Instant Reader Report
on Te Ava Nui / Havaiki Pension in
Tahiti and French Polynesia / Fakarava atoll on
2003/09
by
Laura Todd , CA, USA
Report Number 031003182517184

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Send an email to the author of this report

 Palau, Fiji, Tonga, Hawaii, Bahamas, Bay Islands, Sea of Cortez 

Dive Conditions

Due to very strong currents, the drift dives are a group thing, with DM
signaling where and when to be.  Wall dives are limited to 1 hour.  

Am not a UWP, but...........  there are no accomodations on either boat or
shore for photographers aside from a big set of shelves that could be used
to work on cameras.  The boat ride could be fatal to your camera; the
driver only knows 2 speeds - full stop and full out, which means that with
the slightest wind in the lagoon, both you and your camera will spend most
of the 20 minute trip airborne, only occasionally crashing down into the
boat.  

Overall Rating

This is the biggest pass in all of Polynesia, and I was ready for just
about anything to swim up beside me.  What I mostly got was sharks - the 
mantas, whales and hammerheads did not make an appearance.  But the shark
wallpaper is pretty impressive with literally dozens of blacktips (5-6'),
smaller white tips and the occasional big lemon.  They get really close;
be sure to look behind you.  We also could count on the big Napoleon
wrasses, barracuda and dogtooth tuna.  Not much in the way of small stuff.
 The coral is much nicer than say Rangiroa, in the same vicinity.  The
weather was beautiful and the sea was utterly flat.  Be ready for the
ripping current.  On the last day, there was an especially nice vertical
swirling bait ball of hundreds of sennet-looking fish with baby black tip
sharks cruising through.  Overall, the diving was good with the potential
to be great.  The same can't be said of the dive operation, however. 
There is no bathroom at the shop - guys are encouraged to pee off the dock
and the back of the boat, women wherever.  There are two hard bottom
inflatable boats with safety gear and drinking water.  The lagoon is often
rougher than the ocean due to wind and the local driver is a maniac who
goes at full throttle no matter what the conditions; count on getting beat
up and bounced around.  I found sitting down in the bottom of the boat with
my back up against the stern minimally painful.  They offer only 2 dives
per day, one each morning and afternoon.  After each, there is an
inexplicable hour alotted to drinking tea and hanging around.  As is
typical here, they do transport you to and from your lodging.  They use
large steel tanks, which means most folks won't need a weight belt (very
cool), but the things are sooo heavy and the staff acted like it was an
imposition to have to carry them.  There is a little bit of anti-French
discrimination going on.  Each morning the owner would give the briefing
in French, adding "current more than yesterday" in English, then
ask in English, "you understand?"  The staff encouraged divers to
hang on to and pull themselves along the coral.  Now there's a bunch of
Japanese beginners who think that's how it's supposed to go. There was
also the constant promise of a day trip to dive and picnic around some
uninhabited motus that never materialized.  The owner did choose to take a
group of (mostly) beginners whose skill level he had no idea about (it
became clear) to one of those shallow crevice/tunnel type sites with
skylights, etc. that can be quite pretty.  However, even in calm seas the
surge put this site completely beyond this group.  One person repeatedly
hit her head on the ceiling of the tunnels, and everybody crashed into
something or somebody at least once.  The owner led this bunch into more
than one dead end and pointed out absolutely nothing.  I found a
nudibranch, some cool shells and a few little sharks on my own.

If Havaiki were to add a solar hot water heater, they would easily be the
best small pension in all of Polynesia.  The setting is exquisite on a
small white sand beach.  Your bungalow is within arm's reach of the
gorgeous turquoise water.  The fabulous view faces the pass and the
sunset.  Each bungalow has a small and large bed, porch, private cold
water bath and is simply but lovingly decorated.  We had no bug problems
but mosquito nets are provided.  Kayaks and bikes are free to guests. 
Snorkeling right out the door is decent.  There are nice touches like a
drying rack on each porch.  I could go on for days about the food: whole
mahi mahi, roast lamb, fresh parrot fish, all with exquisite sauces, pasta
carbonara, homemade soup, each meal better than the last.  Desserts were on
the simple side.  Clothilde and Joachim run a pearl farm and will let you
watch whatever process is underway.  When we were there, they had tons of
"D" quality pearls for $6 each, and good prices on very high
quality ones, but not much to choose from in the middle.  Night life
consists of  the sunset accompanied by Clothilde's potent rum punch.  Word
to the wise: rinse off your beach chair first thing - thier adorable boxer
"Cassis" is a sweetie but has the unfortunate habit of peeing on
them.  
Re getting there: Don't take the weekly Hawaiian Air flight from Honolulu.
 They stranded us for FOUR DAYS on the return.  On day #2, they actually
woke up a planeful of people at 2am, put them on the aircraft for a 5am
"departure" only to announce that the part was not yet in Tahiti
and probably wouldn't be for two more days!!  I got my self out of there on
the next Air Tahiti Nui flight (night flights meant I was only awake for 48
hours unlike alot of my fellow strandees) and am eagerly awaiting the many
first class round trip tickets Hawaiian is no doubt busily printing.     

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