Tag Archives: oponohu bay

Matt at Tiki Village

Magical Moments in Mo’orea

As we were waiting for a weather window, we encountered many magical moments in Oponohu Bay, Mo’orea.  We are anchored on a sandy shelf about 2 to 3 meters deep between the reef and the island.  Late one afternoon we spotted two huge nurse sharks (about 3 meters long) just hanging out next to Sugar Shack. We think they were nurse sharks, but they could have been lemon sharks.

One night, just before sunset, the clouds rolled across the caldera and provided this beautiful photo.

Oponohu Bay, Mo'orea

Oponohu Bay, Mo’orea

We had the most enchanting sunset another night.  It started out with a little beauty and then blossomed into this firey red across the entire sky and reflecting onto the water.  None of these photos were enhanced or tweaked…just nature’s beauty.

Some of these photos needed to be shown as stand alone images.

And this has no filters or changes – just pure magic.

Even the rain brings magical moments

It is not always sunshine and rainbows in French Polynesia.  It does rain a lot which is good because it feeds new life into the land, mountains, trees, and flowers.  But sometimes it is a torrential downpour which keeps you holed up in you boat.

I actually got cold and snuggled up.

But the huge rains brought several beautiful waterfalls – just magical.

And another pretty sunset.

Underwater Tiki Garden

Across the channel is a shallow anchorage called Tiki Village.  Matt and I have anchored here several times and never knew there was a tiki museum nearby (we also did not know this anchorage was called “Tiki Villiage”).  Our friends Steve and Lili on Liward took us over there to explore this amazing underwater museum.

The legend has it that when the missionaries came to Mo’orea they built a protestant church right on the Marae, their sacred grounds. The missionaries forced the locals to either destroy or toss their monuments / tikis in the ocean.  But the inhabitants outsmarted them.  They strategically placed the tikis underwater, clustered together directly across from the church in the village of Papetoai.

Church built on the Mo'orea marae

Church built on the Mo’orea marae

There are 7 tikis gently laid in 3 meters of crystal-clear water.  And despite the efforts by the missionaries, the Tahitian culture is very much alive today.

We found all 7 tikis, but some were hard to distinguish.  They are just starting to get growth which is fascinating.  This one we could not figure out – or should I say, I could not figure out.  Lili pointed to what she thought was his head and face…I just don’t see it.

I love this tiki called “the twins”

The Twins Tiki

The Twins Tiki

Matt liked it too and gave me a smile hidden behind his bubbles (he took his mask off).

I think this tiki is a woman, but what do you think?  It actually looks more like a mermaid, but either way female.

This was a great tiki with little growth.

This is my favorite tiki.  I love how the soft coral grew right at his head giving him hair.  And do you see the fish at his head too?  This tiki is a man sitting down while holding a bowl in his hands.

This magical man brought shivers to me as I explored his carvings.

Another difficult one to decipher.

The final tiki had three carvings on it.  Not sure you can see all 3 faces, but they were wonderful.

It was magical to find these tikis knowing their history.  It brought shivers to me as I examined them.  I hope they are honored for decades to come.

Super good times with our friends Josh and Rachel (“Agape) and Steve and Lili (“Liward).

Fruit shopping on the side of the road…don’t you love the pretty decor?

The Opunohu Anchorage at sunset

Opunohu Anchorage

Opunohu Anchorage

View facing the mountains from the same anchorage

Events from this blog occurred during the first week of November, 2020.  Our blog posts run 8 weeks behind our adventures.

Sugar Shack at Oponohu Passe

Voyage to Mo’orea

Finally, it was time for us to leave Tahiti and begin our voyage East. It is a short passage of 12nm to Moo’rea.  The weather was not conducive to sail toward the Tuamotus so we just went to the next island over.  However, before we left we enjoyed sundowners (aka happy hour) with our friends Julie and Andy on “Little Wing.”

Julie and I at sunset

Julie and I at sunset

Afterwards we were rewarded with a beautiful moonrise over Marina Taina in Tahiti. Perfect for this Halloween night.

The next morning, we made a final trash run and another quick trip to the grocery store to see if they got any pork in stock.  For some reason, the island of Tahiti is out of pork products – no pork chops, pork shoulder or pork ribs.  So sad for me.

Voyage to Mo’orea

We left the south pass and had light winds of 6-8kts coming north of east.  Sugar Shack had a full main and a reefed jib because there was hardly any wind.  We were doing a whopping 3-5kts of boat speed – just plugging along.  We were not in a hurry and had all day to cross the bay to the next island.

Several local surfers were taking advantage of the great waves as we left the pass.  These are short waves that break on a dangerous reef – but they still manage to rock it!

A French War ship was hanging out just in front of Mo’orea.  It looked like they were dragging something, but we were not close enough to figure it out.

French warship off the coast of Mo'orea

French warship off the coast of Mo’orea

In the distance we could see white caps.  Not a good sign, so we took a reef in the main sail.  After 15 minutes we decided to take a 2nd reef in the main sail.  Thank Holy God!  The winds jumped to 30-35kts and the seas quickly became 2-3 meters!  We were  bouncing all over the place.  We almost turned around, but decided to forge ahead.  The weather calmed down to 20-25kts and 1.5-2 meter seas which was a bit better.  The boat found her happy place and we were doing 7-8kts.

We turned the corner and had another 5nm to go to Oponohu passe entrance. During this leg of our voyage we encountered lots of beautiful dolphin.  They were surfing in the waves, jumping, and having fun.  We first spotted some dolphins at the Tahiti pass by the new surf platform (upper left photo), and then we saw dozens more as we got closer to Mo’orea.

Another mile further we ran into a super talented, overzealous foil boarder.   He was amazing!  He circled around Sugar Shack several times showing off his mad skills!  See my Instagram account for video footage.  He pumps the board by bending his knees which keeps the board moving forward.  He also uses the kite that is in his hand for propulsion.  We were going 6-7kts and he was going faster than us!

We were gifted with a grand view as we entered the Oponohu passe.

Sugar Shack at Oponohu Passe

Sugar Shack at Oponohu Passe

To the left of the pass is the anchorage which is full of other boats.  We grabbed a spot on a nice sandy patch in 3 meters of water.

Oponohu Anchorage

Oponohu Anchorage

Events from this blog occurred over the last week of October 2020.  Our blog posts run 8 weeks behind our adventures.