I am now back in Auckland catching up with my family after almost 5 months away.  I fly back to Papeete on 8 August - so watch this space!

Raiatea lies about 20 miles westward of Huahine and we have set off on the most glorious sunny  morning.  

Tahitian pearl farming can produce black pearls which mean the marine cultured pearls produced from the black lip pearl oyster shell.

The Tuamotus certainly lived up to our expectations, plenty of crystal clear blue waters and fabulous snorkelling and diving. Now we’re moving on to the Society Islands.

The Society Islands are made up of twelve major islands divided into a Windward cluster of five and a Leeward cluster of seven islands.

Rangiroa is Tuamotuan for “vast sky” and is the largest atoll in the Tuamotus, and one of the largest in the world, it’s 40 miles long and 17 miles wide at its widest point.

Since October 2006, the commune of Fakarava has been classified as a Biosphere Reserve in UNESCO’s World Heritage due to its specific characteristics and its natural and cultural heritage.

Anchor up and we are off to the Tuamoto Archipelago, first stop Raroia.  It’s about a two day sail so we should be there around lunchtime on Monday.

It’s not just about G&T’s and watching sunsets on the bow!

Home of the Puamotu people, the Tuamotu Archipelago is an enormous arc of exclusive coral atolls and lies between the Society Islands and the Marquesas Islands. 

We had some luck getting the water maker fixed and decided to head off immediately for Fatu Hiva, I loved Hiva Ora but it was definitely time to explore our last stop in the Marquesas.

After a lovely catch up and walk with Sheryl and Mike, we said our goodbyes until we meet back at the NZYS on 30 July for the 150th Anniversary dinner.

We pulled into Taha uku Bay  which is in the crater of the volcano, behind the breakwater around 4pm - it’s a cute little bay and there are a number of catamarans here too.

Well needs must and in the absence of my resident Salanjo Coiffeur, Jo, I had to take matters into my own hands this morning and put on the colour myself.

Nuku Hiva is the administrative capital of the Marquesas Islands and the largest island in French Polynesia after Tahiti, at 330 sq kilometres.

The Marquesa Islands are the most northerly territory of French Polynesia and consist of six large and six small islands.

Cocktails and dessert – don’t mind if I do!

So here we are having just arrived in French Polynesia yesterday morning.  It’s great to be on terra firma for a little while after our mammoth sail.

We sailed out of San Isabela for our long haul to the Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia. A journey of 2986 miles. Averaging around 200 miles a day.

We arrived in Puerto Villamil just in time for a sunset drink and to plan our following day. Isla Isabela is the most western island of the 3 Galápagos Islands and is home to 5 active volanoes,