Hoba Bay, Pana Numara

Highlights

• Snorkel the western point of Hoba Bay at the right tide - red fan corals, reef sharks, strong current
• Trolling west of the anchorage
• Cray or ray fishing with locals in the lagoon to the west

Stories from our visits

Tracey, the Sunday-school teacher, paddled out with a polite written request for stationery. By the third invitation we went to church, where kids carried our kayak up the beach and every person shook our hands afterwards (5 Nov 2023).

Women of the CRC church cooked for a fundraiser to build a stronger church: K10 a plate, K2.50 for children, nearly K300 raised (Nov 2023).

The guide

Position

11°09.24'S 152°46.75'E

Depth

4–18 m

Wind shelter

very good in S

Our visit

4-6 Nov 2023 (diary). Sunday service in an open-sided traditional church with guitars and harmony singing; three churches in the village (United, CRC and another). The Sunday-school teacher asked visiting yachts for stationery.

Shelter

Very little roll; well protected from 20-25 kn S-SE.

Bottom

very hard sand with coral heads - make sure the anchor is set

Ashore

No village at the anchorage - people come round from the village on the point. Basket weaving, grass skirts and clay pots demonstrated for visitors; Uniting church; good vegetables. Walk around Leiga Island at low tide (heron nests, live cowries) or across the island past the copra smoke-house.

Water

Washing water only; rain tank may spare drinking water after rain (1992).

Ashore (us)

Kids carried our kayak up the beach. Sunday service is in an old open-sided church with guitars and lovely harmony singing, and everyone shakes your hand on the way out (Nov 2023). Three denominations in a small village; the women were raising money for a new church (K10 each, K2.50 a child). A carver gave us a seahorse inlaid with nautilus shell.

Our sketch map

Drawn by us from OpenStreetMap, Sentinel-2 and our GPS. Not for navigation.

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