Mel made reservations for us to snorkel here in early Sept. He emailed to confirm and see how many they could take about 2 weeks before we were to arrive. No reply. There were several people who wanted to go with us but not hearing from the operator we hesitated confirming with anyone else. Finally with less than a week before our arrival Mel received an email. The guys computer had been broken and he'd had to go to Papeete to get it fixed! He could take 7 in one boat plus 8 more in another. Mel started leaving messages for people but the timing was bad---we would be off the ship for over 24 hrs in Moorea. It ended up working out fine and on the morning of our arrival we had 16 ready to go on the pier at 8:30, with another guy just showing up hoping he could go too. We got in the boat for 6 the other 11 piled into the other boat. Each boat had a driver and a helper.
As soon as we took off they put all our bags up front to keep them dry. That should have told us something! It was an hour ride to the other side of the lagoon in very rough water. We were sprayed with water while we bounced around for that hour, not very enjoyable. Once there they dropped us close to shore then took us between 2 islands to snorkel. At first it looked so barren compared to Moorea. There was no foliage like Moorea had had. It was very Brice Canyon like, all browns and things sticking up. But all those things were living coral, a lot more than any other place we'd been. And all the coral was full of clams, we had never seen that many. A lot of fish too, it was very nice snorkeling. This was the first snorkeling experience for one of our friends. She floated on a noodle while one of the guys pushed her around, it was quite funny. I did tell her that she started at the top in the snorkeling world, not to expect it to be like this at other places!
After about an hour in that location we walked along the shore to the reef. The shore was a mixture of sand and volcanic rock. The reef was very dramatic lava shapes. The guys told us we were going to the jacuzzi. There was a pool next to the reef with very warm water. It was enjoyable. We found some sea creatures, namely 2 different types of urchins, which we took turns holding. There was also a sea snail which is this long, ugly thing with a bunch of tentacles up front. We had seen them in Moorea also, but never before that.
We then headed to another island for lunch. We walked quite a distance thru water. It was a good thing we all had water shoes on as some of the rocks and coral were jagged. We were quite the group slugging thru the water which at times was chest deep. I had collected some shells so had to keep my hands above water. To took a good 20 to 30 minutes to cross.
Once on the island the guys had brought all our bags onshore which was a relief. I needed my sunglasses! There were 2 long tables set up for lunch. We were served family style. Maybe we were just hungry after so much activity in the morning, but that food was delicious! They served a type of dirty rice, mahi mahi, chicken and coconut milk ceviche. The best was the coconut bread, I could have eaten a lot of that. They had a grill there as well as a couple of small buildings where they kept their stuff. It was nicely set up.
After lunch they fed the leftovers to the sharks! There had been about a dozen small black tip sharks circling around just off the beach. One was only a foot long, very cute. They attacked the food putting up a splash right in front of us. I decided to sit down in the water to watch. At one point 2 came and took a bite of my feet at the same time. I barely felt it but it sure surprised me! Another lady in our group thought it looked like fun so she joined me.
We boarded our boats for the hour ride back. Once on the other side we went thru the pass to find the dolphins. We saw 4 or 5 of them but for only a short time. Because of the current running thru the pass, in or out depending on the tide, the waves were huge! Interesting being out there in a small boat like that. We headed back to what they call the aquarium. There is a sand bar/island just past the pass in the lagoon. We got out of the boats to snorkel again. They were feeding the fish so there were hundreds. Mel threw some food right on my legs so I had dozens of fish all around me as well as on top of my legs. They were so close it was hard to get a good picture.
We finally returned to the pier. It was 4:00, all aboard was at 4:30. We had no time to see anything on the island but we sure had seen a lot in the water! This atoll has the only south sea winery as well as the largest black pearl farm in the world. Guess we will have to go back.
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