It is a king’s tide which means an adventure for its peasants!  As you know, the tidal range change with the different phases of the moon.  During a “king’s tide” with a full moon, the low tide is lower and the high tide is higher.  How does this open up to an adventure?  The lowest tide exposes the reef allowing us to walk a mile and a half from Puaumu to Tepapuri. Under normal conditions, this walk is unattainable as it becomes a swim.

This is not an arduous walk as it is flat and not very far (round trip 3 miles).  However, you have to be incredibly careful as you walk across the live coral where millions of sea critters call home.  Trying to avoid the live coral, sea creatures, and plants can be challenging as you walk across the slippery, slimy surface.

The top photo shows Teapuri in the way distance (small spec of trees just past the reef).  The bottom photo shows Puaumu in the way distance beyond the close motu.

We left Sugar Shack around 0630, secured Sweetie, our dinghy, and began our adventure.  Super pretty and brisk in the early morning.

We traversed over the reef making our best attempts to avoid any living organism.  It is always amazing to me to see what lies beneath the sea.  And with low tide, it is all exposed.  How do these guys survive when the tide is low and they are out of water for hours at a time?

The top two photos are looking at Teapuri and the bottom photo is looking at Puaumu.

Hidden Discoveries at Low Tide

Pretty coral heads were scattered throughout the reef ranging in color from pink, purple, green and white.  Little green and pink plants were also peppered throughout the reef.  The sea cucumbers out number all of the sea creatures, but they are very easy to spot (large, black, turd looking animals – see image top right).

We encountered lots of critters waiting for the water to return.  Several eels made came out to greet us in their not so friendly way.  One eel scurried from one pool of water to another.  These eels are all under water but it is so clear that you can’t tell in the photos.

A ton of little crabs put on a display of power as we walked by.  They may be small but I wouldn’t want their pinchers anywhere near my 10 little piggies.

I tried to do a panorama showing the high tide vs the low tide.  But based on the lower image and the break in the sea I would say I suck at keeping my hands steady. But you get the idea.

Me taking advantage of the low tide by walking out to the edge of the berm…I look like a lion with all that hair.

Here is a beautiful photo of the full moon.  It was spectacular and glorious to look at.

Events from this blog post occurred on 26 April, 2021.  Our blog posts run 10-12 weeks behind our adventures.