An inspiration to many great writers and immortalised by Gauguin's paintings, the islands of Tahiti are a heady mix of natural beauty and Polynesian joie de vivre.
Papeete, the capital of Tahiti, is the chief port and trading centre but it is away from the bustle of the city centre where the eyes and heart feast on the tantalising treasures of Tahiti.
Idyllic coves and deserted beaches rise up to meet a landscape of rugged mountains, cascading waterfalls and lush tropical rainforests.
The vibrant and gorgeous people of Tahiti
The word "tattoo" originated in Tahiti and each tattoo has a certain aesthetic meaning. In Polynesian culture tattoos are a sign of beauty.
Point Venus
It was near Point Venus, that many explorers anchored their ships. Point Venus was the site where Captain Cook observed the transit of Venus in 1769.
Captain Bligh and his ship, the Bounty, sailed around the reef beyond the Point, accompanied by a mass of canoes. When he let it be known that he had sailed from Britain, the islanders swarmed the Bounty. Bligh wrote, "..and in ten minutes I could scarce find my own people." It was on these islands that the story of the mutiny on the Bounty unfolded.
The breadfruit tree under which this monument to the Bounty is erected is an offshoot of one of the original trees Captain Bligh introduced to the Caribbean Islands in 1793.
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Moorea
Swimming with black-tipped reef sharks and stingrays ...
This octagonal church in Papetoai, Moorea, is the oldest European building still being used in the South Pacific. A plaque on the church says it originated in 1822.
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Raiatea
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Bora Bora
I don't think there could be a more spectacular sunrise to greet our arrival in Bora Bora...
Tiare Tahiti
by Rupert Brooke
Mamua, when our laughter ends,
And hearts and bodies, brown as white,
Are dust about the doors of friends,
Or scent ablowing down the night,
Then, oh! then, the wise agree,
Comes our immortality.
Mamua, there waits a land
Hard for us to understand.
Out of time, beyond the sun,
All are one in Paradise,
You and Pupure are one,
And Taü, and the ungainly wise.
There the Eternals are, and there
The Good, the Lovely, and the True,
And Types, whose earthly copies were
The foolish broken things we knew;
There is the Face, whose ghosts we are;
The real, the never-setting Star;
And the Flower, of which we love
Faint and fading shadows here;
Never a tear, but only Grief;
Dance, but not the limbs that move;
Songs in Song shall disappear;
Instead of lovers, Love shall be;
For hearts, Immutability;
And there, on the Ideal Reef,
Thunders the Everlasting Sea!
And my laughter, and my pain,
Shall home to the Eternal Brain.
And all lovely things, they say,
Meet in Loveliness again;
Miri’s laugh, Teïpo’s feet,
And the hands of Matua,
Stars and sunlight there shall meet
Coral’s hues and rainbows there,
And Teüra’s braided hair;
And with the starred tiare’s white,
And white birds in the dark ravine,
And flamboyants ablaze at night,
And jewels, and evening’s after-green,
And dawns of pearl and gold and red,
Mamua, your lovelier head!
And there’ll no more be one who dreams
Under the ferns, of crumbling stuff,
Eyes of illusion, mouth that seems,
All time-entangled human love.
And you’ll no longer swing and sway
Divinely down the scented shade,
Where feet to Ambulation fade,
And moons are lost in endless Day.
How shall we wind these wreaths of ours,
Where there are neither heads nor flowers?
Oh, Heaven’s Heaven!—but we’ll be missing
The palms, and sunlight, and the south;
And there’s an end, I think, of kissing,
When our mouths are one with Mouth....
Taü here, Mamua,
Crown the hair, and come away!
Hear the calling of the moon,
And the whispering scents that stray
About the idle warm lagoon.
Hasten, hand in human hand,
Down the dark, the flowered way,
Along the whiteness of the sand,
And in the water’s soft caress,
Wash the mind of foolishness,
Mamua, until the day.
Spend the glittering moonlight there
Pursuing down the soundless deep
Limbs that gleam and shadowy hair,
Or floating lazy, half-asleep.
Dive and double and follow after,
Snare in flowers, and kiss, and call,
With lips that fade, and human laughter
And faces individual,
Well this side of Paradise! ....
There’s little comfort in the wise.
