To conclude this mini series with the final of 4 stops during this new round in French Polynesia to discover the Tuamutus (Tahiti, Tikehau, Rangiroa), I'll admit these posts don't provide so many useful running tips: indeed, Fakarava is another atoll with only one road to run on and no way to get lost between the Pacific Ocean on one side and a huge lagoon on the other. Fakarava is the second largest atoll in the archipelago, only second to the second largest in the world, Rangiroa. And with a spectacular perfectly rectangular shape which means it is the top of once a rectangular mountain, how odd! 37 miles long by 13.
Like other atolls, it is a string of islands and islets, or motus. We stayed on the main island which hosts the airport. From the airport, it's 4 kilometers to the city hall which marks kilometer 0, and we were staying at a lodge at the end of the paved road, 15 kilometers down South (at the upper end of the strip of land you see on the above picture). To the North, passing the airport, the paved road goes for 10K, a good size road worth 50K, round trip. But, with another 2-night stay, I only ran 20 miles on that road on Saturday. (Click on the image below or this link.)
On the map below, it feels like running on water in the middle of the ocean! Such an incredible natural phenomenon to have these miles and miles of thin strips of land, just a few feet feet above the water, so uniformly! Even pictures barely give justice to these wonders and scale.
On Sunday morning before our flight to Tahiti/Papeete then SFO, I ran 10 miles on the dirt road continuing the paved one through the South of the island. I only went 5 miles South while that dirt road seems to be 10 miles or so. While there are much less mosquitos than on the previous 2 atolls we visited this time, I encountered a few while crossing denser vegetation a few miles in my run. Beware, they aren't big but hungry!
As opposed to my 48K run in Tahiti the previous Sunday, there are no shops except in the village near the town hall. You'll have to carry enough water and, in this tropical heat, we need quite some to make for some heavy sweat...
We also biked on the paved road but we didn't visit the South Pass which is a jewel for divers with the atoll being part of the UNESCO biosphere heritage. Only 2 days... Great snorkeling in the lagoon right off the beach though.
I highly recommend the place we stayed at, the Fafapiti Lodge. Brand new and fancy bungalows, super sustainable management (rain water, solar energy), family atmosphere while sharing meals with hosts Valérie and René, plus captivating and educational tips listening from their former long experience as diving instructors.
Again, for those living in California, this amazing place, Tahiti and French Polynesia, is only one direct flight away from either LA or San Francisco, and only 3-hour time difference, so not much jet lag to manage. And for my running buddies, I hope I made the point with these 4 posts that it was possible to get some good running on these atolls. For my French compatriotes, that's much further but you owe to visit and get to know this (your!) French overseas collectivity. As for us, after a few Society Islands in 2019 and Tuamotus this time, we plan on going back to visit a few Austral Islands at least, which are said to be a completely different experience (geology, climate). With 111 islands and atolls, this archipelago is so vast, a size comparable to Western Europe, and so diverse, a whole year wouldn't be enough to explore!
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