kneptoon
Contributor
My wife and I just returned from a 16 day dive trip Fakarava & Rangiroa. Both islands really lived up to my expectations and beyond. Our first week started in North Fakarava for two days of diving. I had hoped to use Dive Spirit in the North but the owners were on vacation so we went with Top Dive. This is a very well run operation and I liked David and Manu the dive masters. Unfortunately, in our two days of diving with them we never actually dove the North Pass. All of the pass dives can be challenging, and when the dive boat has 12 divers aboard with skills ranging from newbie to Master Instructor, the diving profile is going to be tailored to the newbie. So, with Top Dive we did the same dive 4 times, 2 days in a row. We dove the reef outside the pass on the ocean side to the right. I was not too disappointed as this is the healthiest hard coral reef I can remember diving anywhere. Masses of schooling fish of multiple varieties, the largest loggerhead turtle I have seen diving, many groupers, sharks, tuna and big eyed jacks. With visibility in the 80-100' range this was a superb dive.
After our last morning dive we packed our gear and got on a 25' boat for the hour and a half trip down the lagoon to Tetamanu Village for 4 days of diving on Tetamanu Pass. This diving was unparalleled. We did 2 or 3 dives a day. Usually the outgoing tide in the morning and the incoming in the early to late afternoon. The visibility for outgoing was fairly poor (60'). I know 60' is poor? There are no non shark dives in Fakarava or Rangiroa. Out going is good, lots of sharks and eagle rays. The incoming dive is the bomb. The dive boat dropped us off about 200 yards outside the mouth of the pass. This time of year is grouper mating/spawning season. On the bottom of the pass 60-80' are hundreds of grouper all in the 5 pound range. I want to say thousands. There are a lot of very docile grouper fighting and courting. Coming off the bottom and heading with the current into the pass we are greeted by a wall of sharks. There are never less than 30 in the field of view with countless silhouettes behind them. These are a combination of black fin, black tip, white tip and reef. Swimming with the current the wall on our right we arrive back to the dock at Tetamanu Village and wade up to the dive shop platform. This last 20 minutes of reef is pretty nice as well, very healthy with tropicals and small white tips and giant Napoleans. Visibility on the incoming tide is in the 100' range. Water temp throughout was 81F.(all dives both islands).
After 4 days of diving the South Pass we took the speed boat back to the airport and headed off to Rangiroa for seven days of diving. We dove Six Passengers in Rangiroa. There are 2 passes that are most often dove. Tiputu and Avotori, Tiputu is the most frequented. The best action on Tiputu was the outgoing tide. The coral around Rangiroa has been a bit hard hit from a typhoon and wasn't on par with Fakarava. There are also more varied dives on Tiputu regarding critters, not just your boring wall of sharks. We saw sailfish, mantas, eagle rays, tuna, dolphins, Napoleans and sharks. My favorite dive was the outgoing tide at 145' at the bottom of the pass. There was a school of big eyed scad like a river coming out of the lagoon. Every hungry predator is feasting. This is a decompression dive and is safely managed as you ascend the wall of the pass to the reef in shallow water. Avotori pass is known for its very large resident big eyed jack school and its 4 resident female silver tip sharks. We personally had no problem with currents and tides. There are horror stories. Six Passenger had several groups out in different boats with different skill levels and no problems. I would not discourage beginner divers from diving in Polynesia, as long as they are honest in communicating their experience and cert. level.
So Fakarava for the healthy hard coral and wall of sharks. Rangiroa for the wow factor of what you may see on your next dive.
After our last morning dive we packed our gear and got on a 25' boat for the hour and a half trip down the lagoon to Tetamanu Village for 4 days of diving on Tetamanu Pass. This diving was unparalleled. We did 2 or 3 dives a day. Usually the outgoing tide in the morning and the incoming in the early to late afternoon. The visibility for outgoing was fairly poor (60'). I know 60' is poor? There are no non shark dives in Fakarava or Rangiroa. Out going is good, lots of sharks and eagle rays. The incoming dive is the bomb. The dive boat dropped us off about 200 yards outside the mouth of the pass. This time of year is grouper mating/spawning season. On the bottom of the pass 60-80' are hundreds of grouper all in the 5 pound range. I want to say thousands. There are a lot of very docile grouper fighting and courting. Coming off the bottom and heading with the current into the pass we are greeted by a wall of sharks. There are never less than 30 in the field of view with countless silhouettes behind them. These are a combination of black fin, black tip, white tip and reef. Swimming with the current the wall on our right we arrive back to the dock at Tetamanu Village and wade up to the dive shop platform. This last 20 minutes of reef is pretty nice as well, very healthy with tropicals and small white tips and giant Napoleans. Visibility on the incoming tide is in the 100' range. Water temp throughout was 81F.(all dives both islands).
After 4 days of diving the South Pass we took the speed boat back to the airport and headed off to Rangiroa for seven days of diving. We dove Six Passengers in Rangiroa. There are 2 passes that are most often dove. Tiputu and Avotori, Tiputu is the most frequented. The best action on Tiputu was the outgoing tide. The coral around Rangiroa has been a bit hard hit from a typhoon and wasn't on par with Fakarava. There are also more varied dives on Tiputu regarding critters, not just your boring wall of sharks. We saw sailfish, mantas, eagle rays, tuna, dolphins, Napoleans and sharks. My favorite dive was the outgoing tide at 145' at the bottom of the pass. There was a school of big eyed scad like a river coming out of the lagoon. Every hungry predator is feasting. This is a decompression dive and is safely managed as you ascend the wall of the pass to the reef in shallow water. Avotori pass is known for its very large resident big eyed jack school and its 4 resident female silver tip sharks. We personally had no problem with currents and tides. There are horror stories. Six Passenger had several groups out in different boats with different skill levels and no problems. I would not discourage beginner divers from diving in Polynesia, as long as they are honest in communicating their experience and cert. level.
So Fakarava for the healthy hard coral and wall of sharks. Rangiroa for the wow factor of what you may see on your next dive.
