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The best is one hour an a half away by speedboat
across the lagoon and along beautiful beaches to Tetamanu where Sane
Richmond and his wife run a small B &B located at the inner edge of
the south pass, in a beautiful area near some charming remnants of a
bygone Polynesian village. There is even an old church with the date of
1875 above the door. Being there is overwhelming, like stepping into
one of those old South Seas novels, where adventure and discovery is mixed
with breathtaking scenery, romance, and the warm, sensual trade winds in
the coconut palms. If you need to de-stress, this is the place.
Sane's mini-resort
consists of 4 small waterfront bungalows right at the edge of the pass, a
few feet from a pristine coral garden. They are clean, with twin beds and
a small table There is a clean communal bathroom with cool showers, which
are often welcome in this warm environment.
The restaurant is built on stilts on the reef at the edge of the drop-off
and serves family-style excellent fare, with lots of local fish barbecued
or prepared in delicious Tahitian recipes. Lunch time is show time when
you will be amazed by every type of fish - from 6 foot moray eels to
groupers to small sharks - fighting for the scraps of food from your plate.
Snorkeling there is the best of anywhere, and
Scuba diving in this tropical aquarium couldn't be easier: when the tide
is even, simply jump off the restaurant deck into this purple dream, sit
yourself at the bottom ( 80" ) of the pass, and watch the crowd go by,
just like in a Paris cafe. Except you are in 80 degree water
witht180" visibility. And the crowds is made-up of tropical fishes
who come to check you out, including many huge napoleon wrasses, white-tip,
black-tip and (harmless) grey sharks and sometimes manta rays.
Another cool dive - or snorkling - excursion is
to Sane's black pearl farm where you can see the large oysters suspended
in mid-lagoon, and if it is the right time of year, even observe the
delicate procedure of graft implenting in the live oysters. For a small
fee, Sane may even let you dive for your own pearl, and who knows, you may
hit the jackpot !
Sane can also take you to the middle of the
lagoon to explore virgin beaches and desert islands full of nesting birds.
For
more general information
on French Polynesia, go to: |
