Tahiti & French Polynesia (South Pacific Islands)

Tahiti Tahiti is the largest of the French Polynesian islands and is a volcanic island with black sand not the lovely white sand you imagine on a South sea island. The island is 45 km across at its widest point and covers an area of 1,045 km2, so it is not huge. We were staying on Tahiti Nui (big Tahiti) which is the bigger part of the island. The smaller southern part is called Tahiti Iti or small Tahiti. When we booked our trip to the South Sea islands we were both very keen to see Tahiti as this was the island that epitomised the South Seas through Gauguin’s beautiful paintings. His ... more

Its radioactive we were told. Don't eat it. Paradise lost courtesy of the French. Whilst the rest of the world decided to use computers to test its nuclear bombs the French in an act of outstanding arrogance raped this last Eden by exploding bombs under Polynesia. The feeling amongst the locals is tense. They feel abused and ignored by their colonial masters. The tragedy is that this part of the world posseses some of the most spectacular scenery in the world. Moorea, an island a few miles from the capital of Tahiti is everybody's dream of a South Pacific Island whilst Bora Bora's scenery ... more

We visited Papette (the capital of Tahiti) in May 2000. We arrived on a Tuesday night after travelling there on Lan Chile from Auckland. It's worth waiting till you get to Papette airport before changing money as the rate there was better than we got in Auckland. At 11pm on a Tuesday there is NOTHING to do in Papette. The bars & restaurants are closed and the quayside food vans have all gone home. We found Papette surprisingly busy. The main road around the island runs parallel with the shore and runs past the main shopping/restaurant areas. This road has constant traffic from 8.00am till ... more