Bora Bora and the outer islands
Vows on a Bora Bora beach, then a bare ring finger in the later photos
Matira and the Bora Bora lagoon, the shared lagoon of Raiatea and Taha'a, Huahine, Maupiti, and the atolls of Rangiroa and Tikehau.
A wedding band lost during a beach ceremony on Bora Bora has a known starting point, because the photographer's pictures show where everyone stood. The deciding question is whether it went on the sand, at the water's edge, or later that day out on the lagoon.
Ring Seekers is a lost ring and jewellery recovery service that connects people who lost a ring, wedding band, watch, keys or phone on Bora Bora or the outer islands with a metal detectorist who can search there.
Tell us what happened and where. We find a detectorist who can reach the beach or the motu, brief them with your map and photos, and tell you honestly if the odds are poor.
This page covers Bora Bora, Raiatea, Taha'a, Huahine and Maupiti in the Society Islands, and the Tuamotu atolls of Rangiroa and Tikehau.
Name the island, then the motu, then the spot
Start with the island and the day. Then say whether you were on the main island, on a motu, or on a boat in the lagoon, and pin the place on your phone's map if you can. For a wedding, ask the photographer for the full set of pictures: the time on each one shows when the band was last on a hand.
Mention how you reached the place as well. Taha'a has no airport and is reached by boat from Raiatea, Maupiti's airport is on a motu with a ferry across the lagoon to the main island, and on Rangiroa the airport is on the main motu, Avatoru.
Places we cover on Bora Bora and the outer islands
- Bora Bora
- Matira Beach
- Vaitape
- The Bora Bora lagoon and its motu
- Raiatea
- Uturoa
- The Faaroa River
- Taha'a
- The coral garden, Taha'a
- Huahine
- Fare
- Huahine Iti
- Avea Beach
- Hana Iti Beach
- Maupiti
- Tereia Beach
- Motu Tiapaa
- Motu Tuanai
- Rangiroa
- Avatoru
- Tiputa
- The Tiputa Pass
- The Blue Lagoon, Rangiroa
- Tikehau
- Tuherahera
Seven islands, from Matira out to the Tuamotu atolls
Five Society Islands north-west of Tahiti, then two Tuamotu atolls north-east of it.
Matira Beach and the Bora Bora lagoon
Matira is the best-known beach on Bora Bora, a mile of soft white sand and coconut trees on a clear lagoon, with Mount Otemanu behind. People snorkel, kayak, windsurf and paddleboard at Matira. Lagoon tours leave for the coral gardens, the rays and sharks, and lunch on a motu, and many visitors stay in Vaitape, at Matira or out on a motu reached by boat. Tell us whether your loss was on the beach, on a board, or at one of the tour stops.
Raiatea and Taha'a
Raiatea and Taha'a share one lagoon, with Taha'a to the north, and it is dotted with motu that have white sand beaches. A day on a motu off Raiatea can mean a picnic sitting in the shallows with Bora Bora in view, and on Taha'a the motu picnic comes with a barbecue on the beach. Uturoa, the capital of Raiatea, has the airport, and the Faaroa River is paddled by kayak, paddleboard or outrigger canoe. Say which motu you landed on, and who took you.
Huahine, from Fare to Avea
Huahine is two islands joined by a bridge, Huahine Nui and Huahine Iti. The main village, Fare, is in the north of Huahine Nui and has a beach of its own. Avea Beach, on Huahine Iti, runs for many miles, its coastal plants left as they were, and Hana Iti Beach, on the south coast, is white sand under coconut palms. On a beach as long as Avea, the pin matters most.
Maupiti, Tereia and Motu Tiapaa
Maupiti has a lagoon so shallow in places that you can see its white sandy floor through the water, and many visitors come to swim with the manta rays. Motu Tiapaa sits at the southern pass, reached by boat from the village of Vai'ea, and Tereia Beach, not far from it, is a place to swim and snorkel in clear water. Tell us whether you were on a motu, on the main island, or in the water with the rays.
Rangiroa, Avatoru and Tiputa
Rangiroa is a large atoll whose two passes, at Avatoru and Tiputa, are known for dolphins, manta rays and sharks, and divers drift with the current through the Tiputa Pass. The airport is on the main motu, Avatoru, and people cycle between Avatoru and Tiputa. A day-long boat trip from Avatoru goes to the Blue Lagoon, a lagoon within the lagoon, where there are stingrays. Near the quay at Ohotu, a snorkel trail is reached by boat with someone who knows the site.
