Christmas on Bora Bora is hard to top, but Rangiroa managed to do it. We had never been here before but included it in our holiday plans because I heard that the diving was good. I really didn’t look much farther into it, just figured we would check it out. Rangiroa is a large atoll (the largest in the world), which means it is low-lying coral islets without a spectacular volcanic island like Bora Bora. We stayed at the Hotel Kia Ora which was quite nice. We chose to dive with The Six Passengers, and I would highly recommend them. They are a very professional dive operator offering spectacular diving.
Rangiroa diving is all about big animals. We dove the Tiputa pass every dive and were never disappointed. Every dive was different, depending on the direction and strength of the current. We saw a lot of big animals, but the real attraction is the dolphins. Wild dolphins will occasionally decide to interact with divers. Just seeing groups of dolphins swim by is exciting, but when they approach and play with you–UNBELIEVABLE!
After the first close encounter with wild dolphins, that became the standard by which all other dives were judged. During our time in Rangiroa, we saw mantas, eagle rays, grey sharks, reef sharks, schools of jacks and barracuda . . . Always something exciting to see, but you are always glancing out into the blue, hoping the dolphins will return. It sounds ridiculous to surface after a dive and say, “no dolphins, only a hammerhead shark” with a degree of disappointment in your voice. Rangiroa is THAT GOOD!
