Raivavae
From CruisersWiki
Raivavae Cruising Guide
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Raivavae is one of the Austral Islands in French Polynesia. It has a reputation as being one of the most attractive islands in the South Pacific, ahead of the better known Bora Bora.
Cruising the region
Charts
- Source
- Chart Number - Chart Name
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Radio Nets
Also see World Cruiser's Nets.
Weather
Give local weather conditions or refer to another page (a region or island group) that covers these conditions.
Sources for Weather forecasts:
Any navigation notes here. If this section does not apply remove it.
Check-in facilities (Customs and Immigration)
If there is no port of entry in the island omit this section, otherwise submit details about facilities for checking in - where to dock, location of immigration & customs, etc.
Berthing Options
Berthing options are limited to the anchorage only.
Anchorages
The main anchorage for Raivavae is in the lagoon off the main village of Rairua. This is where the post office and gendarmerie are located. Anchor anywhere further than about 100 metres from the wharf, holding is quite good in sand and mud.
You can bring your boat to the wharf and tie up for short periods to load water and any other heavy items (e.g. bicycle). Water as noted elsewhere has to be carried to the boat by jerry can.
There are further anchorages in the lagoon around the north side of the island. The passes on the east and west sides of the island to the southern half of the lagoon looked untenable to me in any vessel with a decent keel, perhaps local knowledge and/or a good lookout might help. The southern side of the island contains the more attractive motus, and so anchoring at the far eastern end of the northern half of the lagoon would give good access to those in a dinghy.
Offshore Islands
There are a number of motu including Motu Piscene dotted around the fringing reef.
Marine stores
Submit addresses and contact details of marine related businesses that are of interest to cruisers.
Fuel, Water, & Electricity
- Fuel
- Diesel or Petrol (Gas) can be obtained in the store on the southern side of the island, between Vairu and the airport. Check first because the store that sells fuel has changed recently and is likely to change again.
- Water
- Despite the information in several of the cruising guides, no water is available on the wharf at Raivavae. Instead, non-potable water (which can be drunk after boiling) can be carried in jerry cans from the Mairie, refill from a tap on the wharf road side of the Mairie. Drinking water is available for sale at stores on the north side of the island, one 19 litre bottle cost around $US20 in 2014.
- Electricity
- No electricity for yachts is available.
Things to do Ashore
There are 4 small villages ashore on the island. Clockwise, from Riaria (closest to the main anchorage), these are:
- Rairua
- Mahanatoa
- Anatonu
- Vaiuru
Tourism
The island is quite small and a full circuit of the island can be walked in a day. In addition to the main island and villages there are several motu around the fringing reef, incluing Motu Vaiamaru, better known to the locals as Motu Piscene. Several of the island Pensions offer day trips to Motu Piscene and it's an easy trip in a dinghy from the main anchorage. The scenery at Motu Piscene is worth seeing.
Near the Mairie at the main village of Rairua there is a small museum displaying (and selling) local artifacts. Over the course of a week I found the museum open only on one afternoon, but it's worth visiting if you see people around it indicating that it is open.
Grocery & Supply Stores
As of 2014 there were 4 or 5 small "magasins" or stores around the island. They were located:
- In Rairua, between the post office and the gendermerie. This store closed at midday.
- A larger store, run by the same person who ran the Rairua store, most of the way along the ring road to Mahanatoa.
- Magasin Angelique, in Anatonu, which seemed to carry a larger range of hardware and household items than the other stores.
- Another larger store on the south coast, about half way between the airport and the village of Vairu. This store also sold both Diesel and Petrol (gasoline).
Eateries
A few of the pensions will offer to cook non-guests a meal.
Internet/WiFi
Wifi access is available at the post office in Rairua. Connection hours can be purchased inside the post office and are useable from the seats outside the post office when the post office is closed. Speed is quite slow.
3G coverage is availale inside the lagoon, but SIM cards for the 3G provider (Vini) are not sold on the island. They can however be ordered via the post office, and take about 3 days to arrive from Papeete.
Laundry
One pension agreed to do a load of laundry for us but it wasn't cheap.
Motorbike & Car Rentals
None.
Garbage Disposal
Garbage can be disposed of in the large sack bins near the wharf.
Transportation
There is an airport on Raivavae with flights approximately 3 times per week to Papeete.
Routes/Passages To/From
List popular passages/routes, timing, etc.
Cruiser's Friends
Contact details of "Cruiser's Friends" that can be contacted for local information or assistance.
Forum Discussions
List links to discussion threads on partnering forums. (see link for requirements)
External Links
References & Publications
Books, Guides, etc. Use the Reference template or not at your discretion. For example:
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{{Reference|Rod Heikel|Greek Waters Pilot|Imray|Laurie and Wilson, Cambridgeshire (2010)|9780852889718}}, expands to - Rod Heikell, Greek Waters Pilot, Imray Laurie and Wilson, Cambridgeshire (2010), ISBN 9780852889718
- Author, Title, Publisher, ISBN ISBN number
- Author, Title, Publisher, ISBN ISBN number
Personal Notes
Personal experiences:
- Sailing to Raivavae in French Polynesia blog post by Peter and Jeanne of SV Watermelon.
Last Visited & Details Checked (and updated here)
Date of member's visit to this Island & this page's details validated:
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| | HOMEPAGE | Wiki Contents | South Pacific | French Polynesia | Australs | Raivavae | |
