| Legend
: Tiare Apetahi
According to legend, this delicate white flower is the hand
of an island princess who proclaimed, as she died in her lover
's arms, "Every morning when you come to the mountain, I will
give you my hand to caress." As proof of its unique nature,
the tiare apetahi cannot be transplanted and grows nowhere else
in the world except on the slopes of Raiatea 's Mount Temehani.
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Raiatea
Taha'a
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Snorkeling
at the Coral Gardens
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Half
day with local guide, from $35 pp |
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Ancient cultural,
religious and royal heart of Polynesia, Raiatea was, according
to legend, the birthplace of the gods. From here the great canoes
set out for Hawaii and New Zealand, entire tribes sailing off
to colonize new shores. Long ago the people called the island
Havai'i ("the homeland") and believed it was the place where spirits
live on after death. And it is only here, on the slopes of sacred
Mount Temehani, that one can glimpse the rare tiare apetahi, a
flower found nowhere else on earth. |
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Taha'a is so
named for its numerous plantations of this fragrant plant, whose
sweet aroma lingers in the air, seeping into every nook and cranny
of the island. While fishing and farming are its main livelihoods,
what seduces visitors are its pretty beaches, coral gardens, and
the sandy motus which pepper the lagoon it shares with Raiatea. |
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