple who host a sunday BBQ for sailors - Valerie and Herve. They were super kind and we left with a great stash of veggies. We then went to the north east to check out the false pass. Sue and Brian joined us and we went right out into the ocean with our dinghies with waves breaking either side - it was pretty cool but we actually preferred the snorkelling at Taravai. We spent a few days up there before heading back to Taravai for the Sunday BBQ - we shared a feast with other cruisers, played pétanque and volley ball long into the afternoon.
We could have spent much longer in the Gambier but the season is underway and we have a few logistical things to sort so we opted to jump on a light wind weather window to sail to Tuamotu - leaving on 13th April to head north west.
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| A little busier in the anchorage on our last ridge walk |
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| Cheesy grins in this little gem of an archipelago |
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