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Air Tahiti Magazine 52
destination > arrive sur patio, vous rejoignez la route de ceinture, aujourd hui presque entierement asphaltee. a noter que sur tahaa, deux portions en bord de mer sont encore en soupe de corail, l une entre les baies de faaaha et haamene, et l autre sur la rive est de la baie de hurepiti. de patio, deux itineraires sont donc possibles, sur les cotes est et ouest. deux magnifiques routes en bord de lagon, veritables pistes cyclables, situees a quelques centimetres au-dessus des eaux du lagon. au fond, c est la silhouette majestueuse de bora bora qui apparait. et celles de dizaines de motu. c est alors l autre tahaa qui s offre a vous et qu il ne faut pas manquer d explorer, tahaa cote mer. l ile ne disposant pas de plage, c est sur les motu que vous trouverez l espace reve pour votre sieste sur sable blanc. les hotels ne s y sont d ailleurs pas trompes, ils sont plusieurs a avoir choisi ces petits paradis a l ecart du monde pour s y implanter. en partant vers l est, en direction de faaaha, les motu qui s egrainent au fond du lagon sont tout simplement sublimes.plus loin,a quelques kilometres,s il fallait en choisir une,la baie de raai est a couper le souffle par les teintes de bleus qu elle offre. quelques fermes perlieres ont elu domicile a tahaa,une vingtaine d exploitations qui se consacrent a l elevage de la pinctada margaritifera, l huitre perliere engendrant la celebre perle de tahiti. tout au long de la route, vous profiterez d un calme etonnant au sein duquel vivent et travaillent les habitants de tahaa. temoins de l activite economique de l ile, les bateaux suspendus a leur portique au-dessus de l eau, les sechoirs a coprah en bord de mer ou dans les jardins cote montagne, contribuent a leur maniere a la tranquillite ambiante. les villages sont tres fleuris, a l image de faaaha et de ses haies d hibiscus taillees. les nombreuses boites a pain, decorees selon l humeur de leurs proprietaires, que l on decouvre a l entree des jardins, apportent une touche d authenticite supplementaire a cette atmosphere rurale et coquette. chaque matin, de 4 a 6 heures, le boulanger depose un ou plusieurs pains dans ces boites en bois. et a la fin du mois, chacun regle son ardoise. entre faaaha et haamene, la route cimentee reprend de la hauteur, et offre un beau point de vue sur la baie de faaaha. vous retrouvez des motu dans la partie sud de l ile, qui est, avant tout, celle des baies profondes, les baies de faaaha, de haamene, de apu et de hurepiti. si l on choisit de la decouvrir sur les eaux, on pourra faire une halte dediee a la protection des tortues en baie de haamene, a la fondation hibiscus. en fond de baie, on apercevra a flanc de collines des carrieres de pierres rouges qui, une fois extraites, servent a l enrochement des certaines routes de tahaa, mais que l on retrouve egalement a 230 km de la, > from vaitoetoe mountain pass at more than 400 meters, the view is breathtaking. haamene bay exposes all its length and cuts through the generous nature that has nourished the people of tahaa. in the background, sharing tahaa s lagoon, looms the silhouette of raiatea. this panorama is the island s geography in a nutshell : a land of mountains indented by deep bays, surrounded by a multitude of motu and more distant islands raiatea and, only a dozen kilometers away, bora bora and huahine. the viewpoint is yours if you take the trail that crosses from haamene in the east to patio in the north, tahaa s two main villages. paved only at both ends, this road quickly turns into a red dirt trail that only 4x4 vehicles can risk. when the rains are heavy, it becomes barely passable. on a good day, however, it offers a wonderful hiking or mountain-biking opportunity to those who like to explore nature at their own pace and enjoy its fragrances and sounds. for seven kilometers, you will go through a forest, an orchard, and a flower garden. cashew trees, purau (wild hibiscus), miro (rosewood) and mape (tahitian chestnut) abound along the river. albizzia pines, with their typical parasol shape, were imported from malaysia for sloping ground stabilization. they will provide shade without blocking the view along the way. you will see many pink and red alpinia ginger flowers and as for fruit, if you re careful you will see ice cream beans, star fruits, guavas, limes, star apples coming down to patio, you will notice plantations of taro, taroa, manioc, sugar cane on the side of the trail, lianas of vanilla sometimes curl around nono trees or purau stakes, and you ll be able to study up close the flower of this precious tahaa orchid. reaching patio, you ll get back on the circle road, now entirely paved. note that on tahaa, two seaside road stretches are still covered in coral gravel, one in haamene and faaaha bays, and the other on the eastern side of hurepiti bay. from patio, you have two choices : east or west coast. both are wonderful lagoon-side roads, or should we say true bicycle paths, just a few inches above the water. the majestic silhouette of bora bora is painted onto the backdrop, as are dozens of motu. this is when the other tahaa opens to you, and you should not miss it : tahaa-by-the-sea. the island does not have beaches; the motu are right there for your dreamy, perfect-for-a-nap white sand spots. the hotels have caught on, and several of them are built right on these miniature paradises. heading east towards faaaha, the motu that dot the lagoon are simply sublime. a few kilometers further, if only one had to be chosen, the bay of raai is the one, with its incredible range of blues. tahaa has a few pearl farms; some twenty outfits dedicated to the growing of pinctada margaritifera, the oyster that yields the famous tahitian black pearl. all along the road, you will enjoy the surprising calm in which tahaa s people live and work. witnesses of the island s economic activity, boats suspended above water in their mooring frames, copra driers on the seaside or in gardens on the mountain side, all contribute in their own way to the feeling of tranquility. villages are covered in flowers, like faaaha and its neat hibiscus hedges. the many breadboxes, decorated to the taste of their owners and adorning the garden entrances, add another authentic touch to this tidy rural atmosphere. every morning between 4 and 6 a.m., the baker drops the bread in these wooden boxes. people pay their bill at the end of the > © h.barnaud 12 r e v u e d e b o r d n ° 5 2 / a i r ta h i t i / o n - b o a r d m a g a z i n e n ° 5 2
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