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Air Tahiti Magazine 52
destination > a papeete sur la place to ata. face a la baie de haamene, les motu mahae et toahotu, de part et d autre de la passe toahotu, forment une porte d entree sur tahaa, celle que vous avez empruntee si vous etes arrive a tahaa par bateau depuis uturoa a raiatea. a l extreme sud, la baie de vaipiti doit retenir votre attention. elle accueille deux motu, dont le motu toapuhi, deux petits eden qui semblent s etre niches entre deux rives afin de s y proteger des alizes et du maraamu, le vent frais venant du sud. la baie de hurepiti abrite de nombreuses residences secondaires en bord de mer, d autant plus retirees qu elles ne sont pas desservies par la route principale. depuis la mer, on apercoit sur les flancs de collines de vastes plantations d ananas. face a la baie de hurepiti, se trouve la passe paipai, la meilleure passe de l ensemble tahaa-raiatea. utilisee par les plus gros paquebots, elle permet de desservir le port de tapuamu a tahaa, et celui de uturoa a raiatea. en poursuivant en direction du sud-ouest de l ile, on passe le village de tiva reconnaissable a son temple a la toiture rouge. month. between faaaha and haamene, the paved road rises again and offers a beautiful view on the bay of faaaha. you ll see more motu in the south of the island, but this is the coast of deep bays, in faaaha, haamene, apu and hurepiti. if you choose to explore it from the sea, you may stop over at the hibiscus foundation in haamene bay, which is dedicated to the preservation of sea turtles. in the back of the bay, you ll see the red stone quarries from which rocks are extracted for tahaa s roadwork, and even for papeete s to ata plaza 230 km away. facing haamene bay on each side of toahotu pass, the mahae and toahotu motu are the gateway to tahaa, which you may have taken if you arrived on the island on the boat shuttle from uturoa village in raiatea. at the southern tip of the island, vaipiti bay is sure to catch your attention. its two motu, one of which is called toapuhi, are two small pieces of eden that seem to nestle between the two banks against the fresh a partir de la baie de tapuamu et de son port appele ici «le quai de tapuamu», on retrouve le chapelet de motu que l on avait decouvert au large de patio. ici, les enfants jouent dans l eau pendant que les parents attendent les navettes qui les conduiront a uturoa, sur des motu ou ils rejoindront leur travail, ou encore sur d autres points de tahaa. les plaisanciers viennent ici se ravitailler. l ambiance est bon enfant, melant travailleurs et touristes. depuis une embarcation, on peut cette fois vivre une nouvelle sensation : celle de survoler un veritable aquarium de la taille d un lagon. en s approchant des motu qui couronnent tahaa, notamment les motu tautau, eha et maharare, on rejoint une zone de lagon profonde de moins d un metre, reputee pour ses jardins de corail. a certaines heures de la journee, embarques sur une pirogue, depuis les plages de sable immacule des motu, ou a travers son masque de plongee, on contemplera tout ce qui fait la richesse de la faune marine polynesienne : napoleons, bancs de becunes ou de carangues, murenes ou encore quelques requins gris. c est sur cette vision enchanteresse que l on peut quitter tahaa, delicieux tresor preserve des iles sous-le-vent. bien heureux de l avoir connue avant tant d autres, on gardera le souvenir d une destination paisible, qui demeurera en memoire : celle de tahaa, l ile paisible. maraamu, the southern wind. hurepiti bay has many seaside holiday homes, all the more secluded because they are not accessible from the main road. from the sea, you can see the vast pineapple plantations on the hillside. facing hurepiti bay is paipai pass, the best pass into the tahaa-raiatea lagoon. large and deep enough for cruise ships, it is the route to both tahaa s tapuamu harbor and raiatea s uturoa s harbor. further to the southwest of the island, you ll spot the village of tiva and its beautiful blue church. from tapuamu and its harbor - which people here just call the wharf - the string of motu that was visible from patio reappears. here children play in the water while their parents wait for the shuttles to uturoa, to other places in tahaa or to the motu they work on. yachtsmen come here to re-supply. the atmosphere is friendly, a good-natured mix of tourists and workers. from a boat, you can now experience a new sensation : flying over a lagoon-size aquarium. near motu tautau, eha and maharare is an area famous for its coral gardens, less than a meter deep. boarding a canoe from the motu s immaculate sand beaches, or through your diving mask, you ll observe all the treasures of polynesian sea fauna : napoleons, schools of barracudas or caranx, moray eels or even a few gray sharks. on this enchanting vision, you may leave tahaa, the delightful and preserved treasure of the leeward islands. happy to have discovered it before the others, you ll keep memories of a peaceful destination : authentic tahaa. 14 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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