“Rangiroa”

Our first week was spent in total exotic and romantic bliss at Kia Ora Village on the beautiful island of Rangiroa, better know as “Rangi” to the locals. Rangi is a short 45-minute flight from the main island of Tahiti. In fact, almost every island has an airport and air service is provided by only one carrier; “Air Tahiti”. The lagoon within Rangi’s shores is so vast that you cannot see across to the other side, and this little piece of ocean is connected to the South Pacific Ocean at only 2 narrow channels. Each tidal change is punctuated by a monstrous current flowing into or out of the lagoon. Sharks, manta ray, turtles and a large variety of sea life are seen passing by on each such event. Many of those rocket rides through the pass carried human life forms as well. The water moves at up to 7 knots so it takes a little practice to learn to spin out of the flow and into a passing cave. The caves were always full of a variety of fish, including squirrel fish and reef sharks. Reef sharks would often surround us and examine us in detail. They were as curious as we were. The channel was over 250 feet deep in some places. We spotted a hammerhead shark and a group of eagle rays at 150 feet or more below us on a “channel crossing” dive. After a drop-off in the open ocean, we headed straight across the channel but we must have been carried a mile or more ‘down stream’ before reaching the other side. We were inspected by dozens of curious reef sharks as we approached the safety of the sloping channel wall and clung to anything fixed in position as we collected our strength for the next leg of the journey. Then, a firm push off the side and we were back in the blender. Don’t try to stop. It’s not going to happen. If you grab a rock to apply the breaks, make sure it’s bigger than you are!