Tahiti

After our Wind Spirit cruise we had two nights back in Papeete, the capital of French Polynesia, before continuing on to Singapore.  When we’d transferred from airport to airport hotel to cruise terminal seven days earlier, Papeete had looked pretty uninspiring, so we didn’t have especially high hopes of Tahiti as a tourist destination.

However, as we learned when we met up with our tour guide Tracey (an ex-pat Brit who lived in Brighton in another life), there is a lot more to Tahiti that Papeete.

Tahiti is the economic, cultural and political centre of French Polynesia.  It is also the largest of the Polynesian islands, and is home to almost 70% of the country’s * population.  Whilst many of the other islands can be explored in just a few hours, our tour of Tahiti would require two full days: one day to explore the highlights of Papeete, together with a short venture down the island’s east coast, and a second day driving down the west coast.

(* In fact, French Polynesia is technically not a country at all, but an overseas ‘collectivity’ of France.)

We began our east coast tour with a visit to the Presidential Palace in Papeete where we learnt more about the relationship between France and French Polynesia.  At least from Tracey’s point of view, the relationship is a mutually beneficial one.  France provides Polynesia with a annual budget – a sum of money which makes a very significant contribution to the overall running costs of the islands, yet is really just small change when considered in the context of the French GDP.  They also provide administrative assistance in the form of judges and other civil servants, who are sent over from France, usually on a four-year assignment.  In return, France has an enormous territory in a very strategic location in the middle of the Pacific island, one which would be snapped up by China if France ever lost interest in it.

Polynesians travel on an EU passport and can vote in French elections.  The islands have four representatives in the French parliament, as well as local politicians for internal affairs.  The president of Polynesia is a largely ceremonial role – hosting overseas dignitaries and cutting ribbons.

On the gates of the Presidential Palace, we saw the insignia of Polynesia which also appears on the islands’ flag.  The insignia depicts a canoe (representing travel, a source of power) beneath a golden sun (representing life).  The hull of the canoe is represented by five crosses and the ocean by five waves – in both cases, representing the five groups of islands that make up Polynesia: The Society Islands – of which Tahiti is one – as well as the Australs, the Gambiers, the Marquesas, and the Tuamotus.

Next, we made a brief visit to Arue Cemetery, a large cemetery used by the substantial ethnic Chinese community on Tahiti.

Behind the cemetery is a pareo factory.  Originally, pareo was the name given to a colourful wraparound dress worn by Polynesian women; nowadays is refers to any garment that is made from fabric that has been decorated using traditional stencilling techniques.

In the outer Papeete suburbs, we made our next stop, at the James Norman Hall Museum.  Though neither of us could have claimed to know who James Normal Hall was before our visit to his former home, he certainly led a interesting life.  Best known for writing Mutiny On The Bounty (later made into a film starring Marlon Brando, which was filmed on the neighbouring island of Moorea), JNH wrote several other novels.  He was also a fighter pilot, and has the surely very rare accolade of having served in the militaries of three different nations (Britain, France and the USA).  James’ eldest son is Conrad Hall, a cinematographer who won Oscars on three occasions for his work on Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, American Beauty and, most recently, Road to Perdition (starring Tom Hanks).

Next we paid a visit to Tracey’s home up in the hills overlooking Papeete.  As is quite common with Papeete’s more affluent residents, Tracey actually has two homes – a small apartment in the city centre – and this larger home out-of-town where there is much more space, and a much nicer outlook, but is far less convenient for work and socialising.

Typical of Polynesian homes, Tracey’s house is comprised of two detached buildings – one which is used for sleeping, and the other for living.  In her substantial hillside garden, she grows just about anything you could imagine – not only the many fruits we have become used to seeing wherever we’ve gone in Polynesia (Coconut, Mango, Bread Fruit, Passion Fruit, Banana, Grapefruit, Lime, Pineapple…), but also sweet potatoes, and other root veg.

For the rest of the afternoon, we wound our way up the increasingly wild eastern Tahiti coastline, stopping off at black sand beaches, a stunning waterfall, and finally, a small blowhole which almost made up for our failure to see the blowhole in Kiama back in December!

After a brief visit to The Museum of Tahiti, the second stop on our east coast tour with Tracey two days later was at the Marae of Arahuruhu.  A marae is a sacred site used for religious ceremonies (weddings, funerals, and – centures ago – perhaps the occasional sacrifice!) and communal gatherings (such as meetings between elders) in Polynesian societies.  Marae are typically found in a tree clearing, with a stone altar at its centre, and surrounded by Tiki (stone guardians).

Although the sites are still considered holy, the conversion of Polynesia to Christianty in the 18th century led to the abandonment of all but the largest and most culturally significant marae, most of which have become a tourist attraction or archaeological site.  As well as being one of the larger maraes on Tahiti, it is unsurprising that the Marae of Arahuruhu is now a very popular visitor attraction when you see its stunning mountain backdrop.

Further down the west coast road we made our next stop at the Vaipahi Botanical Garden where we spent a few minutes exploring the gardens and yet another beautiful waterfall.

The island of Tahiti is shaped like a figure of eight, with the larger loop called Tahiti Nui and the smaller, Tahiti Iti.  As we continued our drive south, the landscape slowly opened up in front of us.  All down the east coast, and further up the west coast, the road closely hugs the shoreline, with the foothills of the volcano beginning just a few metres inland.  But here the volcanoes begin much further inland, leaving room for gardens, parks and agriculture.  It felt like we were on a different island – very verdant and very beautiful.

This section of coastline is home to Tahiti’s best beaches and is a frequent stop on the world surfing circuit.  We ate lunch at a restaurant that has, at various times, played host to many of the world’s leading surfers.  Not surprisingly, the menu features fish, fish and fish, all of which were excellent.

After lunch, it was time to start heading back to Papeete.  For the first few minutes of the return journey we were hugging the more isolated Tahiti Iti coastline, with spectacular views across the lagoon back towards Tahiti Nui.

With the airport at Papeete just a few miles ahead of us, we made a final stop at the fern Caves of Maraa, where Paul Gauguin once swam with the locals.  The largest of the three caves goes back 90m, and any swimmer who puts a hand on the back wall of the cave is said to be blessed with good luck.

After several days spent indulging in the luxuries of an all-inclusive cruise, our two days with Tracey provided a great opportunity to appreciate the real Polynesia, from the perspective of a local.

As she commented more than once during our two days with her, there is really no such thing as a homeless, or destitute Polynesian.  You might not have very much money, or indeed any money at all, but there is fruit in the trees and fish in the sea and no-one goes hungry.

Outside of Papeete, Tahiti is green and magnificent.  The roads are better than most in the UK, and it’s clean.  There might not be a huge amount to do, but that’s the way the locals like it – rather like our impression of Jamaica, life here is simple and care-free.