Raiatea, Taha’a and Huahine

French Polynesia

Raiatea, Taha’a and Huahine

Destination

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We visited three other islands in the Society Islands group, Raiatea, Taha’a and Huahine. These were very different from Bora Bora. Whereas Bora Bora has no economy other than tourism, these islands had regular people leading normal lives, making it feel more like the “authentic” Polynesia.

IMG_8380-blog — Black Pearl farm in Raiatea

IMG_8350-blog — The pearl surgeon removes flesh from "desirable" color oysters and introduces it into other shells

Raiatea and Taha’a

Raiatea is the sailing center of French Polynesia, with several marinas and a number of charter companies based there. This is where we picked up our charter catamaran to begin our voyage around the Leeward Islands.

In addition, we visited a small black pearl farm. There, we got to watch the pearl “surgeon” graft oysters in order to control pearl colors as well as introduce the “irritant” that would hopefully induce the oyster to make a pearl.

Raiatea’s neighboring island, Taha’a, sits inside the same fringing reef and shares the lagoon with Raiatea. It is nicknamed the Vanilla Island as there are many vanilla plantations that operate there today. The island is so rugged that, even though the population is only 5000, it has eight districts, each with its own distinct culture.

IMG_8064-blog — The Polynesians have been using fish traps like these for thousands of years

IMG_8121-blog — These blue-eyed eels are considered sacred in Huahine

Huahine

Finally, there is Huahine. Being a full day’s sail from Raiatea, it is less dependent on tourism than the others. It was also one of the last to come under French rule, in 1895. Huahine has more ruins and archaeological sites than almost anywhere else in the Society Islands.

Another unique feature of Huahine are the sacred blue-eyed eels. Found in some freshwater streams and growing up to 6 feet long, these eels with bright blue eyes are an integral part of the island’s mythology and culture.

To us, Huahine definitely felt like the friendliest and most genuine of all the islands we visited. Having only a few thousand residents and very little commercial tourism, it felt like a small town where everybody knows each other. One day we rented bicycles and did a complete lap of the island. On that ride, it seemed that every person we encountered smiled, waved and greeted us with “ia orana” (hello in Polynesian) as we rode by.