Tikehau is known as the atoll with the most fish life in the Tuamotu archipelago. It is also known to have a very warm and welcoming population and a laid back lifestyle.
All of this is so true. We went first to the anchorage by the main town, Tuherahera. We were in turquoise waters right by a perfect little palm clad motu. We so enjoyed to be back to the calm atoll life again!
Just a short dinghy ride away, we entered the harbor at the best dinghy dock we have seen in the Tuamotus. We observed the local fishermen share left overs of their catch with the local shark population, which cruised around the dock waters.
The town was perfect for little strolls, and the inhabitants greeted us friendly as we walked through town. The atmosphere was so nice.
We dove the pass with a local dive club, Tikehau Diving. They had quite a large operation, with up to four dive boats on the water daily.
We did two drift dives in the morning of the pass. The first dive was on the South side and the second one on the North side. We were dropped off outside of the pass over a beautiful coral garden which had lots of life. We saw all kinds of different colorful fishes, as well as big schools of fish.
The pass itself is quite shallow, which means that the current can be quite strong. We were therefore instructed to grab rocks on the way, to ensure we didn’t buzz through there in 30 seconds.
It is in the pass that one can expect to see the big fish. And, that we did. On both dives we saw a great hammerhead shark. These are different from the hammerheads we saw in Galapagos, as these get bigger and live alone. The ones we saw were a little more than three meters, but they can get up to six meters long.
We also enjoyed eating out in the village a couple of times. We had lunch at a local restaurant set up in a nice garden, and we had a lovely date with sundowner on the beach and really yummy pizza.
After staying in the anchorage by the town for a few very calm days, we expected the wind to pick up, so we moved a little further north inside the lagoon to be more protected. We finally were in a spot where we could to try out our new wing foil which we bought in Tahiti. Unfortunately, the winds never picked up enough for us to get it tested out properly.
We also enjoyed lobsters for the first time since the Caribbean! They were the first lobsters we have seen in the Pacific. We were so happy that the local fishermen stopped by our boat and wondered whether we would like to buy some.
We left Tikehau a little earlier than we had planned, as we had an okay weather window to sail southeast. We are on our way to Gambier, which is approximately 1,000 nm to the SE of where we are now. With winds usually coming in from the SE, we have a challenge.
We both agreed that Tikehau is probably our favorite atoll so far, in terms of having all you could want; rich marine life, spots to wing foil, several calm and remote anchorages well protected from the winds and a really nice village where you can get basic supplies. There is even a local farm where we could buy fresh vegetables there, that we never got to see. We definitely may need to come back!