"The greatest reward and luxury of travel is to be able to experience everyday things as if for the first time, to be in a position in which almost nothing is so familiar it is taken for granted.”
— Bill Bryson
SOUTH PACIFIC TRIP 2016
I knew that putting this experience into words would be a testing pursuit. I don't think it is possible to portray exactly the raw untouched beauty that lives within the islands of French Polynesia, nor is it possible to justly describe the kind, happy, loving and gentle people that inhabit these islands.
Over the next few months I will allow the story of our adventure to unfold and share experiences and stories of a life changing journey completed with great friends and family. To start, I've written a brief introduction to the trip and quickly touched on the unique and majestic islands that we visited.
SOUTH PACIFIC TRIP 2016
I knew that putting this experience into words would be a testing pursuit. I don't think it is possible to portray exactly the raw untouched beauty that lives within the islands of French Polynesia, nor is it possible to justly describe the kind, happy, loving and gentle people that inhabit these islands.
Over the next few months I will allow the story of our adventure to unfold and share experiences and stories of a life changing journey completed with great friends and family. To start, I've written a brief introduction to the trip and quickly touched on the unique and majestic islands that we visited.
To start with, this beautiful boat pictured above was home for me for the past three months. She is sailing yacht Elvis Magic, a stunning 66ft Oyster. I first met her on May 13th. Having never sailed on a yacht before I hadn't a notion of what adventures, experiences and knowledge she would give me during my time on her.
There were 8 of us on board. All friends and family, and each one of us ready for this life changing trip. Excitement grew between us as we had copious amounts of crew meetings via Skype from all parts of the world. Months and months of hard work and planning resulted in an incredibly safe, immensely happy and most definitely unforgettable adventure.
There were 8 of us on board. All friends and family, and each one of us ready for this life changing trip. Excitement grew between us as we had copious amounts of crew meetings via Skype from all parts of the world. Months and months of hard work and planning resulted in an incredibly safe, immensely happy and most definitely unforgettable adventure.
Elvis Magic set sail from Antigua to St Maarten via Barbuda for a quick kite surf. We provisioned in St Maarten before heading to the British Virgin Islands. Most of these islands were firsts for me. The BVI blew me away with its tropical Caribbean beauty. We spent a week cruising by Cooper Island, Norman Island and Tortola getting the final few problems sorted before our 5 day passage through the Caribbean Sea to Panama to visit the unique San Blas Islands.
The San Blas are a beautiful archipelago of Islands dotted all off the coast of Panama. They are filled with the hard working but happy Kunas who spend their days fishing and making intricate molas (stunning hand crafted, colourful squares of material covered in designs inspired by the sea and nature. There were four of us on Elvis Magic at this stage and we had a weird and wonderful experience with the friendly Kunas, which will unfolded in blog posts to come! After a short 3 magical days in the San Blas we headed up to Flamenco Marina in Panama to collect the rest of the crew.
Crossing the Panama Canal was an experience in itself. Comprised of 6 locks and 2 lakes we passed through it from the Caribbean to the wonderful Pacific Ocean in two days, stopping in Lake Gatun for a delicious dinner and a goodnights rest.
Entering the Pacific for the first time was a euphoric experience. Filled with adrenaline and anticipation we set sail for 6 days to the Galapagos Islands. To visit these unspoiled islands has sat at the top of my bucket list for a very long time. Covered in endemic species it was like waking up in the wild each morning, cheeky sea lions filled with character bask in the sunshine, greedy hungry pelicans litter the shores and beautiful blue-footed boobies soar high in the sky.
Entering the Pacific for the first time was a euphoric experience. Filled with adrenaline and anticipation we set sail for 6 days to the Galapagos Islands. To visit these unspoiled islands has sat at the top of my bucket list for a very long time. Covered in endemic species it was like waking up in the wild each morning, cheeky sea lions filled with character bask in the sunshine, greedy hungry pelicans litter the shores and beautiful blue-footed boobies soar high in the sky.
