Rangiroa, Fr. Polynesia - May 2009

An atoll is the ring of coral/lava that remains where the rim of a volcano once rose from the ocean. This is part of the Rangiroa atoll as seen from the air.

The Rangiroa atoll stretches for many miles, but only the section at the top is populated.

This is a close-up of the populated section of Rangiroa, which goes between the Avatoru and Tiputa passes. Not only are the airport and Hotel Kia Ora on this stretch, but it is the only stretch with a road, which simply goes from one end to the other.

Maps of the Avatoru and Tiputa, the two passes (gaps) in the Rangiroa atoll through which boats and divers pass.

My bungalow at Hotel Kia Ora.

Another section of the Kia Ora resort.

The dock of Top Dive, which is next door to Kia Ora, and with whom I did all my diving. I was only able to do 5 days of diving, but Top Dive was an excellent outfit with which to dive!

Although Rangiroa does not have the soft corals of Fiji and SE Asia, its hard corals are healthy and provide home to many fish, including these colorful anthias (2 inches long).

Rangiroa is known for drift diving, which is done during incoming tides through the two Northern passes (gaps) in the atoll. Here, a group of divers enjoys gliding along the coral reef during such a drift dive.

A winter wonderland? No, but the white sands around this tree-like coral formation do resemble a snow-covered landscape.

A hard coral provides refuge for a school of colorful tiny (1 inch) fish, which duck into its nooks and crannies at any sign of danger.

School of small barracuda (1ft long)

A school of small barracuda (1ft long) scatters to create an opening. If you look closely, you can see the reason; a black snapper in the center of the opening. As is true in most of the animal kingdom, any creature larger than oneself is considered a likely predator, so - even though the snapper is unlikely to go after the barracuda - they still give it a wide berth.

School of bannerfish (with school of jacks in background)

Longnose Butterflyfish

Red Snapper

Coral Trout

Moorish Idol

Butterflyfish

A large puffer (2 ft) takes a break from eating coral to swim in the open water.

Moray eel being groomed by two colorful cleaner wrasses (their tube-shaped mouths perfect for picking off parasites).

The Titan Triggerfish (2 ft) munches coral, but spends much of its time rummaging through coral rubble. Because he moves so much rubble around, smaller fish often hang around to see if he unveils tidbits they can grab. Here, several pairs of butterflyfish (which mate for life and are therefore most often found in pairs), as well as a Coris Wrasse (slender with yellow tail) are sticking close by.

The Titan Triggerfish (2 Ft) can be dangerous to divers if it is near its nest (which this one was not). It is always a good idea to assess this fish's temperament (e.g., jittery or calm) before approaching, as his coral-crushing teeth can extract a good chunk of flesh if he is protecting his young.

A Peacock Flounder blends well into the green "hillside" of coral and algae.