Tetamanu Jetty

The wooden jetty at Tetamanu village sits where the south pass exhales into the lagoon, and its few meters of water hold an unreasonable share of Fakarava's charm. Blacktip reef sharks circle the pilings all day, utterly indifferent to the snorkelers hanging above them; snapper and butterflyfish crowd the coral shelf; the pink-sand channels glow at low sun. Divers finishing the pass drift often surface here grinning, but the jetty deserves its own unhurried hour — mask, fins, and patience. Children from the village pension swim alongside sharks with a nonchalance visitors remember longer than most dives.

The moment you come for: Blacktips beneath your fins from the first minute; pink-sand shallows at golden hour; the Tuamotus at their most intimate.

Topography: Coral shelf, pilings, and pink-sand channels at the lagoon end of Tumakohua Pass

Current: Pass-driven flow past the pilings at tide changes; locals read it at a glance.

Entry: Step off the old village jetty at the south pass mouth; currents dictate whether you drift or potter.

Hazards: Tidal flow toward the pass on the outgoing phase — stay lagoon-side of the jetty when it runs.

Conservation: The sharks' calm is generations old — no feeding, no grabbing, and give village life on the jetty right of way.