We visited Tikehau last year and frankly, it was not one of our favorite atolls in the Tuamotus. However, we did not really give it a fair chance. The weather was horrid and we ended up hiding inside our boat at one anchorage during most of our stay (blog post 12/2019). So, we decided to return to Tikehau on our way through the Tuamotus.
After our wonderful sail from the Society Archipelago, we had a smooth entrance through the pass and headed straight for our anchorage. There is only one channel inside the lagoon which starts at the pass and ends at the village. The rest of the lagoon is littered with bommies and small motus that pop up in random places. In order to traverse the lagoon, you have to constantly monitor the charts and have a look out. The photo below shows Sugar Shack at the pass anchorage (the red arrow), then the channel pink lines with red markers (that look like “i”) down to the village.
Tikehau Navionics Chart
We ended up anchoring about 1 mile from the village at the first orange anchor. After the channel ended we navigated our way to an anchorage in front of the Pearl Beach Resort Tikehua. Our friends on Jolly Dogs, Maple, and Moggy were here as well.
Exploring the Motus
Matt and I had great fun exploring the surrounding motus in search of sea treasures. Each motu is unique but they all share basic characteristics. They are fairly flat, covered in coral, little bit of sand, and lots of coconuts.
The first motu we came to actually had this really pretty pinkish sand. When the sun shone on the sand it would turn maroon, brown, and a little orange. Really pretty.
In between the motus are little rivers or pools of water that flow from the Pacific to the lagoon. Top photo shows us at one motu, overlooking the water between to another motu with the boats at anchor behind.
The water inside the Tikehau lagoon is really warm, like bath water. Which is super fun, but not as refreshing as you’d like on a hot day.
Motu Tohuarei
After a few days at the Pearl Beach Resort anchorage we picked up the hook and headed to a new motu. Only 3nm away, yet it feels like a new world. This pretty little spit of land is literally in the middle of the lagoon surrounded by its own reef.
Matt breaks out the drone to give you a bird’s eye perspective. Truly beautiful.
Tikehau Anchorage
We explore the motu and snorkel all over the reef which are teaming with schools of fish and coral.
Blessed with a beautiful sunset each night.
Pass Anchorage
It was hard to leave considering we had this little motu all to ourselves. However, it was time for us to head to the pass anchorage to prepare for our departure from Tikehau. We took a new route across the lagoon instead of backtracking. Sugar Shack have 3 sets of charts and me at the bow as a look out – so why not.
On the way, we passed by another little motu called Motu Mauu which would have been fun to anchor at if we had time. Super pretty with lots of coral and fish around it.
Always on the look out for the bommies which can be small bits of land sticking out or coral heads just under the surface. The one in the photo was pretty easy to spot, but some are super hard to see if the sun is not just right.
Bommie hiding under the water surface
7nm later we arrived to the pass anchorage where 9 other boats were located. So much for the peace and quiet. The good news is our friends on Hoodoo are here along with a lot of birds!
We enjoy snorkeling the pass and doing slow drifts with the incoming tide. The pass is full of lots of fish including a huge school of barracudas, tons of puffers, a few eels, and flounders.
We are so glad we came back to Tikehau. The tranquility of this little atoll (during good weather) was amazing. The warm waters, friendly people, and pretty motus were wonderful to explore.
Events from this blog post occurred around the 3rd week of November, 2020. Our blog posts run 8 weeks behind our adventures.