Pitufa.at

Yesterday we returned to Taravai and had lunch with the Polynesian church-caretaker family and some French cruisers this afternoon. The weather prediction for the coming week looks as good as it gets, so we’ll leave for the Marquesas tomorrow morning. We’re a bit sad to leave the little paradise we’ve found here, but maybe we’ll return in November to spend the cyclone season here. +++++++++++++++… Continue reading »

2013
31
Jul

Carpe diem

Instead of grinding down our nerves sitting on the boat in Rikitea while waiting for the right weather to leave we have now decided to seize our remaining days in the Gambier. We have sailed over to Taravai, visited the village caretakers again, got some veggies and fruit, did some laundry and enjoyed a sunny afternoon on Pitufa. +++++++++++++++++++ Anstatt sinnlos herumzusitzen und unsere Nerven… Continue reading »

2013
23
Jul

More pictures of Mangareva

2013
19
Jul

New Photo Gallery: Mangareva July Festival

2013
19
Jul

Mt. Duff

We used the sunny weather yesterday to hike up Mount Duff, the highest summit of the Gambier (441 m). The hike was quite steep, but we were rewarded with incredible views of the whole archipelago. Today the weather’s back to ‘normal’ winter weather with dark clouds, lots of rain and ferocious gusts. We’re finally growing tired of the cold and are discussing moving north to… Continue reading »

2013
16
Jul

Photos of our snorkeling trips

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2013
11
Jul

Article on Melilla in Ocean7 Magazine

Our Articel about the Spanish town Melilla on the coast of Morocco has finally been published in the current (July/August) issue of the Austrian sailing magazine Ocean7. The pdf can be downloaded here (in German only). Birgit Hackl, Christian Feldbauer: Melilla — Multikulturelles Spanien an der afrikanischen Küste, OCEAN7 04 (Juli/August) 2013, p. 26–27. download PDF (in German only)

2013
07
Jul

Festival in Rikitea

On Friday we came back to Mangareva for the annual cultural festival. This festival’s the most important event of the year here, it lasts two weeks, there are lovingly decorated food stands and each day some event is scheduled. The two competing dance groups of the island have practiced every day for two months (we heard them drumming every night and checked on their progress… Continue reading »

2013
07
Jul

Photos of Taravai

Taravai is our favourite island in the Gambiers so far, so we put a more extensive gallery together. Though, uploading it took quite some time…

2013
02
Jul

Back to Taravai

The Gambier Islands are an ideal site to overcome the reef navigation anxiety that we’ve developed in the San Blas. With the help of crystal clear waters, accurate charts and GPS tracks from other boats we’re slowly gaining confidence. Satellite images from Google Earth are a great help, too. Despite all that we’re still nervous before setting out to a new destination, we can feel… Continue reading »

2013
30
Jun

Photos of Aukena and Totegegie

2013
29
Jun

Aukena

After leaving Rikitea we briefly visited the low, long island of Totegegie. It’s just a part of the outer reef that sticks out of the water with some pines and palmtrees growing on half of it, the ocean crashes against the beach smashing the corals to pieces. The other half has been cleared to make way for the airstrip. Two days later we moved on… Continue reading »

2013
13
Jun

Up the mountain!

We’re still in the Baie Angui on the little island of Taravai. It’s windy again, but at least we’re partly protected here (some gusts make it over the hills) and it’s been sunny for two days. We’ve learned that the weather changes so quickly here that one really has to take advantage of good weather to go snorkeling/hiking – if you try to finish a… Continue reading »

2013
12
Jun

Our second cruising anniversary

Exactly two years ago we set out on our adventure from Croatia with the aim of reaching the South Pacific as quickly as possible–it took us two years in the end, but now we’re here We celebrated this special day with a picknick on a remote beach on the island of Taravai (Gambier, French Polynesia) with our friends from s/v Irie, contemplating how lucky we… Continue reading »

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2013
28
May

Our first impressions of French Polynesia