Tahiti and Tahiti-Iti in One Day

Oh hi! Our last LAN flight, and they didn't disappoint with an actual veggie meal and a few glasses of wine, we were well on our way. ..


At the airport in Rapa Nui, Wiji wanted to spend our last bit of Chilean currency on some chocolate and managed to blag the girl in the store to sell him a chocolate Moai for just the change that he had left...he really does have some cheek!




A bit disrespectful, no? Mmmm cooking chocolate, lol.


We crossed the national date line so lost a whole day when we arrived in Tahiti...or something like that, it was all a bit confusing really. We got a fantastic welcome in hot and lavish Tahiti airport with a band of traditionally dressed Tahitian men playing the tiny guitars and drums singing joyfully, and a flower each. I still had high hopes for a garland from our host, but we barely got a smile from the Frenchman that met us...oh boo. Plus the room was expensive and in what amounted to a student house...nice effort, not. We felt a bit sorry for the French couple who had taken a direct long haul flight and arrived to what we felt was a bit of a let down, oh well.

Here I am the next day enjoying the retro furniture, it looked like a Newton Abbot library reading room.


The weather was amazing, the clouds rolling over the mountain and the sun already quite hot, it was only 7am! We had breakfast in the host's garden with the other French speaking guests before hiring a car so that we could whizz around the island and explore...


First stop Marae Arahurahu, a traditional temple and reputed to be the most complete and best example on the island. It was early morning so we had the place to ourselves apart from an Italian lady who was also marvelling at the sights and glad of the tranquillity too.


The temple was set in lush gardens.


A great find by Wiji...'put it back, now'.


The clouds were amazing...we hadn't really seen this before, rolling over the mountains and then burning off.


A traditionally constructed Tahitian building with stone floor. The stone boulders really did keep it very cool.


The temple itself and wooden Tiki carvings...




Nice boom.


The stone carved female Tiki figure.


Then off to our next stop, travelling anti-clockwise around Tahiti, the intriguing Maraa Grotto. This was set into the huge lava mountain rising straight out of the ground, just next to the road, with the ocean on the otherside. This brought it home to us just how mountanous Tahiti is.

Big caves covered in ferns and lust tropical plants.




These looked like pomegranites but when we checked on a poster of Tahitian fruits they are actually Guava.


Marae Mahaiatea, right on the coast, was the sight of a large temple that was seen and recorded by Cook when he first visited. It was barely recognisable to us, but we got a good look at the coast line...the current looked really strong. Some locals were chilling and collected broken coral near the area and waved us over to the site.


Looking back at Tahiti.


Next we decided to get off the the Vaiahi Waterfalls. Here we found very cheerful Tahitian Lucy and Tanya who had just been for a walk in the hills and were going to cool off in the crystal clear pools. They invited us to join them! So we took this pool and they had the other...Wiji admiring the crystal clear water and volcanic rock.


It was super refreshing.


We had a bit of a chill here and then got on our way to visit the Jardin Botanique.


At the Jardin Botanique we were greated by two small dogs ready to accompany us on our walk around the grounds...how familiar! We rushed to take a piccy of this stunning water lilly...this looks like a Windows wallpaper picture according to Wiji.


Then came across a lake of them all in flower.








The gardens were empty and had a great view of the ocean on the other side.












This specimen was enormous...


'Ficus Benghalensis' and a suitable impressed Wiji. Lol.x




Lucky for us the Gauguin Museum was next door, so I persuaded Wiji to take a quick trip around with the promise of lunch immediately after.Lol.x

The Polynesian's call the stone or wooden figures that represent mythical beings, ancestors or divinities Tiki. The three Tiki in the garden were brought on the yacht 'La Denise' in 1933 and were placed in the Justice Court garden then were moved twice more before arriving at the Gauguin Museum in 1965. The Tahitians didn't want the Tiki to be moved and believed this would cause revenge from the gods that they represented, but hey, they moved them anyway...how culturally sensitive!


The Tiki are carved from red basaltic tuff and were erected to face north. They are considered to be related to the stone figures in the Marquesas islands.

The Gauguin Museum lacked large original works but had quite a few smaller sketches, this one from his time in Africa.


The museum also contained beautifully preserved garments that Gauguin wore like the embroidered shirt in this photograph.


Gauguin's teenage muse Tohotauna in his studio in Hiva, Atuona. Apparently he was entranced by her indifference and lack of emotion toward him. He wrote that he was amazed when he observed how still the Taihitian women could sit for hours completely composed, calm and silent in themselves and everyday life.


A bereft Tohotauna front left, at Gauguin's grave in 1903. He died of a heart attack at the age of 55, alone on a small island in the Marquesas. He died unaware of the impact his work would have on the art world. He led an anarchic life, leaving his wife and children and sailing around the world from his early youth.


Wiji in a Henry Moore pose in the gardens looking towards Tahiti-Iti, with another of the Tiki that were moved.


The museum, housed lots of mosquitoes too, unfortunately making it quite difficult to really relax and look around without getting bitten!


One last look out to sea from the gardens...and yes it really is lunchtime now!


We ended up having a great meal in Taravo, family run by local Tahitians Chez Loula and Remy. We had some delicious seafood. Chevettes in caramalised ginger and Wiji went for the coconut curried chevettes.


It was extremely delicious...especially with cold larger.


After lunch we carried on around the isthmus that joins Tahiti to Tahiti-Iti, the much less commercial and unspoilt part of Tahiti...that we were really after!
We had a look at Maui beach, but the weather had turned, so went onto Tautira were we got this view of the mountainous landscape.






And a more rural, green and unspoilt Tahiti-Iti. Sadly there was nowhere cheap enough for us to stay here.


Then we set off for Teahupoo, where the road stops. There is no road around the whole of Tahiti-Iti.

Here it was picking up a storm. Teahupoo is known to surfers the world over for its enormous waves coming off the reef 'the jaws of water'. We watched some local boys picking up some big beach breakes on their bodyboards...then later a boat rescued some surfers out near the reef...the waves looked enormous!




The rescue/life boat and surfers going out...a bit of a white out by this point in the day, so sadly we couldn't capture the enormity of the waves.


All over Tahiti and Tahiti-Iti where tributary rivers running off the mountains to the sea. The local boys waded across this one before sheltering under their bodyboards from the storm.


The start of a beach break and beyond the reef.


After the storm we decided to go inland to find another of the Marae, Marea de Nu' Utere. Here over the generations the rectangular site was reconstructed out of older Marea. The dirt track road up to it had lots of taro and banana plantations that looked super green in this tropical climate.


It was starting to get dark and we decided to continue our drive around the island, first heading back to the isthmus from Tahiti-Iti and back on to Tahiti following the coast road...


Tahiti-Iti, very beautiful and unspoilt.


A last look.


Our journey back was quite epic and Wiji successfully negotiated the massive built up area of Pape'ete, well done! By the end of the day we felt like we had given it a good go!