Outrigger on Huahine

My search for untouched islands has always led me to ones which I really cannot write about because, untouched means one thing; simply enjoying the secluded beaches and the jungles/forests. That is really about it, and quite honestly I’m sure you would all get pretty bored reading about beautiful places with only so much to do over and over again. So I look for both the untouched and the colorful, which brings me to Huahine in French Polynesia. This 9.9 by 8.1 mile island is actually made up of two islands circled by a coral reef and split in the middle by a couple hundred yards of water. The reason why it is still considered one island is because of a small strip of sand that lies between them only visible during low tide.

One of the main attractions on Huahine is a small bridge that crosses over a particular river inhabited by sacred Tahitian eels (Check out this video of eels being fed by YouTube user jamfan2). Huahine is steeped in culture and history. These eels have probably been here longer than the locals have been on the island. Legend has it that the first of these eels made its way across the mountains from Tahiti. The eel was quite lonely in its new home and married a beautiful woman from Mataiera and it is said that the current eels are decedents of this eel and Mataiera. Why would a beautiful maiden marry an eel? No idea, but hey before you judge remember that whole princess and the frog story?

The fact of the matter is, Huahine is what Bora Bora was like before it became the uber-luxurious getaway that it is now and more impressive, Huahine has preserved much of its colorful culture and charm seemingly lost in other Polynesian islands. From amazing beaches, temples, towns and villages, this island can totally be the island that never changed – forever lost in time. If only Capt. James Cook were here to verify that.

By Sebastien Tobler

Colliding Continents