FAKARAVA - BAY OF KAKAIAU and OTETOU

Dear family, friends and fellow sailors,

Internet connection again ... so 'lekker' (South African slang word for 'nice / fantastic') 

Sailing down the east coast (on the inside ) of the very pretty atoll of Fakarava here in the Tuamotu Archipelago, we once again found so much respect in our hearts for the French nation who clearly have invested so much into these atolls by way of well marked navigational buoys in an otherwise potentially dangerous area of scattered shallow coral heads and other obstructions. These atolls are not called ’The Dangerous Archipelago’ for nothing … we hear of many yachts that have added to the number of wrecks scattered about reefs in this area, even that of the recent 'French Customs and Immigration’ vessel. But, looking at the effort put in here by the French Government, I must say that these efforts by the French should not be overlooked … they reveal themselves to truly be a nation who take sailing and all things related to the FREEDOM of sailing very seriously … the sea and seafaring' is very much a deep seated part of this nation’s integral culture.

Ana and I travelled up and down this coast a number of times between the North and South and covered many bays where we anchored overnight. Some of these would obviously be of interest to other sailors travelling here in the future, but we would like to share but a few which we found to be interesting.

We stopped over at a little bay off KAKAIAU at 16*17.1438S 145*31.3875W located on the eastern side of a reef which extends out from the shore in a southerly direction.

Here we both snorkelled the reef which was not spectacular but was a fun thing to do since we had the place all to ourselves, and later lowered the dinghy and headed to a pristine beach area we saw as we passed it en-route to our anchorage position … a very pretty place marked on our charts as ‘OTETOU’.

Arriving at this shore by dinghy, we had to negotiate a gap in-between the reef system here … the area is of exceptional beauty especially on such a crisp, sparkling day such as we had …

Here at this point on the eastern shore and looking toward the horizon presents a feeling of ‘absolute freedom’, a vastness, an openness … allow ones eyes to be a window to the soul … absorb the beauty of natures canvass … feel a sense of greatness and humbleness intertwined … facial muscles relax around the eyes ... that fresh air …  oh man … this truly is such a place to satisfy and free the mind … 

I can hear my friends wondering if perhaps ‘we have lost it entirely’ … perhaps we have … the sea and remoteness of it all … the ability to see and understand how robotic we as people in general have become … a life full of indoctrination to us all … the things that matter in the end … the things that don’t … this place conjures up such thoughts … and if we allow our minds to be truly free here, we find this to be such an amazing place to discover one’s veiled spirit … to find that new dimension and feel truly free … well … for us, in the solitude and magnificence of this place … we could not but help to feels nature’s energy dig deep and reveal a simplicity of being.

Interestingly enough, as we sailed the passage down the east coast being mindful of coral heads and so on, Impi found us at close proximity to the shore as we passed this particular point I am referring to … I turned toward Ana and said ‘I feel within me a magnetic need to visit this beach’. Ana smiled and said she too found an attraction to visit that shoreline, and especially so since the wind had dropped sufficiently, the sun was shining and the place really looked spectacular in these conditions.

The photo above and below taken toward the dinghy from opposite directions ... Such a feeling of expanse and totally forged and shaped by mother nature herself ...

Ana and I had walked for miles along the shoreline … I love watching her scouting about for shells, pencil urchin spines and so on … 

The beach is primarily made up of broken coral bits that have been broken down over time by the motion of wave action along the shore line here … and sadly is further evidence of destroyed corals by severe storms and hurricanes that have swept across these islands. But still, this is nature’s way of painting these beautiful white shores that glisten in the sun … the island insignia of the palms … the coral reef of pretty colours through translucent blue … the invitation to don goggles and flippers to explore the beauty below …

Below is a Google Earth image of the bay where Impi lay to anchor (KAKAIAU) and the shores we explored by dinghy between (OTETOU)