Our second cruise stop after Moorea was Fakarava which is a coral atoll in the Tuamotu Island group in French Polynesia. For those who do not know what an atoll is, it is a ring-shaped island that surrounds a lagoon. The atoll is created by underwater volcanos that erupt and grow until they poke above the water level. The lagoon of the atoll is the crater of the volcano. Most all atolls in the world are in the Pacific Ocean and many of the French Polynesian islands are atolls. Fakarava is somewhat unique since the atoll is shaped more like a rectangle than a round circle. It is about 37 miles long and 13 miles wide. As with most atolls you cannot go all the way around the lagoon on land and much of the “ring” dips into the water creating many small islets which are called Motus. That is the end of our lecture on French Polynesian Island Structure 101.
On Fakarava we had rented some beach bikes to go around the island. This island did not have a lot of available tours for cruise passengers. Some of our group elected not to take the bikes and just walked around the port area that had some local shops. The rest of the group went down the main road. There were only two roads running parallel on the island, each running along the coasts, and they were only separated by less than a ¼ mile. We went down the road on the port side until it stopped at a resort. We walked down the pier at this resort which had an old pearl farm at the end with a display of how the pearls were farmed. We saw two sharks out in the shallow water along with a couple of snorkelers. These weren’t black tipped sharks and we thought they were probably lemon sharks. They seemed to stay away from the snorkelers but there was one instance where the snorkelers came around a coral reef and was surprised to see the shark coming around the other side of the reef. There heads popped out of the water when they saw the shark, but they didn’t look too scared, just a little surprised.
We walked down the beach a little looking for a snorkel area but after not finding one we went back to the resort and had drink outside near the beach. After our short break we got back on our bikes and went to the other side of the island and went down the road on that side. There were a few cars on the island but not many and it was a nice place to ride bikes. We walked along the coastline occasionally stopping and collecting a few pieces of coral and some shells as keep sakes. We eventually crossed back over to the other road and went down a rock path to an old lighthouse that was shaped like a pyramid. It was called the Topaka Lighthouse and was 45 feet tall with a ladder running up along one side. We then took a leisurely bike ride back to the port taking a few pictures along the way.
About half the people stopped at this point to go back on the ship but a few of the girls went back to the resort and did a little snorkeling there. It was a nice island but not much to see or do there. A great place to get away and just relax on the beach.
Regards,
Sharon and Greg
On Fakarava we had rented some beach bikes to go around the island. This island did not have a lot of available tours for cruise passengers. Some of our group elected not to take the bikes and just walked around the port area that had some local shops. The rest of the group went down the main road. There were only two roads running parallel on the island, each running along the coasts, and they were only separated by less than a ¼ mile. We went down the road on the port side until it stopped at a resort. We walked down the pier at this resort which had an old pearl farm at the end with a display of how the pearls were farmed. We saw two sharks out in the shallow water along with a couple of snorkelers. These weren’t black tipped sharks and we thought they were probably lemon sharks. They seemed to stay away from the snorkelers but there was one instance where the snorkelers came around a coral reef and was surprised to see the shark coming around the other side of the reef. There heads popped out of the water when they saw the shark, but they didn’t look too scared, just a little surprised.
We walked down the beach a little looking for a snorkel area but after not finding one we went back to the resort and had drink outside near the beach. After our short break we got back on our bikes and went to the other side of the island and went down the road on that side. There were a few cars on the island but not many and it was a nice place to ride bikes. We walked along the coastline occasionally stopping and collecting a few pieces of coral and some shells as keep sakes. We eventually crossed back over to the other road and went down a rock path to an old lighthouse that was shaped like a pyramid. It was called the Topaka Lighthouse and was 45 feet tall with a ladder running up along one side. We then took a leisurely bike ride back to the port taking a few pictures along the way.
About half the people stopped at this point to go back on the ship but a few of the girls went back to the resort and did a little snorkeling there. It was a nice island but not much to see or do there. A great place to get away and just relax on the beach.
Regards,
Sharon and Greg
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