The Tis
turquoise mountain
THE SOCIETY ISL azure
peaks. Tese islands
is the French Polynesia of travel posters: lagoons,
ISLANDS skies,
and soaring give
ample
opportunity to relax, swim, take in local culture and explore on land. Verdant TAHITI, the largest island in French Polynesia, is all deep valleys and rugged coastline. It serves as the economic center of these islands. Its little sister, TAHITI ITI is quite the opposite. Separated by a small isthmus and often bypassed by the tourist industry, it offers magnificent clear waters, waterfalls, archeological sites and even caves. BORA BORA’s lagoon is filled with coral gardens teeming with marine wildlife. Public and private white-sand beaches dot the island and the outlying motus. Mt. Otemanu reigns over all. Gardenlike MOOREA, hosts pineapple plantations, offers up hiking, and provides plenty more in the way of blue lagoons. Te mountains that surround its bays are jaw dropping. Te isle of TAHA’A is shaped like a flower and the hills at the center of the island are home to coconut groves and vanilla plantations. Te “petals” are made up of secluded small islets including own
Paul Gauguin Cruises' private MOTU MAHANA. HUAHINE, the first island to be settled in Polynesia, has the largest collection of
ancient religious temples, marae, and is covered with lush vegetation.
Islands
TUAMOTU ARCHIPELAGO An underwater camera comes in handy in this archipelago. Tis is the little known, and mostly off-the-grid, best place to snorkel or dive in the world. Te Tuamotus are made up of a string of atolls, which formed over time when shifting sands washed up on coral reefs. Tey are a unique string of coral ringlets that form protective circles around interior lagoons, allowing for the proliferation of rare species of both plant and marine life. Teir ecosystems are so pristine that UNESCO designated the atoll of FAKARAVA as a Biosphere Reserve. Visitors to Fakarava snorkel or drift-dive the Passe Garuae in order to see some of the world’s most beautiful coral formations. And RANGIROA boasts a lagoon so large it is bigger than the island of Tahiti. Many Tahitian pearls are cultivated in the Tuamotus and there is opportunity to visit a pearl farm on “Rangi”—as the locals call it.
12 2018 Paul Gauguin Cruises | The Islands
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