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Images by Kate
Previous posts on my travels through the Pacific can be found here:
Hottest I ever was in my life, anywhere? Tahiti. Favorite smell ever? Tiare Tahiti. Thanks for this continuing series, Kate; what a wonderful journey you've had.
Thanks for sharing the beautiful photos. I read Kon Tiki last year, and I can put some images like these into some of the places in my mind. I must go check it out first hand though...
Ah, my oldest sister visited here once, she had not been well and wanted to experience Tahiti before her demise. I think it kept her alive, and now some 25 years later she still dreams of it, I am sure. Gauguin, such an artist, such an inspiring place. Your pictures are gorgeous.
Kate these are like post cards - so unreal. So absolutley beautiful. I'm loving this vicarious trip....but...i thought stingrays were deadly. That part would have scared me.
Linda: Hey thanks Linda. I worried a little that I might be boring everyone with these. No, I did not want to come home for sure!
Kathy: I was lucky weather-wise; it was hot but not as hot as I've experienced. And ,oh yes, the fragrance of the tiare flower is just beautiful! Thank you for reading, Kathy!
Truly spectacular sunsets, and gorgeous photos with history. This must have been the cruise of a life time. Thank you for sharing your memories, Kate. ♥R
Ina: It was paradise found for me! Just beautiful!
Oryoki Bowl: I do hope you make it there to see for yourself the rich cultural and natural beauty that is Tahiti.
Sheila: What wonderful news of your sister's recovery and I can imagine that she wants to return one day. The waters, land and people of the Pacific are like nothing I've ever experienced before. It is a very special place.
trilogy: I admit it! The stingrays, but more so the sharks, did scare me and with thoughts of Steve Irwin being speared by the barb of a stingray and the movie, Jaws, filling my head and scaring me all the more, I braved my fears and got in to swim! If only for a short while. I touched a stingray ... so soft and velvety! They were just so friendly but, yes, I was still wary.
Romantic Poetess: Thank you!
Fusun: I don't think I could ever tire of those spectacular sunrises and sunsets, Fusun! Thank you for being here, Fusun.
Thanks I needed a little escape today and you gave me this beautiful place. Hope you had a great time and truly it looks like all your problems would dissolve into that liquid blue water.
This is so incredible, Kate. The one big travel dream my husband and I have is to visit the islands of Tahiti. My husband's father worked in special effects in the movies and he spent more than six months on Moorea and Bora-Bora filming the 1979 version of the movie "Hurricane". Can you imagine living in paradise for that length of time and being paid very, very well for it? And his wife got to go along, too!
(Sorry this comment is so late, I've been cutting down on my computer time.)
Pilgrim: The bent tree had caught my eye on the forward journey in our quirky little bus and I had to quickly snap it as we drove past on the way back. I'm pleased with how it turned out!
Algis: That "liquid blue" water is the most amazing that I've ever ever seen.
Rei Momo: Thank you so very much for coming along with me! And thank you too for good wishes. I appreciate them.
Maurene: Oh I do so hope you make it to the Tahitian islands .... it is indeed paradise! Moorea and Bora Bora my absolute favourite too! How lucky were your in-laws??? WOW!!!!
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I bet you did not want to come back with the exception of that horrid driver!
rated with hugs
rated with love
Kathy: I was lucky weather-wise; it was hot but not as hot as I've experienced. And ,oh yes, the fragrance of the tiare flower is just beautiful! Thank you for reading, Kathy!
♥R
Oryoki Bowl: I do hope you make it there to see for yourself the rich cultural and natural beauty that is Tahiti.
Sheila: What wonderful news of your sister's recovery and I can imagine that she wants to return one day. The waters, land and people of the Pacific are like nothing I've ever experienced before. It is a very special place.
Romantic Poetess: Thank you!
Fusun: I don't think I could ever tire of those spectacular sunrises and sunsets, Fusun! Thank you for being here, Fusun.
Gorgeous pictures. Among them all, the golden-sunset-suffused shots and that second picture of the bent, resilient tree are my favorites.
(Sorry this comment is so late, I've been cutting down on my computer time.)
Algis: That "liquid blue" water is the most amazing that I've ever ever seen.
Rei Momo: Thank you so very much for coming along with me! And thank you too for good wishes. I appreciate them.
Maurene: Oh I do so hope you make it to the Tahitian islands .... it is indeed paradise! Moorea and Bora Bora my absolute favourite too! How lucky were your in-laws??? WOW!!!!