Motu Ofetaro — Attraction in Uturoa

Great islet to visit for a day in the beach, some snorkeling or just sunbathing! Easy to reach from Uturoa or Tepua by boat or kayak. I started from the boat ramp opposite the SupTepua supermarket, where you'll be able to park your vehicle as well. From there, you will have 1.4 km (0.9 mi) to row, which will take you about 20-25 min, the water is calm as it is within the coral reef, so it is an easy rowing unless the weather is very stormy. Once you approach the islet/Motu, you'll start to sea clearer water/sandy bottom and some coral formations. Approach the island on the north end where the pontoon is located, the south converges to the canal in between the two islets where the reef breaks and the water is more turbulent. If you surround the Motu around the north end you can kayak, swim, snorkel or even walk easily up to the northern reef, as the water is shallow (0.5 to 1.5 m) and not full of coral, so you can avoid stepping on it and damaging it. The Motu itself is a small walkable flat piece of land with a couple of small houses and some beaches to...

Had an amazing morning here. The coral reef on the northeast side is one of the best we’ve seen in Polynesia for snorkelling so far. Also did scuba diving in the deep pass in the southeast which was great. I have circled a screenshot in: Green for amazing snorkelling and amazing coral gardens, and yellow for good snorkelling with less current. The water clarity was really good. We saw clownfish, porcupine fish, lots of huge triggerfish, some reef sharks, lionfish and loads of colourful reef fish. The beach has quite a bit of broken coral so isn’t the best for sunbathing but is still white. There are plenty of picnic benches so take lunch with you. You can get here by boat from the port Uturoa (I believe around 2500 return), but we took kayaks and went to opposite Sup Tepua shop, and kayaked 20 minutes (exact) to the island. Just don’t go on a...

Fantastic. Watch where you walk. Stingrays enjoy the shallow right off the beach. They are chill…. Avoid Sundays if you don’t like busy, but if you snorkel between the islands out to the green marker towers, its like a wall snorkel. Spotted rays, reef sharks, turtles, healthy coral. A bit of current. Don’t be a weak swimmer if you exit the shallow, but its certainly the best. A rough toilet is available if...