Exotic places to sail: Sailing Day 4

North Coast Hauhine

Total Miles - 0nm

Woke up feeling heaps better. Had our usual shower on deck and breakfast of scrambled eggs on toast. By 9am we went back into town to the Fare Maeva which was open and hired a car for 8000XPF for 8 hours. We could’ve gone for 5hrs but we really didn’t know how long we were going to take or what we were going to do.

Marae at Manunue

We started our drive by heading north then west around the island passing by the Marae at Maeva on the waterfront, stopping at one near Manunue. The surf coming in from this side of the island was big and crashing on the reef which looked quite spectacular. Continuing on we passed the little town of Faie which consisted of a few houses and a snack shop.

Bay Apoomati

We then had a look at Bay Apoomati which is on the western side of the island – directly opposite Bourayne Bay. We decided that it wasn’t that protected from ENE winds and was pretty choppy. The breeze had certainly picked up to at least 20kn from NE. We had contemplated going around this side of the island but now glad we had chosen not to (and time did not permit us to either). We stopped on the way past Ferme Perliere & pottery which comes recommend as a place to look at in the Lonely Planet. But, although the sign said it was where we were there was nothing to be found except a block of land and a private residence next to it – so on we continued crossing the bridge to Huahine Iti.

We checked out Port Bouranye which is very pretty & headed west which is the nicest drive and most picturesque. We drove through the area of Avea Bay where we had overnighted on the yacht and we came across a little shop Atelier Na Miri.

Na Miri works out of a converted garage and designs pareos and has an assortment of jewellery. She hand paints all her Pareos and of course I had to buy one which cost 2000XPF (about $25AUD). Na Miri is a lovely lady who speaks excellent English and we had a good chat and laugh with her. She made me strip off and we had a lesson in Pareo tying which we recorded with photos so we wouldn’t forget! We spoke of our desire to find fresh coconuts and she picked out half a dozen different ones (new & old) that she gave to us to take back to the boat.

Trying on a Pareo

So one pareo and half a dozen coconuts later we were on our way – doubling back to eat at a restaurant she recommended called Mauarii Pension restaurant. We ordered our well deserved and quickly drank cold beers & had lunch of grilled fish sandwiches (tuna) with lettuce and tomatoes and a side of fries which set us back 4000XPF (about $50AUD)..expensive lunch.

We continued on – I was slightly worried about the boat as it was quite windy, although we had some big gusts during the night and she stayed put, so we were pretty confident that she would hold. However, we also felt safe knowing that there were a few cruising boats around

and that if she started to get into trouble, they surely would assist. So we finished out tour of the island after 5.5hrs & dropped the car back.

We went through the supermarket again just for a browse, bought a couple of things and headed to Te Manava bar for a beer or two and headed back to the boat. Music started pumping from the shore, so we went back into town again and they had a 3 pce band playing at Te Manava just making it for happy hour. I took the PC in to check emails and left Dale chatting to a local lady who may or may not have been spinning tales as she had a few wild stories to tell about her life.

Back to the boat for dinner of steak & salad. The beef that we have experienced here is lovely and sourced from New Zealand – so a joy to eat.