More from the Gambier Islands

Tags: French Polynesia, Gambier Islands, Mangareva, Totegegie, hiking, sailing

Date: June 10, 2026

Our stay here at the Gambiers is pretty much dictated by the arrival of the supply boat so when the boat came in we also came back to Rikitea. On the arrival day of the boat the whole island is busy getting all the supplies off the boat so the grocery stores don't get new supplies until the next day. So we spent the day hiking across the ridge to the west side of the island, walked along the coast and then back up on the ridge to walk along it in the opposite direction than we did last time.

We stopped to have lunch on the way back up to the top of the ridge. We found a large fallen tree to sit on and had bread rolls with paté de campagne:

A the very top of the ridge, where the trail between Rikitea on the east side to Kirimiro on the east side intersects the trail along the ridge, a stone arch has been built so the trail between the two towns goes underneath the ridge trail:

The arch is called the "Arc de Triomphe" though it is a bit less imposing than the one in Paris.

Here is a part of the ridge trail that is not actually on the ridge but next to it:

From the top we had nice views of Rikitea with the red supply ship at the municipal dock:

Lots of sailboats anchored off town:

Amanda is second from the left.

Here is the view from further down as we are walking back into Rikitea:

Finally, a closer view of Taporo VIII as things are winding down before it leaves:

The supply boat was not the only large boat at Rikitea that week. A Peruvian fishing boat was intercepted by the Polynesian gendarmerie and escorted to Rikitea to be searched for illegal drugs. The Peruvian crew was taken ashore during this but no drugs were found. The crew was released to the boat again and the boat was anchored a little away from Rikitea in the lagoon for many days before finally leaving again. Behind the two crew on the fishing boat a huge bunch of bananas is visible. They have obviously come away from Rikitea with fresh supplies:

After provisioning in Rikitea and getting nice things like brie cheese, red wine, leeks, carrot, bell peppers, popatoes and other vegetables we headed out towards Totegegie. This is a long, narrow, island on the edge of the lagoon that harbors the airport of Gambiers. Here we look back towards Mangareva on the way out:

We anchored a bit south of the airport close to a shallow pass that connects the lagoon to the ocean:

We went on a short hike on the island to see the outside beach. A few people live at the southern end of the island and there is a narrow road leading from the airport toward those houses:

The beach was pretty stony, covered with broken coral and with the waves breaking:

Close-up of the coral pieces:

This is probably a Emoia impar aka a dark-bellied copper-striped skink:

On our way back, going towards the airport, we could see a plane in front of the airport building:

There are two weekly flights to the Gambiers, on Tuesdays and Saturdays. This was a Saturday and the airplane arrived as we were in the dinghy on our way to the beach and took off as we were leaving the island.

Mangareva seen from the beach in front of the airport:

A classic "dinghy on a tropical beach" picture:

The full moon is rising on a pink sky over Totegegie:

When we left Totegegie we went back to Taravai and bought some more produce and pork from Hervé and Valérie. One of the things we got was a bunch with 52 green bananas. After about a week they all turned yellow at the same time: