Rangiroa is the biggest atoll of the Tuamotos, but still feels very remote. Here, we were camping in someone’s back garden, a place we found on AirBnB as the usual choice for campers, Rangiroa Plage, was fully booked. It wasn’t the best place, setting up our tent on hard and sometimes sharp pieces of coral. For 5 nights I worried about our inflatable sleeping mats and tent. But for now it seems like it survived… Rangiroa itself is also no beauty. We knew there would be no beaches, but to see only dead coral everywhere was sad. We cycled the whole length of the island and there really wasn’t much to see or take photos of. 

 

The best part for us was the spot at Tiputa Pass where you can watch dolphins in the afternoon, jumping in the waves. We went there many times with the mission to take the perfect picture.

 

Of course, we also had to go see some underwater action in the Tiputa Pass! However, once again after Tikehau, we were kind of disappointed. There were definitely more sharks to see than in Tikehau, but only reef sharks once again and not in masses either. On the first dive we had 2 dolphins coming close for a bit, but they didn’t stay long to play. We met a lot of people who had expected more of the famous Tiputa Pass than there was. I guess that’s always the danger when a destination gets so much hype – your high expectations might not be met. I’m not saying the diving wasn’t good – but it isn’t one of these places that we’re gonna remember for the rest of our lives. Even people who did 10+ dives there didn’t have much better experiences. Maybe they got lucky once or twice in that time with a hammerhead or a longer dolphin encounter. But that was it!

I think my favourite part about Rangiroa (next to watching the dolphins from the shore) was a yearly festival that we were lucky enough to see. The Farerei Haga was really cool! They had some competitions in the afternoon, like boat races or rock lifting which were fun to watch and quite impressive. And every night at 7pm there was a dance show given by a different dance group from the Tuamotus or Tahiti. And it was all for free! The dances were beautiful and they really put a lot of effort into them. Everything was well choreographed and they changed outfits after almost every dance. We went there three evenings during our time in Rangiroa and it was great every time!! Some groups were adults, some just kids but they were great! Once we were lucky to get front row seats for good pictures – so here are some:

 

The festival really made our stay in Rangiroa so much better, an island which otherwise didn’t fulfill our expectations at all…

…except for the Blue Lagoon tour we did one day! It was an all day boat tour, crossing through the whole lagoon to the other side of the atoll where the Blue Lagoon – kind of a mini lagoon inside the lagoon – is located. It was a 1 h ride across, but weather conditions were perfect and when we arrived we were straight away captivated by all the blues of the lagoon and the little picture-perfect islets with photogenic palm trees. What was more and super special for us: sharks everywhere!! Seriously, we have never seen that many blacktips in one place at once! And cute little baby ones, just the size of my underarm! And all of that in perfect clear water, white sands and a turquoise shimmering lagoon in the background. Awesomeness!

 

Our guide took us for a short walk, more through the water than on land, to Bird Island with some very nice views along the way. We were taught how to open a coconut and how to make a hat out of palm leaves. Then it was time to return to the main island where a delicious bbq lunch was waiting for us, yummy! We really enjoyed our time at this special place.

 

Too soon it was time to leave, but on the way back we made a stop for snorkelling which was amazing! There wasn’t much of a reef, but sharks, sharks, sharks!! Mainly blacktips once again, but also some huge lemon sharks! They were a bit more shy, so it was harder to get close to them, but when we managed we had some really impressive and close encounters! A perfect ending to a perfect day – and without this lagoon tour we probably wouldn’t have such fond memories of Rangiroa now. So if you go…do not miss out on this tour!