We rose at dawn on day three of our Tahiti cruise to experience the magic and technical difficulty of sailing through Tiputa Pass into Rangiroa.
Our ship – which only has a capacity of 184 passengers – is one of the largest that can access the lagoon inside the coral atoll, as Tiputa Pass is narrow and can be quite treacherous.
A community of 25 to 30 bottlenose dolphins resides at the pass all year round and loves to welcome vessels as they enter. I wasn’t going to miss an opportunity to see dolphins, so I made sure our alarm was set for 6am.
We blearily scrambled out of bed to watch the action and were rewarded with around four dolphins frolicking in the water.
Rangiroa is the second largest coral atoll in the world and renowned for its vibrant underwater life. This is what it looks like if you arrive by air …
Our destination was the Rangiroa Aquarium, a shallow natural coral garden located near the entrance of the Tiputa Pass.
The ship anchored in the middle of the World Heritage-listed atoll and we were ferried to the wharf where a local operator collected us for our adventure.
I took this arty shot of the wharf with Le Jacques Cartier in the distance …
The moment we slid into the water we were surrounded by hundreds of fish. DD also spotted a reef shark, while at other times, you might swim with turtles, manta rays and even the curious dolphins. Another snorkeller informed me that she saw a barracuda. Fortunately I had been pre-warned to remove my necklace, as barracuda’s may bite swimmers if they mistake shiny objects they are wearing for the glint of small fish and take a bite. Eeeek!
The coral on our snorkelling trip wasn’t comparable to other places I’ve visited in the Japanese subtropical islands and Fiji, but it was still a magical experience.
The colour of the water in Rangiroa was spectacular, ranging from vivid turquoise to electric blue. Breath-taking!
Back aboard the ship we dined on a 35kg local moonfish for lunch that was grilled and served with a Tahitian vanilla sauce, as palm trees swayed on shore.
All too soon it was time to gather on deck to watch the ship carefully navigate its way back through the Tiputa Pass. We could only spending the morning at Rangiroa as we have a long voyage ahead of us to reach the Marquesas Islands, which are 1000km to our north.
After getting mildly seasick doing a stretch class on deck 7, I rallied to have dinner last night with a couple from Queensland who got married while cruising on Ponant’s ice breaker, Le Commandant Charcot, on a zodiac surrounded by ice in the Artic Circle. Now that’s the ultimate white wedding!
Today is a sea day, so I’ll catch you on Monday and give you the lowdown on my first two days in the Marquesas. Have a great weekend.
Song of the day: Styx “Come sail away”
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