Tikehau and Tuherahera
Tikehau is a small atoll near Rangiroa, a ring of white and pink sand around a clear lagoon that is ideal for snorkelling. The main village, Tuherahera, and the airport are in the south of the atoll, and people get about on foot or by bike. Say which beach or motu you were on and whether you had come out by boat.
When the trip spans several islands
Several islands, one conversation
If the trip went from Bora Bora to Taha'a to Rangiroa, all of it goes into one WhatsApp chat with one person, however many islands turn out to matter.
Your wedding photos go into the brief
The detectorist sees the pictures you send, from the photographer or from your own phone, alongside your pins and the order of the day.
Start with two things
The island and the spot, as a pin or a description, and a photo of the ring, band, watch or bracelet. Other details can be added as you remember them.
The cost question, answered first
We explain the costs before any search is booked, and you choose whether it goes ahead.
Shallows, passes and boat days
Clear, shallow lagoons inside the reef, and strong water where the passes open to the ocean.
Shallow lagoon floors
On Maupiti the white sand of the lagoon floor shows through shallow water, and on a motu off Raiatea a picnic can be eaten sitting in the shallows. Where the water is this clear and shallow, a photo taken from where you stood helps line the spot up again.
Where the current runs
The coral garden on Taha'a and the Tiputa Pass on Rangiroa are both places where you move with the current. A watch or ring that came off mid-drift in the pass is a long shot, and you would hear that from us first. One lost at the entry or exit point is a smaller question.
Landings on the motu
On Bora Bora many of the hotels are on motu that you reach by boat, and every motu picnic starts with a boat ride too. Tell us the boat, the landing place and the time, and the brief starts from the landing.
Questions about Bora Bora, Maupiti and the atolls
The band came off during our beach ceremony on Bora Bora. Where do we start?
With the photographs. Weddings here take place on the beach with the lagoon at the water's edge, sometimes with an arrival by outrigger canoe, so the pictures show where you stood, knelt and walked. Send the set with their times and a pin for the ceremony spot, and say whether you went into the water for photos or out to a motu afterwards.
An engagement ring went missing after a picnic on a motu in the Bora Bora lagoon.
Picnics on the lagoon tours are served at the water's edge, so the sand where you sat and the shallows in front of it both need thinking about. Tell us who ran the tour and which motu it stopped at, and send any photo of the table or the beach. The crew can point to where the boat landed.
My watch came off on the coral garden drift at Taha'a.
Tell us where the boat dropped you and where you climbed out, and whether the strap or the clasp gave way. The current carries swimmers from the reef towards the lagoon, so the search is planned along that line, and any clip from a waterproof camera or phone is worth sending.
A bracelet came off while paddleboarding off Matira Beach.
Say whether it went while you were standing on the board, when you fell in, or while carrying the board back up the sand. Matira is a long beach, so pin where you launched and where you came ashore, and describe the metal and the clasp.
One earring is missing after a day at Avea Beach on Huahine Iti.
Avea runs for many miles, so the most useful thing you can send is where you parked or came down to the sand, with a photo of the earring that is left. If you also stopped at Fare or at Hana Iti Beach that day, list the beaches in the order you visited them.
Could an Oura ring lost swimming with the manta rays at Maupiti be found?
The manta rays come to a cleaning station in the lagoon, where small fish clean their skin, and visitors go out to swim with them. Tell us who took you, how deep the water felt, and whether the ring was loose before you went in. If the loss was at Tereia Beach or on Motu Tiapaa instead, a pin on the sand helps most.
A phone fell from the boat on the Blue Lagoon trip at Rangiroa.
The Blue Lagoon trip is a day-long boat excursion from Avatoru, so tell us the operator, where the boat was when it happened, and whether it fell at a stop or on the way there. If the boat was at anchor, that narrows the water to look in a great deal.
My necklace was lost on a beach at Tikehau.
Tikehau's beaches are white and pink sand around the lagoon, and the atoll has numerous coral islets. Name the beach or motu, send a photo that shows the sand and the water behind you, and describe the chain and pendant. If you walked there from Tuherahera, add the route.
We lost the keys to our hire car somewhere on Raiatea.
Uturoa, the capital, has the airport and the car hire offices. Start from where you collected the car and send pins for each stop in order, including any quay where you boarded a boat to a motu or across to Taha'a.
Bora Bora and the outer islands
Which island, and which day?
Bora Bora, Raiatea, Taha'a, Huahine, Maupiti, Rangiroa or Tikehau.
Those two answers and a photo of the missing piece are how a case begins. Send them to us on WhatsApp.