Permit· Fakarava· French Polynesia: Tuamotus, Marquesas, Gambier & Australs
Fakarava South Pass No-Anchoring Zone (NP Zone)
16° 31.3′ S · 145° 28.3′ W
The south-west side of Tumakohua Pass, including Les Sables Roses, was once the best bad-weather anchorage in the south. It is now a strictly protected no-anchoring area because of rare coral.
Practical
The coordinate is the former anchoring spot (Soggy Paws waypoint 5, 16°31.27'S 145°28.34'W, 12-14 ft over sand). It was closed in 2017 in conjunction with UNESCO because of rare coral; boats anchored there were asked to move (Duplicat; Jacaranda 2018 update). The 'NP' zone on the protected-area maps covers the south-west quadrant of the atoll, from just west of the south pass to south of Motus Topikite and Tapehoku, plus a thin strip along the western inner coast almost to the north pass. The 2025 brief: anchoring is totally prohibited in the Pink Sand area, a strictly protected area of the Environment Department. Visit by dinghy or by shuttle only, leave no trash, and no camping or fires. Since April 2024 every spot outside the five designated zones is also off-limits to anchoring, with 4th-class fines.
Best for
Knowing where not to drop the hook
Nearby
- Fakarava Pink Sands (Les Sables Roses, South Pass)0.3 NM away
- Fakarava Marbled Grouper Spawning (South Pass)0.7 NM away
- Range Marker Bight Snorkel (South Pass)0.7 NM away
- Shark Cave Observatory (Tumakohua Pass)0.7 NM away
- Tetamanu Coral Garden Snorkel (South Pass)0.7 NM away
- Tetamanu Village and Church (Fakarava)0.7 NM away
- Tumakohua Pass Wall of Sharks Dive (Fakarava South)0.7 NM away
- Pension Teramanu (Fakarava)0.8 NM away