What a difference an anchorage makes, after 5 nights at sea and having disrupted sleep. We anchored in Baie Onemea in Taravai. This is where we dropped the hook 10 months ago with our friends on Agape and Halcyon. There was one other boat here when we arrived, but we were too tired to go somewhere else. So, we anchored far out of the bay to have a better view of the sunset.
We woke to a beautiful, calm, flat, bay that had a light breeze. So beautiful and perfect. Taravai is just what we needed after this long passage.
Taravai Mornings
We spent 2.5 days in Baie Onemea. Mostly catching up on sleep and cleaning. The boat was a disaster both inside and out. We had a perfect view of the sunset each night and were surprised to see a very big green flash on our first night. Of course, we didn’t capture it on camera, but you have to believe me!
Matt captured a few shots of the sunset while I took photos of him.
Sunset Photos Taravai
It looks like Cousin It at the helm, but that is me :0
Cousin It watching the sunset
Taravai Village
On Sunday morning we motored the 5-miles over to the “main village” of Taravai. I put that in quotes because there are 4 families that live on this island. They have a church and nothing else. No magasin, post office, cars, or roads. However, one of the families is super generous! They host a Sunday Funday each week where they provide the main course and the guests bring the apps, salads, sides, desert, and beverages. There are games, music and good times. We celebrated Matt, Rachel, and Becca’s birthday here last May.
On the way over it was impossible to miss the absolute beauty of the island. It is incredibly lush and green. Dozens of shades of green can be found covering the hills. The Gambiers had a particularly wet season so everything is thriving spectacularly.
Taravai Hillside
Taravai is synonymous with Valerie and Herve who live in the main village. They served up BBQ’d goat which Matt said was amazing. We met lots of new people and ran into some other cruisers we have not seen since we arrived a year ago. There are 4 main islands and lots of motus that make up the Gambiers. At this time, there are only 15 boats in the entire archipelago and 10 of them are at this anchorage for the festivities. We are early in the season so I am sure more boats will be coming soon. Last year when we arrived, there were 35 boats in the Rikitea anchorage alone!
Several boats left the next day. By Tuesday, it was just Sugar Shack in front of Valerie and Herve’s place. Nice, all to ourselves again! Matt took advantage of the calm days and went on a long SUP ride.
Matt enjoying a morning SUP
Taravai was just what we needed after this passage. It gave us the chance to rest and recover and then to reengage with other cruisers.