WHERE I’D RATHER BE: TAHITI
As borders are currently opening and shutting like a swing-door dunny, where and when Kiwis can travel remains pretty up in the air. But the online world is still opening doors for us, and this week my mind is on the tropics of Tahiti.
Its 118 islands — clustered into five archipelagos — are spread across millions of square kilometres. The Society Islands archipelago is where you will find Tahiti, Bora Bora, Moorea and other popular spots. These islands are the most easily accessible (there is just one international airport in all of Tahiti, and that is just outside of Papeete on Tahiti island).
A six-hour flight from Auckland, Tahiti is of course the main island, with close to 200,000 people, and here you’ll find markets, fine dining, and boutique hotels. Moorea is tall and steep, all green pinnacles and blue waterfalls, with a coral reed ecosystem that makes it a haven for diving. And Bora Bora is known for romance — overwater bungalows, hibiscus and palm-ringed clear blue lagoons.
But further out there are other adventures to be had — Rangiroa in the Tuamotu Islands archipelago, which is the largest atoll of all Tahiti’s islands, and the Marquesas Islands, known as “the island of men”, and for being home to the finest craftspeople, creating tattoos, carvings and jewellery, in French Polynesia.
French artist Paul
Gaugin came here in 1901, bought land, and painted some of his most famous works, and you can visit the museum to his life and works on the island of Hiva Oa.
New Zealanders are currently able to travel to French Polynesia provided they are fully vaccinated. Not many are likely to take up this offer, as they’d still need to quarantine for two weeks on returning, but this gateway does offer a sense of hope that things are changing for the better and hopefully soon we’ll be saying "Ia ora na” (hello!).
“Words of Mana” is a push from Tahiti’s tourism board to virtually welcome travellers from across the world, and gear them up for a time in the future when they can step across that threshold in real life.
The campaign invites us all to learn some Tahitian phrases, so when it is time to say “Ua reva!” (let’s go!), you’re ready for it. So let’s begin our lesson.
“Mahana” means sunny, a word that will come in handy when you’re hanging out in a country that receives around 250 hours of sunshine every month. And if the sunshine isn’t playing ball, the temperatures still stay balmy all year.
“Moana” — you know this one. Moana means ocean, specifically the South Pacific Ocean which surrounds French Polynesia. And “‘oa ‘oa” — that’s joy — basically how we’re going to be feeling when we step off that plane at Faa’a airport for the first
time in far too long.