Flying Fish Articles

Ile Faioa – 13°22.80'N, 176°10.61'W
Halalo – 13°20.15'N, 176°13.41'W

Sunstone 's report on Wallis - Tom Jackson, 02 August 2012

Wallis is one half of the French overseas territory of Wallis and Futuna, the latter island is 125 nautical miles away to the west-south-west and has no fringing reef or well protected harbour. In contrast Wallis has both a fringing reef and at least one well protected anchorage as well as a very beautiful lagoon, with a few smaller islets.

The main and only well-marked, deep pass into the lagoon is at the southern end of the reef. It is very well marked, straight and short. However there is a very strong tidal flow on the ebb. When this is combined with fresh or strong south-east trades the pass can be difficult. Taken at slack water or on the flood the pass is quite straight forward, even though the transit marks are very difficult to make out.

Official clearance must be completed with the Gendarmes, who deal with Immigration, and with Customs. The gendarmerie is in the centre of the main village, Mata Utu, in the middle of the east side of the island. The Customs office is about a kilometre or so to the north on the left side of the main road. Immediate clearance does not seem to be essential, so that a weekend arrival can wait for clearance until Monday. We found it possible to get both entry and exit clearance at the same time if staying only a few days. If trade winds are strong, anchoring off the main village may not be practicable or safe, as the anchorage has no protection from the east. Locals are happy to give lifts to wandering cruisers. Distances on the island are not great so that those with bikes aboard may be happy to cycle around.

As at other French overseas territories, the standard of living for locals is high, as is the cost. Infrastructure is very good, as are services – all heavily subsidised by the French government, which also provides 70% of employment. All supplies are available at a price. If you ask nicely you may be able to get water by jerry can at the gas terminal at Halalo. Diesel is only available from petrol stations at the main village or in the centre of island. There is one ATM hidden in a corner of the shopping mall about a kilometre west of the main village. There are three small supermarkets. Visa cards seem to work in some but not others. There is one electronics shop in the main village offering Internet service, but the connection was so poor and expensive that it was not worth the time or expense. There are some marine services available on the island, though they are more oriented to fishermen with outboard powered boats than yachts. There are flights from the island to Fiji.

The island scenery is lush and attractive. Housing is mostly modern and there are well-tended gardens everywhere. There seemed to be more cars than people and traffic on the main roads was quite heavy. There are attractive lakes in volcanic craters in the middle of the island. Distances are not great and cycling to most parts of the island is fairly pleasant.

There are numerous potential anchorages around the lagoon in settled weather, giving opportunities for snorkelling or diving. In strong trade wind conditions the only good anchorages are in the lee of Ile Faioa or in the pool among the reefs at Halalo at the southern end of the main island.
Ile Faioa

13:22.796S/176:10.615W, 18m, sand & coral heads

The island is uninhabited, though there are various picnic spots set up by locals for weekend visits. The lee side of the island has a very nice beach. The windward side is good for reef fossicking at low water. The anchorage in the lee of the island gives good protection in normal trade wind conditions, however there are numerous coral heads on the bottom, making anchor recovery potentially trying. There are better sand patches closer inshore if one is willing to get into quite shallow water. The area off the northern half of the island is very shallow over coral reef.
Halalo

13:20.150S/176:13.410W, 14m, sand

The Island’s gas and fuel storage is in tanks on a jetty at Halalo. This jetty gives some protection to a pool to its west, surrounded by reef. There is room for four or five yachts to anchor with care. There are some marks for the narrow entry to the anchorage pool. The reef may be clearly made out in reasonable light conditions. There is good holding in sand. Dinghy landing may be made at the head of the cut, which runs along the lee side of the jetty. This anchorage is the best protected in Wallis, though it is not particularly attractive. Once ashore, it is some distance to any of the island villages, though locals seem happy to give lifts to reach the shops in either of the larger villages.

There is an anchorage to the west of the small island near the pass. It is well protected from trade winds, but is rather deep.