We sailed from the main village of Rikitea on the Isle of Mangareva out to a motu (small island) on the barrier reef on the East side of the Gambier group.
Looking back at Mangareva we see Mount Mokoto (left) and Mount Duff (right) behind us. It had been quite a hike to the top of Mokoto and we must look small to anyone up there now.
We pass Isle Akamaru and it's little off laying motu to the South of us. You can see the Southern group beyond them.
The Motus on the outer reef look very inviting with their white sandy beaches.
There are several bomies and a small reef sticking into the lagoon from Motu Tekava. Here you can see a wave breaking on that reef from the beach of the motu. Mount Duff is in the background with Isle Aukena (private) inbetween.
We are meeting up with our Austrian friends aboard Pitufa and Pakeatea to have a sunset beach fire. Keanu (5) is ready for the party!
Keanu shows me a cool fish head skeleton he found on the beach.
The birds are checking us out and Avatar is at anchor on the North side of the motu. The motus in the distance form the NE corner of the Gambier group.
Sonya, Keanu’s mom, shows us how to make campfire bread by wrapping the dough around a stick.
Keanu, Tom and Birgit (of Pitufa) all cook bread as Mike watches.
As it gets dark the hermit crab population wakes up and comes to check us out. This guy walked up this stick all by himself when I found him there. He is a medium sized guy and has very orange shell color.
The older adult hermit crabs have a darker, more sun burnt shell. His house shell has a bit of a hole in it.
So he steals a better shell home from another hermit crab and the fight is on for who will win the better shell house. The crab on the left actually has no shell home on him and you can see his curly tail where it came out of the shell they are fighting over. This is the first time I have ever seen a hermit crab with out a shell, a very rare sight!
These guys are locked claws in battle for quite a while.
The morning sun is shining on Pitufa anchored next to motu Tekava.
Looking to the South past our close reef is the larger motu Kouaku in the distance.
Mike and I took the dingy ashore in the daylight to check out the island, with the turquoise water glowing in the sunshine.
The rocks jut out of the sand on the outer side, closer to the reef.
The sand ends in a roundish shape, looking toward the outer reef.
On the motu itself there are many trees and lots of underbrush, looking like a jungle in there!
We see a Sooty Tern in a tree.
A pair of Sooty Terns on their nest in the crook of some growth.
Poppa flew away and left momma to tend the eggs. Sooty terns are all black except for the white on top of their heads, which makes them not as easy to spot in the darkness of the trees.
Another pair is kissing on this palm frond. These are very romantic birds, always kissing and cooing too each other.
As we come to an opening in the trees we are dive bombed by a Fairy tern as a Sooty flies away.
Fairy terns are very acrobatic and almost always fly in pairs.
My God this is a beautiful place!!
The birds are flying around us everywhere!
At the far end of the motu is another opening to see into the interior. Thick undergrowth with sharp stickers on their leaves deter us from walking in there.
A rather large group of Sooty terns are hanging out on the sand, warming in the sun and one flies away.
The sand spit seems to go on forever toward the next motu.
In the water we spot this group of small fish. The fish themselves are hard to see as they blend in with the sand behind them. But their shadows from the sun give them away!
This complete clam shell has an interesting green tint to the inside of its shell.
In a deep, almost puddle spot in the water, we see a bunch of sea slugs.
This is a close up of what they look like. The Japanese eat them as a delicacy, but we decide to pass on eating them!
The coral rocks create a tide pool effect which these sea slugs seem to love, because the water here is quite warm. I love how you can see the ripples in the water in this photo as well as the different layers of sand under the water. (click on it to blow it up if you can’t see it)
A hole in the coral rocks creates a deeper pool of water which makes for a nice warm wet spot!
Avatar anchored in the deeper water, just to the North side of the shallows.
The Gambier group is located at 23 degrees South and 134 degrees West, basically out in the middle of no where in the South Pacific Ocean. Because of that, we get the most amazing clouds passing by.
This close up of the clouds of a squall shine brilliantly in the sun. Very inspirational looking.
The squall passes by our bow, but outside the outer reef.
A squall line forms to the South of us, Pitufa and the motu.
After it passes a rainbow appears to remind us how beautiful life is.
And of course the sunsets from here are amazing as well!! From our view from here it sets between Akamaru and its motu and Teravai in the far distance.
Sweet dreams my friends...............
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