Taravai is the second largest island in Gambier. It used to house 2,000 people, split between the east and west side of the island. Today, there are only 8 people living in the main village, Agonoko. Besides that, there are a couple of houses spread around the island, with another 3 people.
Agonoko village still has some signs about how this used to be a substantially larger village. The church is under refurbishment, and could easily have housed a few hundred people. There are also some remnants from the previous road running through town, which is well maintained with cut grass on most parts.
There is a trail that runs along the South eastern side of the island, which we tried out. Finding it is really hard, as there is a lot of trees and branches we had to climb through during the first part. Luckily we were joined by fellow sailors who had spent some time searching for the trail the day before. It turned out to be a really nice hike, but we were glad we had long pants on, as the vegetation was quite dense.
Most cruisers have Taravai as one of their favorite stops in the Gambier archipelago, and that is due to Herve and Valerie. They are a local couple who hosts BBQ parties at their home on a regular basis. They live in the village Agonoko and has a lovely beach property in the Taravai Bay.
They grow herbs, fruit and vegetables in their garden, and willingly trade with cruisers. Herve is also an avid spear fisher and often goes out to hunt with visitors. Unfortunately, there is ciguatera here in Gambier, which means most fish cannot be eaten. However, Herve knows which ones are safe to eat.
Some Sundays, they open up their home for cruisers and arrange a potluck BBQ dinner. We were lucky to attend the last BBQ they arranged in 2024, and enjoyed a great day with fellow cruisers.
On Jan. 1st, they planned to arrange a special celebration of the new year and host an earth oven feast where they would cook pig and goat from their land. The celebration was moved by a few days, due to rain.
We were 16 boats anchored in the bay by Herve and Valerie’s house, and we all started to prepare the day before the New Year’s party. We all contributed in making an earth oven, which is dug into the ground and layered with branches, palm leaves and rocks. It takes about 4-6 hours to cook the meat (pig and goat who live locally on the island), which is wrapped in banana leaves. The meat turned out really tender, and Herve and Valerie had made a lot of yummy side dishes to go with it as well, such as mango-pumpkin purée, banana purée, yucca, etc.
We were about 50 people at the party, most of us other cruisers, but also some local friends of Herve and Valerie. It was fun to meet up with not only fellow cruisers, but also the friends ad family of Herve and Valerie. We are so impressed by their hospitality and organization skills, and really enjoyed ourselves.
When the kids, Christopher and Lorena, visited us in January, they were lucky to attend the first BBQ of 2025 at Herve and Valerie’s house. We loved that we were able to share this experience with them. It gave them a unique insight into local life and cruiser life at the same time.
Valerie is also an artist, and makes lovely pictures of sand. She collects sand from the different nearby beaches, and has white, black, beige, brown, red, pink and even green sand. Without any additionally added coloring ink, her pictures are all natural. We are planning to order one, and she sent us an image of a previous art work for inspiration.
We really enjoyed ourselves in the Taravia Bay anchorage, especially while the kids were visiting. It was very calm and the visibility was great, so we practiced riding the foil board behind the dinghy, and had several lovely snorkel trips directly from the boat. This is definitely one of our favorite anchorages in the Gambier!
In addition to the beautiful bay of Taravai, the island has several anchorages that are well protected. We hid out from a blow on the western side of the island, and enjoyed a few days of solitude on an anchorage at the south side. We’ll definitely be back to Taravai for more exploration and BBQ parties!
