Mount Rotui

An Alternative Activity

Together with Ilke, Martin, and their four children, Fedde, Anniek, Hidde, and Jurre from SV Topaas, we wanted to do a fun activity that did not involve water or sun. We decided to go to Mount Rotui in Cook’s Bay.

The Legend of Mount Rotui

At the foot of Mount Rotui, an 899-metre mountain that watches over Cook’s Bay like a guardian, lies the Rotui juice factory. Behind the tranquillity of the mountain lies a fascinating legend full of mystery: the story of Hiro, the God of Thieves, who sailed with his gang from Raiatea to Moorea to steal Mount Rotui. They tied long, twisted lianes to the top and pulled with all their strength, causing part of the mountain to come loose. This was a feat that only gods could accomplish. However, their plan was thwarted by Pai, another god, who woke up and took action. He hurled his spear from Tata’a Hill towards Moorea and pierced a peak now known as Mou’a-puta, the Pierced Mountain. The spear flew out over the sea and lodged itself in Raiatea. Hiro and his companions, fearing the wrath of the spear, gave up their attempt but took a hill of Mount Rotui with them to Raiatea. To this day the hill stands there, covered with ‘toa’, iron trees that stand out among the surrounding vegetation.

The Treasure of Rotui

Henri Moore, a botanist, revealed the true treasure of Mount Rotui when he discovered that these “iron trees” were actually pineapple plants. The graceful lines of the pineapple plants can still be seen around the mountain. In addition to being a fruit juice factory, it is also a rum distillery, and visitors are welcomed daily. Here you can see how the abundance of local tropical fruits, such as Queen Tahiti pineapple, papaya, mango, bananas, noni and passion fruit, are transformed into refreshing fruit juice and the unique Brut d’Ananas sparkling wine, the only one of its kind in the world. The pineapples are carefully selected, cut, pressed and bottled at the factory.

A Stormy Journey

It was a stormy day on the way to the Rotui juice factory! With our dinghy and that of SV Topaas, we bounced wildly over the waves, the wind relentlessly in our faces. Every time a wave hit the bow, we got a shower, and before we knew it, we were soaked to the bone. When we arrived at the shore, it looked like we had been swimming instead of sailing. Even our backpacks, filled with so-called ‘spare’ clothing, were dripping with salt water. There was little choice but to continue in our soaked clothes—there was no point in changing because our ‘dry’ clothes were just as wet. Ilke and Martin had cleverly packed their things in waterproof bags so they could change with a laugh while we squeezed the excess water out of our clothes, dripping on the side.

Visit to the Juice Factory

After SV Topaas had changed, we walked together towards the juice factory. The sun was shining brightly and the wind was barely noticeable on shore. By the time we arrived at the Rotui juice factory, we were almost dry again. Explanatory signs were hung everywhere in the factory. We could follow the process from pressing and filling the juice to packing the cartons in boxes, which are then ready for transport. Over the years, Rotui has grown into one of the largest juice producers in the region, with a reputation for quality and innovation.

After the tour of the factory, we walked to the adjacent shop, where a tasting was also offered. Here we could taste different types of fruit juices and we had the chance to try various rums and other products from the distillery, such as liqueurs and spirits. It was a very nice morning.

Lunch at Aoy Thaï FoodWe started to get hungry and Ilke had read about a nice Thai food truck that was nearby. After a leisurely walk we found Aoy Thaï Food, where we were welcomed by a friendly woman who told us that the mini-restaurant is run by her and her husband only. The food was delicious, and despite the fact that there were nine of us, it didn’t take longer than 15 minutes before we all had our food. We enjoyed the food down to the last noodle!

Jurre’s birthday

We met SV Topaas about a year and a half ago in Martinique, and despite the fact that we both sailed different routes, we met again in Panama. Since then we have followed more or less the same route, and now we are here together in Moorea. It is always fun for the children to celebrate birthdays with other boats, and this time Jurre was lucky: not only us but also An and Thomas from SV Aspro were there.

