Kategorie: News
On the other side of the world
There are places whose very names sound like an exotic promise. Tahiti [taˈiːti] (just that sound alone!) is one such promise. Historically, it brings to mind James Cook, that classic South Sea atmosphere, and the age of adventure and discovery. As a diver, you picture photos of countless sharks and intense underwater encounters. From this perspective, too, these islands at the other end of the world hold a promise.
And so you are welcomed at the airport in true Polynesian style with traditional dances. Anyone who thinks this is a bit over the top is in for a surprise. A short while later, staff from the local tour operator place a traditional flower garland around your neck. A bit kitsch? Perhaps, but it’s still a charming gesture that gives you the feeling of having truly arrived.
The arrival itself, however, is also of real significance in this case. The standard journey from Central Europe takes you first to one of the major airports in the United States – in our case, Los Angeles – and then on to Papeete, the capital of French Polynesia. Whilst the first flight takes around twelve hours, the second adds another nine. And that’s not even mentioning the stopover in LA, which involves a further six to seven hours’ wait.
Although a short flight is required to reach our final destination, we first have a two-day stopover. That’s plenty of time to book a tour of the Tahitian highlands, admire the waterfalls and learn a bit about the history of the indigenous Polynesian people. As is so often the case, the arrival of the Europeans brought little good. And by this allusion, we’re not just referring to Captain Bligh and his ‘Bounty’.
As already hinted at, however, the actual destination of our ‘Waterworld’ group tour isn’t Tahiti, but the Tuamotu Archipelago, situated further east. So, back on the plane to complete the short hop to the atoll.
What on earth brings divers to this remote part of the world in June?
The answer is simple. On the first full moon in June, the ‘camouflaged groupers’ – or, to use a catchier term, ‘camouflage groupers’ – gather at the Tetemanu Pass and spawn simultaneously. The spawn is then carried out into the open ocean by the outgoing current.
With this in mind, we land at Fakarava’s provincial airport and are taken by shuttle to our home for the next two weeks. The ‘Aqua Tiki III’ is a catamaran that accommodates ten guests alongside four crew members. We dive in two groups, each with a guide familiar with the local area.
Precisely because our introduction is now dragging on just as long as our journey here, it’s time to dip our heads underwater and report on what lies beneath the surface. Our first dives off ‘Toau’ are planned as check and acclimatisation dives. In the water, however, we’re greeted by trusting manta rays, which make us completely forget about ‘checking’ anything at all. Having these gentle giants within arm’s reach, and experiencing their curious approaches time and again, makes even the check-in day an experience in its own right!
The very next day already shows that diving in the South Pacific is more than just ‘hanging out’ on the reef and admiring large manta rays as they float motionless. Our first channel in the ‘Apataki Atoll’ clearly demonstrates the limits of human swimming ability. In some spots exposed to strong currents, ‘diving’ becomes more like a form of mountaineering. But we’re richly rewarded for our battle against the forces of nature! Time and again, we see whole walls of sharks: blacktip, whitetip and grey reef sharks in such vast numbers that you can’t even count them. Occasionally, a lemon shark, a nurse shark or a silvertip joins them. And if that’s not enough, hammerhead and tiger sharks are also frequently spotted, though these apex predators keep a respectful distance from our bubbling group.
Unlike in the Maldives, where you try to anchor your reef hook at a good spot at the entrance to the channel and then wait, in the Tuamotus you try to avoid the current by taking shelter under overhangs and in small caves. So the sharks glide past the openings of the grottoes time and again, weightless and playful, whilst we kick, pump and blow litres of air into the water just to get here and back.
Due to the ratio of crew to guests, only two dives a day are carried out on the ‘Aqua Tiki’. This is, however, entirely understandable: everyone in the crew has a dual role! As the cook, Daisy is arguably the most important person on board. The cuisine, as you’d expect on an atoll in the middle of the ocean, is very fish-heavy. The only real alternative to fish is vegetarian cuisine; so it’s a bit of a challenge for die-hard meat-lovers. That said, towards the end of the tour, Daisy does manage to conjure up the odd piece of beef or chicken. When she’s not cooking or helping the dinghy moor, she’s changing the towels or… or… or.
Fred, the captain, sails the Aqua Tiki to the next destination. Often through the night, whilst during the day he drives the dinghy and oversees the diving operations. The dive guides are also ‘jack-of-all-trades’. They help guests with their kit, fill tanks, clean the boat or serve meals. A well-coordinated team; this is essential to get the job done!
Time flies and we’re approaching the full moon. We’re now back in the Fakarava Atoll, diving the legendary North Pass and, for the first time, the South Pass ‘Tetemanu’, where the grouper spawning is set to take place. Sharks accompany every dive. Of course, many are already here for the big event. Even the hunters of the seas wouldn’t miss an event like the spawning.
But before it comes to that, we treat ourselves to one more highlight: a twilight dive off Tetamanu. It takes a while to get going. At first, only a few sharks cross our path, whilst the gentle current drifts us further and further into the channel. As aloof and shy as these predators are during the day, they lose all inhibitions at night.
Before the dive, there’s a thorough briefing. Stay together, keep away from groups of sharks and dive three metres above the reef so as not to be right in the middle of it. But who wants to see photos of sharks from above?
At our own risk, we repeatedly feel the nocturnal hunters bumping into us, trying to push us out of the way and get closer to potential prey than we are. How should one – no, how can one describe this experience other than: breathtaking!?
After the evening’s adrenaline rush, the next morning brings the actual highlight of the trip: grouper spawning! An outflowing current and rather poor visibility. Yet at every turn, a nervous grouper lies in wait, ready to mate at the first opportunity. Then the first groupers begin to mate. Visibility continues to deteriorate as we witness this natural spectacle. You’re literally swimming in sperm and fish eggs. A strange thought, and yet the spectacle is fascinating. As abruptly as the natural event began, it is over again, and the groupers lie exhausted in every nook and cranny, much to the delight of the local shark population.
Our thoughts wander back to Tahiti as we treat ourselves to a really big steak. What a couple of weeks that was! Sharks, groupers – we’ve almost forgotten the manta rays from the start. Then there are the many things we didn’t even mention in our excitement: pushy Napoleon wrasses, posing octopuses, or simply shoals of fish. Unforgettable, incomparable! A real gem in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Although the black pearls of Tahiti could have been a chapter in their own right...
More Informationen:
Waterworld Tauchreisen
French Polynesia on Taucher.Net
Video (youTube): Tuamotu Archipelago