Planning for Paradise

The Allure

The Allure of Tahiti & Her Islands

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The French, who first came upon Tahiti in 1768, immediately called it LA NOUVELLE CYTHERE. New Cythera, the earthly paradise. After the English came, the name reverted to Tahiti, but that first impression, that the islands now called French Polynesia are a Garden of Eden, remains. There are few other regions on Earth which contain such a blend of natural and human beauty.



La Polynesie Française is a world of islands strewn across an ocean territory the size of Western Europe. All the islands except one - Rapa, the most southerly- lie between the Tropic of Capricorn and the Equator. Within that zone is a galaxy of atolls, the Tuamotus, whose coral strands are no higher above sea level than a pandanus shrub. To the north-east there are the distant Marquesas Islands, whose mountains, canyons and cataracts have a spectacular grandeur. There are the lonely Austral Islands- the southernmost group- which are almost untouched by European civilisation, and in the centre of this vast oceanic region is Tahiti, the spellbinding island of legend and love. All these islands are volcanic in origin, born of eruptions which occurred over a “hot spot” in the central Pacific millions of years ago. The atolls are the oldest islands, being the sunken remnants of once-high volcanic peaks like Tahiti and its nearest neighbour, Moorea.

"Today Polynesian culture not
only survives, it thrives"

Traditional Tahitian culture was communally based, spiritualistic and hierarchical. The people worshipped their many gods on sacred marae, stone platforms built in the fertile valleys and rain forests. They raised crops of taro, breadfruit, bananas and sweet potatoes and fished the rich surrounding lagoons and ocean. They fashioned tools and artifacts from available raw materials: stone, bone, shell and wood. Their body designs were strikingly patterned, and gave a new word to the English language: Tattoo.

Today Polynesian culture not only survives, it thrives. Tahitian carving, dance, singing, drumming, drama, language and tattoo are evident everywhere, not only in the resorts, but in the many villages, in the streets and market of the capital town Papeete, in the craft workshops of the Marquesas and amid the tranquil atoll villages of the Tuamotus. Tahitian culture has adapted imaginatively and robustly to the modern age and remains the focus of cultural expression and pride.

What makes Tahiti unique, however, is its blend of Polynesian, French and Oriental cultures, its mélange of European, Pacific and Asian civilization. After colonization and French settlement, substantial numbers of Chinese were brought to Tahiti as plantation labourers. Most stayed and added another racial flavour to island society.

Downtown Papeete. The fragrance of the Tahiti national flower - the Tiare Tahiti- mixes in an outdoor restaurant with the aroma of coffee; freshly baked French loaves are sold in the market side by side with a just caught bonito. On a table in a waterfront restaurant a pair of Frenchmen play chess, while out on the harbour a team of muscular young Tahitian men practise paddling their racing canoes. Morning calls of “Bonjour” are echoed by the traditional Tahitian greeting: “Ia Orana”. The red, white and blue French flag flies alongside the flag of French Polynesia outside the Territorial Assembly in Papeete.

These scenes are repeated throughout the other islands. In a village on the lovely society island of Huahine, men play petanque - French bowls - under the spreading boughs of a mango tree as the delicious smell of baking cake wafts from a nearby patisserie; a boutique on Moorea displays a tray of gleaming black pearls, nurtured in the lagoon of Manihi in the Tuamotus.

The people of French Polynesia have integrated to produce a new race of stunning beauty; Polynesians, Europeans, Asians from China Vietnam, Africans from Madagascar and the Ivory Coast. In Tahiti, it seems that all people have intermarried and blended so that the concept of racism is unknown. In veins of their children runs the blood of three cultures. Everywhere there are reminders of this. A chic young French woman sports a traditional Marquesas tattoo on her upper arm; a group of Tahitian boys are engrossed in their game of soccer; a Chinese couple cook delectable crepe suzettes for sale from a little mobile restaurant on the waterfront. The people of these islands are now authentically and naturally tricultural.

Tahiti may be the central gemstone of French Polynesia, but its surrounding islands are of comparable beauty. Tahiti’s sister island is Moorea, whose serrated, high volcanic profile is constantly visible from the northern coast of the main island. Moorea is only minutes away from Papeete by light plane or fast ferry, but it is a different world: slower, quieter, more traditional. Moorea’s fringing coastal plain is narrow, and backed by enormous mountains. In its valleys there are ancient, still-sacred marae. The coastline is punctured by twin indented harbours, numerous resorts and is lined with stretches of white sand beach. Around the island are stands of graceful coconut palms sheltering tiny villages, craft shops, cafes, restaurants and gift boutiques. Glassy waves tossed up by breaks in the reef provide a utopia for surfboard riders. Moorea has something for everyone.

The different cultures of French Polynesia come together beneath a vista of sea, sky, lagoon and mountains; a land and people which inspired great artists like Gauguin and Matisse and writers such as Pierre Loti, Herman Melville and W.Somerset Maugham. These artists left an immortal record in pictures and words of the Tahiti they saw j



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