When you think of Tahiti, it conjures up the quintessential South Pacific paradise; white sand beaches, crystal clear water, blue skies, cocktails by the pool and beautiful women swaying their hips with a flower in their hair. Sure, Tahiti and her islands has all that, but there is so much more!
We were there to watch the Hawaiki Nui, which is a canoe race from one stunning island to the next, over 128 km long, divided into three legs, between the Leeward Islands (Huahine, Raiatea, Tahaa and Bora Bora). The race is done in a vaá, an outrigger canoe, with six people in each boat; there are no crew changes on the water, it's a marine marathon. The Hawaiki Nui attracts each year hundreds of canoe racers coming from all over French Polynesia but also from Hawaii, Europe even Japan. They compete for 3 days over distances that vary from 25km to 60km, depending on which
