French Polynesia -Diving with Jo Beth + Mark
First stop, Papeete airport where we were greeted with some very aromatic leis and a quick trip to the InterContinental Hotel. The hotel itself is large and comfortable, not our favorite type of hotel due to its size, but it was close to the airport and perfect for a hot shower and a comfortable bed for a much needed 2 night stopover before heading to the Tuamotu Archipelago.
About an hour's quick flight and a short boat ride we were brought to Tikehau where a charming Chefy, the resort manager, welcomed us to Ninamu Resort. What a perfect, little, private island awaited us! Our room, which was really a small bungalow down a well tended and wooden planked walkway, was ideal for us with room for 2 more people in the 2nd floor, unused loft. Plenty of hot water for our showers and aside from what we think was a blue coconut crab who tore into my snacks, we couldn’t have been more comfortable. We loved our private deck, overlooking the Pacific and the morning sunrise greeted us daily. The food, almost entirely fresh fish, was artistically and deliciously prepared. For island exercise, we would take our daily walk around the island being careful not to walk too quickly as it only took 15 minutes to circumvent the whole island. Shelling was difficult as every shell seemed to be moving on the sand and occupied by some sort of crab but that didn’t stop us from looking. The snorkeling in front of the resort was nice with an abundance of clam lips and some tropicals. As to the diving, Tikehau Diving came to pick us up at our dock at 8:30am promptly and after a quick 20 minute boat ride, we arrived at the ocean side of the pass, irregardless of the tides. We had expected to see more sharks and do more pass diving here but the reef, although not colorful, was healthy, pristine and filled with lots of varieties of fish. They don’t do pass diving. We did see manta rays, a tiger shark and a hammer head which is always exciting. Ten days was a good amount of time to spend here and the entire staff couldn’t have been nicer and more welcome.
Next stop, Fakarava, Pension Raimiti a family owned and run operation. Twenty one years ago, aboard a dive boat, we stopped at Fakarava and both of us remembered the sharks and pearl farms and hoped to see them both again. The pearl farms are gone, (I was really disappointed by that as I had planned on doing my souvenir shopping) but the sharks, oh my, the sharks! But I’m getting ahead of myself.
After another quick flight from Tikehau and connection thru Rangaroa, we arrived in Fakarava. We were whisked to the marina where we watched adults and children feeding nurse sharks off the pier. So sorry I didn’t grab my camera but we certainly knew we had arrived somewhere special. What should have been a one hour boat ride to Raimiti became a wave crashing 2 hour trip due to the wind but came complete with a glorious sunset. It was thrilling and we loved it! We arrived in the dark so it was not until the next morning when we actually got to see the property. Unlike their website, Raimiti was much more comfortable than we had expected. Our fare/accommodation was large enough for four people, more than ample for the 2 of us and the deck faced the spectacular sunrise and the Pacific. Plenty of hot water, almost daily rainbows, fresh water for our bottles and recently added electricity in the fare, which was an unexpected surprise., The beaches are all comprised of crushed pieces of variously sized corals so walking is done only with good water shoes and after our first island visit, we relished walking for hours. Day trips, if we weren’t diving, depended on the weather and were offered gratis daily which was always welcome. Meals were simply prepared and again were of mostly fresh fish. On the lagoon side of the resort, there were always black tip sharks circling and when one of the chefs threw in leftovers from the night before, we were all treated to some frenetic shark feeding. No-one, sharks or guests were ever hungry.
The diving, oh my the diving. Enata dive center is located on the property so a quick walk after breakfast took us to our gear, which the dive crew responsibly dunked and hung out daily and then onto the dock where the Zodiac awaited us. We were surprised to learn that all dives, due to the depth, were nitrox dives. We are certified nitrox divers but everyone, with or without certification was diving. We were told at dinner what time the next day, due to the tides, we would be heading out for our dive. A twenty minute boat ride and we arrived at the pass. The south pass, a Unesco Site, is known for its ‘wall of sharks’ and it did not disappoint. We were guided to between 80-90+' depth, sat on the rubble bottom, under an overhang or into what is called ‘the observatory’, a shallow, wide cave, and watched as hundreds of sharks cruised past us in every direction, above and below. Absolutely amazing, what we wanted to see on every dive and what we did see on every dive. Between dives, we motored to a small beach, drank hot tea and ate some cookies before taking the plunge again. As the dives were most commonly very early in the morning, we were back at the pension before lunch and had plenty of time to either walk on the beach, snorkel or boat with the other guests, who spoke mostly French as well as English, to another beach paradise for a picnic lunch.
As should be obvious, we enjoyed both locations. The properties were both well maintained, the staff worked hard to make us welcome, entertained, well fed, comfortable and relaxed. And now the usual question, where to next?
Thanks again for all of your help and knowledge. Another fabulous trip and yet another amazing adventure.
All our best,
Jo Beth and Mark (Jun 2026)