Travel Guide Turipaoa

Located 520 km northeast of Tahiti and 175 km northeast of Rangiroa, Manihi is at the tip of the pearl production of French Polynesia. The largest figures of the production have gathered in Manihi, with about 70 production sites, which occupy most of the approximately 789 inhabitants of the island.The first pearl farm opened in 1968. Since then, Manihi has developed a worldwide reputation. This atoll has become over the years, a mythical centre for the production of black pearls in the South Pacific, attracting many tourists… and their currencies. It was the first Polynésie atoll to have an airport in 1969, and a luxury international hotel, the splendid Manihi Pearl Beach Resort, opened since 1977.The shaped shaped atoll is 28 km long in length and 6 km in width (192 km ²), and consists of a great motu, making half the tower of the atoll, and a motus dotted string from the other side. The Passe pass, unique passage between the lagoon and the ocean, separates the great motu, which hosts the airport, and Paeua, the small village a ramshackle brin of Manihi.This tiny opening (metres wide) is the only one communicating the huge lagoon and the great ocean. The boat docking dock is located on the pass, the village side. The vegetation is dry, which intriguera the visitor.We flew on the great motu, landing on a track rebuilt in 1993, after the passage of a cyclone that literally engulfed it. Raised, it is now shorter and does not allow the landing of the Atrs 42. A truck service is insured. The motu of the airport is the most important and includes everything except the village. From the airport and to the south, you can find the airport, the hotel, and then a few kilometres further. On the other side of the pass, the village of Pauea. In addition, the village is a grid alignment of individual houses and four churches (Catholic, Protestant, Sanito, Mormon). You will often see children playing on the dock. From the airport to the north, you can reach a lunar landscape, with a multitude of clear grey rocks. These are the huge hoas, which the sea comes to cover when the ocean up its furies. On 9 km, the stony road Guy Huerta dug with his bulldozer, successively crossed several hoas, and oases interspersed with some greenery where some inhabitants chose to live. This motu extends for decades after the end of its path. In addition to the visits of pearl farms, the visitor will find, as in all the atolls of the Tuamotu, excursions on the lagoon, underwater hunting, and wonderful diving sites.