French Polynesia home of the fabled Black Tahtian Pearl
The morning was perfect; the intense blue sky only surpassed by the sublime deep turquoise of the lagoon. In the distance waves broke into white foam upon the surrounding coral reef.
As we skimmed across the channel between the islands of Raiatea and Tahaa in the Societie chain, Dominic; our Water Taxi skipper, told us of how he’d shunned the Rat Race in Paris for the taxi-boat business on a whim. His stress-less life now, he told us, was perfect.
As we approached the halfway point Dominic suddenly slowed the boat and called out “dolphins!” Sure enough 3 black fins rose and fell in sequence some 150 metres from the boat and then they were gone. A brief magical moment in a perfect setting.
Champon Pearl Farm
Our destination, Champon Pearl Farm, slowly came into view and Dominic expertly coaxed the vessel to a slow halt as we slid smoothly alongside the farms wooden jetty.
The increasing heat of the morning engulfed us as we took in the scene. The jetty reached out some 18 metres from the shore line; its wooden planks bleached grey by the sun and salt. Half way along it widened to support a large brown wooden hut, beyond which an area missing planking to allow nets to be hung in the water. Alongside, 2 boats were held suspended on hoists above the water.
A tall, dark haired young man casually dressed in shorts and T-shirt appeared and introduced himself as Aymeric Champon. His Mother and late father had founded the pearl farm and he now managed its running. We chatted for a while and he agreed to show us how they produce their pearls.Firstly he lifted one of the suspended nets containing immature Black Lip Oysters. He explained how they buy the baby oyster from Apitiaki -a far distant island where they are more abundant, and then grow them until they are mature enough for culturing at around 18 months.
He demonstrated the process of selecting oysters with good internal shell colouration using the mirrored edge of