An and Thomas left Panama on the same day for the Marquesas Islands, and on the way, we regularly kept in touch via WhatsApp or Instagram. It was really nice to see each other in person finally. The children had baked two delicious cakes, we sang for Jurre’s birthday, and he was spoiled with all sorts of treats. It was a great morning, and we all went out for dinner in the evening. Both SV Topaas and SV Aspro will sail from here towards Tonga and New Zealand while we return to Tahiti and then set course for the Tuamotus.

Departure for Tahiti and Tikehau

With Barbara and Ralph from SV Lille Venn we will sail back to Tahiti the next day. Barbara will leave in a few days for a few weeks to work in Switzerland, while we will sail with Ralph to Tikehau in the Tuamotus. A big storm has been raging around the islands and the Tuamotus for more than two weeks, and it doesn’t seem to be ending anytime soon. Fortunately, the high mountains of Tahiti and Moorea make it possible to sail safely between the islands and lie sheltered at anchorages, waiting for better weather. Every day, we eat together with Barbara and Ralph, and the card game Wizard is a favorite game for the five of us. Then, the moment arrives to say goodbye to Barbara temporarily. We then dive into the preparations: shopping, filling the boat with diesel and buying the last spare parts. As soon as the weather permits, we want to set course for Tikehau.

Around August 30, we see a small weather window that we closely watch several times a day. Will it remain stable? Directly behind this window, a large storm rages with waves four meters high and wind gusts of up to 40 knots, which we would rather not get caught in. The weather forecast remains the same: it is 180 nautical miles to Tikehau, and with the predicted wind, it will take us about 33 hours. The weather window shows about 36 hours of calmer weather, which should be enough. To be on the safe side, we sail to Point Venus a day in advance, which saves us another 10 NM for the crossing. Sailing to Point Venus, we all see a whale jumping out of the water in the distance. Wow, wow, wow! Rajesh saw it even better through the binoculars, and it remains an incredible spectacle that such large whales have the strength to jump entirely out of the water.

On August 30th at 6 am, we lifted anchor and set off for Tikehau. It was a beautiful sailing trip in which we could finally enjoy the ocean and the nature around us, including dolphins that showed themselves briefly. The wind was sometimes less strong than expected, which meant that we had to use the engine every now and then to maintain sufficient speed. Around 1 pm we arrived at the Tikehau pass, where Ralph had arrived just before us. He had anchored his catamaran at the pass and went with the dinghy to see if the current was going in or out of the pass and how strong it was. We had read that the current outward could be up to 12 knots, which would mean that we would not be able to sail through.

Arriving safely in Tikehau

When Ralph was back on board, he reported that there was a current of 1.5 knots in the pass, which made it safe to sail in. With Jeroen on the bow to look out for shallows and “bommies” (coral rocks just below the surface), Rajesh keeping an eye on the chart plotter, and me at the helm, we sailed in. Almost through the pass we came into an area with crashing waves, which caused the boat to nod vigorously. Fortunately, everything went smoothly and we were soon safely inside the atoll, which gave a feeling of relief! We made it in before the storm!

Within the atoll we first followed the indicated sailing route on the map, but later we came to an undocumented part, where we were completely dependent on Google Maps, the sun, our eyes, and the depth gauge. Finally we anchored in 9 meters of water behind a piece of beach with some trees, waiting for the stormy wind that had been predicted for the coming weeks. Those predictions turned out to be correct: for days the wind continued to blow with wind speeds of up to 40 knots. Still, we didn’t let this discourage us, because we knew our anchor would hold. We didn’t have to do anything and enjoyed the peace: cooking, reading, writing, and when the wind dropped to 20 knots, we went to the beach to explore a bit.

So, despite the rough weather, we were completely in our element. In our next blog, you can read about what else Tikehau has to offer.