We visited three of the main islands in the Galapagos - San Cristobal, Santa Cruz and finishing off for our last fresh provision before the big crossing in Isabella. Again, more blog posts to follow portraying all that we loved and explored in this magnificent archipelago.
We had 18 peaceful and serene days at sea. Being surrounded by breathtaking skies, bold and boisturous waters and warm golden sunshine was pure bliss for me. The concept of sailing through the south pacific ocean and being immediately unreachable was both an immense pleasure and a slight fear. I enjoyed every second of the rhythmic lapping waves, the daily rise and fall of the sun and the continuous cycle of the moon. Each day slipped by as we discussed life, love and happiness and slowly sailed towards French Polynesia.
Seeing land for the first time was an overwhelming experience. We all rejoiced and were filled with accomplishment as we came into the volcanic island of Fatu Hiva, the southern most island of the Marquesas. As you can see from the picture above the landscape of these mystical islands is breathtaking. Each one of us were in complete awe by their natural cascading valleys and protruding sharp peaks.
We spent 8 days in the Marquesas exploring Fatu Hiva, Hiva Oa and lastly Nuka Hiva.
We spent 8 days in the Marquesas exploring Fatu Hiva, Hiva Oa and lastly Nuka Hiva.
We then set sail for 3 days to the next island group - The Tuamotus. This archipelago is composed of almost 80 islands and atolls and is one of the oldest island groups in French Polynesia. An atoll was something that I had never experienced before, or even knew of. I soon found that atolls are rings of coral left behind after the original island has eroded, resulting in a luminous blue lagoon in the centre. This allows for small stunning white sandy remote beaches with crystal clear clam waters and vibrant lush reef fish and sharks.
We first visited Takaroa, one of the smaller atolls in the Tuamotus, its small enough so you can see the entire ring of coral that wraps around the lagoon from the centre. I fizzed with excitement swimming around this marvellous paradise with reef sharks and colourful fish surrounding me.
We next visited Fakarava, the second largest atoll in the Tuamotus with a lagoon surface area of 430 square miles. It is immensely popular for its north and south diving sites. These diving locations are known for their enormous amounts of sharks and varieties of fish.
We first visited Takaroa, one of the smaller atolls in the Tuamotus, its small enough so you can see the entire ring of coral that wraps around the lagoon from the centre. I fizzed with excitement swimming around this marvellous paradise with reef sharks and colourful fish surrounding me.
We next visited Fakarava, the second largest atoll in the Tuamotus with a lagoon surface area of 430 square miles. It is immensely popular for its north and south diving sites. These diving locations are known for their enormous amounts of sharks and varieties of fish.
Our last group of islands were The Societies. Geographically these islands are stunning, with rings of coral similar to the Tuamotus and soaring volcanic landscapes like the Marquesas its extremely difficult not to fall head over heals for them.
They are divided into Leeward Islands and Windward Islands. We managed to visit Tahaa, Raiatea, Bora Bora, Tahiti and Moorea over our last two weeks in French Polynesia. Its hard to put into words the impact that these landscapes have on you. Being surrounded by such natural and untouched beauty is both consistency breathtaking and eyeopening. Waking up every morning to soft lapping water against the hull, sleepy pods of dolphins slowly circling the boat, and empowering silhouettes of vast mountains tops will be etched in my mind forever.
They are divided into Leeward Islands and Windward Islands. We managed to visit Tahaa, Raiatea, Bora Bora, Tahiti and Moorea over our last two weeks in French Polynesia. Its hard to put into words the impact that these landscapes have on you. Being surrounded by such natural and untouched beauty is both consistency breathtaking and eyeopening. Waking up every morning to soft lapping water against the hull, sleepy pods of dolphins slowly circling the boat, and empowering silhouettes of vast mountains tops will be etched in my mind forever.
Over time I will unfold stories and experiences from these islands and give a deeper meaning to the people and the lives that are lived within them. I just wanted to touch the surface and give a brief over view of this momentous trip that I will remember and hold on to every second of it for the rest of my life.