!!!French Polynesia - Part 2
Photos by Ádám Plézer,
member of the [AirPano Team|Geography/About/Consortium/AirPano,_Team] that is a member of the [global-geography Consortium|Geography/About/Consortium]. \\

6 September 2018

with kind permission of [AirPano|http://www.AirPano.com]

With great pleasure we thank Ádám Plézer, our old friend and a great
photographer for his very beautiful and high quality panoramas of the
French Polynesia. This is the third virtual tour, which Adam captured
for our website. We truly hope for further cooperation and looking
forward to see his new excellent panoramas!

In the South Pacific Ocean, there are exotic islands of French
Polynesia. There was a time when the way to this place was long and
tiresome, and even with the development of the aviation industry the
journey from Europe still can take up to 24 hours or even more (via a
connection in the USA, New Zealand or Japan). But no complications can
stop those who truly want to dive into the magical atmosphere of the
Polynesian islands.

[{Image src='01_French Polynesia.jpg' caption='French Polynesia\\© [AirPano|https://www.AirPano.com]' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='601'}]

The history of French Polynesia is associated with a lot of outstanding
names: the artist Paul Gauguin, the writer Robert Louis Stevenson, some
of our contemporaries — the singer Joe Dassin, the actors Jacques Brel
and Marlon Brando. We hope that you too will feel the charm of these
magical lands.

[{Image src='02_French Polynesia.jpg' caption='French Polynesia\\© [AirPano|https://www.AirPano.com]' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='396'}]

The largest and the most famous island of French Polynesia is Tahiti
with the total area of more than 1,000 square kilometres. Still, this
overseas collectivity of the French Republic is composed of many other
islands and atolls. Bora Bora, the atoll located 280 kilometres
north-west of Tahiti, is another very popular destination in French
Polynesia. Its total land area is rather small — only 29 square
kilometres, but it has the lagoon of 83 square kilometres and considered
one of the most beautiful in the world.

[{Image src='03_French Polynesia.jpg' caption='French Polynesia\\© [AirPano|https://www.AirPano.com]' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='672'}]

The main island of the atoll has a peculiar form and rises in the middle
of its water area, surrounded by coral islets called motu. The highest
point of Bora Bora is mount Mount Otemanu, rising at 727 meters, which
is the cone of the extinguished volcano dated 4 million years old. A lot
of top-level hotels work on the territory of Bora Bora, but all them are
located on the coast; there are practically no roads leading into the
depths of the island covered by thick vegetation.

More than 300 kilometres away from Tahiti there is Rangiroa — the
largest atoll in the Tuamotu Archipelago, and the second largest atoll
in the world after Kwajalein atoll in Micronesia. It has the lagoon of
1,640 square kilometres — enough space for enclosing the whole Tahiti
island! Though the land area of Rangiroa is rather small: the total
surface territory of 415 small motu islands is only 79 square
kilometres. Only a few are inhabited and they are connected to each
other by lovely bridges.

[{Image src='04_French Polynesia.jpg' caption='French Polynesia\\© [AirPano|https://www.AirPano.com]' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='686'}]

The population of Rangiroa does not exceed 3,000 people, and thousands
come here from all over the world to enjoy the beautiful natural sites.
The transparency of water can be up to 25 meters and provides huge
opportunities for diving and snorkelling. For the most well-off people
there is Kia Ora Resort in the southern part of the atoll, and it is
accessible only by water.

The islands of French Polynesia are also interesting for being quite
different from each other. The most exotic place is the easternmost
island of the Leeward Islands group — Huahine. It is nicknamed by locals
as "Wild" and in fact, it is made up of two main islands (Huahine Nui,
"Big Huahine", and Huahine Iti, "Little Huahine") formed by the invasion
the Maroe bay deep into the land.

[{Image src='05_French Polynesia.jpg' caption='French Polynesia\\© [AirPano|https://www.AirPano.com]' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='311'}]

Huahine attracts amateurs of history and mysteries: it is the largest
archaeological centre that has preserved the evidence of the ancient
Polynesian cultures. One of the attractions of Huahine is the bridge
over a small stream where eels reaching up to two meters live. Local
legends claim them to be sacred fish. But in the first place Huahine is
famous for the phenomenon of a "green ray": before hiding behind the
horizon, the solar rays are refracted in a special way in the atmosphere
and a green flash can be visible. This phenomenon can be witnessed only
in a few places in the world, and Huahine is the most picturesque one.

[{Image src='06_French Polynesia.jpg' caption='French Polynesia\\© [AirPano|https://www.AirPano.com]' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='422'}]

\\ \\
[25 Panoramas of French Polynesia. Part 2|Geography/Territories_Oceans_and_Islands/French_Polynesia/Pictures/Panoramas_of_French_Polynesia_part2]

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