Travel Guide Rairua

It is often said that Raivavae is one of the most beautiful islands in the Pacific. Still far from the modern world (even if the Internet occasionally works there) and away from the tourist routes, Raivavae is a small, unspoilt paradise, where an old-fashioned tranquillity reigns in a beautiful landscape. Some people say that Bora Bora was like this fifty years ago..Of elongated shape, 10 km by 3 km, it is protected by a coral reef pierced by three passes and dotted with motus. The mountainous interior is dominated by Mount Hiro (437 m), and a huge cliff borders its entire northern coast, opposite the main pass. Five villages gather the majority of the 995 inhabitants in multicoloured houses: Mahanatoa, the largest, has a recent temple of an immaculate whiteness; Rairua, 2 km away, shelters the pier which receives twice a month the Tuhaapae II. Following the (asphalt) road that circles the island, one passes through Matotena, Vaiaru and Anatonu. Raivavae has recently acquired an airport.The inhabitants live peacefully from agriculture, made easy by the semi-temperate, semi-tropical climate, and grow excellent cabbages, potatoes, oranges and taro, as well as very good coffee. The lagoon is not to be outdone, since it brings every day miraculous peaches, and especially succulent seafood: sea urchins, clams, clams..Raivavae is the first island of French Polynesia in the Tropic of Capricorn and it can be cool. It is said that 20 years ago, before the arrival of the freezers, it used to hail, so all the inhabitants would go out to collect the ice and keep it Today, Raivavae, always welcoming and smiling, has a small number of open guesthouses. However, there are no bars, discos, car rentals or banks.