Raivavae

Raivavae is the small island located in the austral archipelago, there is nothing particular about it except maybe that the number of tourists allowed to be on the island at one time is limited. The island doesn’t turn to mass tourism because its inhabitants cherish their quality of life, for them life in Tahiti is not very pleasant.



You won’t find any shopping centres, luxury hotels or restaurants on Raivavae, the few shops available will mostly sell everyday use products and food. You will come to the island for the calm, for the kids playing in the streets and for the people greeting you in when you pass them. There is only a handful of things to do:
- do nothing on the beach
- have lunch on a motu after having gotten tridacna clams on the reef
- ride a bike around the island
- go snorkeling
- walk up the mountain



For a little bit of a thrill, i recommend to climb mount Hiro, its highest point is only around 400 meters high but there is no dedicated path, you will first have to walk through the thick forest then you will have to walk along a steep mountain wall. The forest part is fairly easy but as soon as you come close to the mountain the climb becomes steep and climbers who might suffer from vertigo really have to only look in front of them. This part is a little bit more difficult but not dangerous if you are careful where you put your feet and hands.



If you persevere you will be rewarded by a truly beautiful view of the island, the lagoon and the motus. The weather is changing quite rapidly on the island it can often happen that the weather is so so when you are still at ground level but that it is perfect when you have reached the top: you will be able to take great shots.



Almost everyone on the island has built his own home, either all by himself or helped by the people from his town. Faith is a very important thing so there is a lot of churches on the island; 2 churches are being built right now by the people who have no regular activities. There is no real cemetery, so it is quite common to find tombs on the terrace of some homes: the kids will have built the tomb where the parents used to live. Raivavae is a real paradise that I fully recommend.