Off the beaten track in Rangiroa

It's been great to finally be a bit off the beaten track, although it's all relative. There are about 20 yachts in the anchorage just to the west of the Tiputa Pass. So while it's a bit of a road more travelled for the cruising sailors, it's a long cry from the crowds at Papeete.  

After we got over our sail lag we signed up for a couple of dives. The local legends are the friendly family of Dolphins who live just outside the pass. We were lucky enough to make their acquaintance on our first dive. Super friendly, Mirra is the nickname for the one that came over to say hello, her name  means "eyes closed" in Polynesian... She likes to close her eyes when she gets a tummy rub...

Zac is a pretty excitable diver, he uses up his Oxygen tank a lot faster than the rest of us.   He raced over, true to form, he was very keen to oblige. 

The next day we thought we'd hire e-bikes and take in as much of the terrain as is possible. Apparently you can get around the whole Motu in a 200km mission, with a few carries over the tidal streams and a couple of ferries over the two passes. 

We were pretty smug with our off road spec bikes, hooning off under hybrid leg and electric power over the mostly flat roads. 

The local architecture is quite distinctive. It was fun zooming along the only main road and taking in the sights. 

However, after scooting around the Motu for a couple of hours we were a little less smug when we ran out of batteries 10km from the port. All of a sudden the heaviness of the bikes became evident. It was a good workout getting the behemoths back to base under leg power alone...  

We put the collar shirts on and motored in for a sundowner at the local resort. 

 

Rangiroa is pretty cool.