Wildlife· Motu Tauna· French Polynesia: Tuamotus, Marquesas, Gambier & Australs
Motu Tauna Anchorage and Bird Colony
23° 8.6′ S · 134° 51.1′ W
A tiny bird-nesting motu on the eastern reef with some of the healthiest coral left in the lagoon. Its sandy shelf offers clear-water anchoring in easterlies.
Practical
Coordinate from Sugar Shack (Jan 2022): 4 m of sand, clear of bommies, 25 m of chain and no floats. Pitufa advises anchoring on the 4-5 m sandy shelf just north of the motu (23 deg 08.574'S 134 deg 51.132'W). Anchoring blind in the deep blue areas will damage live coral even with a floated chain. Good protection in E winds, rolly in southerly swell. Coming from Mangareva, you pass active and abandoned pearl farms and submerged buoys, so keep a lookout. Birds nest ashore: land quietly and keep away from nests. The long sandbank that ran south, once a kitesurfing spot, washed away in a 2019 storm. Tauna was one of the quarries for St Michael Cathedral's coral stone.
Best for
Bird colony, healthy coral and easterly-wind anchoring
Season
E winds, little S swell