!!!Marlon Brando's Tetiaroa Atoll. French Polynesia

Photos and text 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]. \\

15 April 2020

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

Marlon Brando's Tetiaroa Atoll. French Polynesia

Roughly 50 km north of Tahiti lies the beautiful island of Teti'aroa
atoll. This is the atoll of Marlon Brando, who started to lease it back
in the 1960s after having discovered it from the top of a mountain in
Tahiti while he was shooting the movie Mutiny on the Bounty. After this
very first visual contact, he found a local fisherman who took him to
Teti'aroa in his boat.

You need to know that this atoll has no natural opening, so-called
"pass", so that you have to make landfall by coming with the waves — you
carefully have to choose the right rhythm and match the cycle of the
breaking wave and glide into the protected shallow lagoon from the open
ocean. This feat was not realized when Marlon Brando arrived with the
fisherman and they capsized and scratched themselves on the sharp
corals. Covered in blood, Marlon Brando finally made it to the atoll
that would become one of his greatest love affairs. He found Teti'aroa
peaceful and beautiful — in his autobiography, he says that it is "more
gorgeous than anything I had anticipated".

[{Image src='01_beando.jpg' caption='Marlon Brando_s Tetiaroa atoll. French Polynesia\\© [AirPano|https://www.AirPano.com]' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='516'}]

A few years later, after lengthy negotiations with the Tahitian
authorities, he acquired it. Teti'aroa used to be the vacation island of
royal Tahitians who came here to entertain themselves with songs, dance,
fishing and feasting. It was also a place to practice the custom of
ha'apori'a. This meant eating to put on weight and avoiding the sun for
having whiter skin. Plump and pale was a sign of well-being and
prosperity for the elite.

[{Image src='02_Brando.jpg' caption='Marlon Brando_s Tetiaroa atoll. French Polynesia\\© [AirPano|https://www.AirPano.com]' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='346'}]

In 1789, William Bligh is said to have been the first European to visit
the atoll while looking for early mutineers prior to the departure of
HMS Bounty which eventually suffered a full mutiny. The United States
Exploring Expedition visited the island on September 10, 1839.

Many important archaeological sites have been located, identified, and
studied on Teti'aroa. Thus, due to the historical significance of
Teti'aroa to the people, the government of French Polynesia continue to
make future development to be questionable at best.

[{Image src='03_Brando.jpg' caption='Marlon Brando_s Tetiaroa atoll. French Polynesia\\© [AirPano|https://www.AirPano.com]' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='354'}]

Wanting to live on the atoll, Brando built a small village on Motu
Onetahi in 1970. It consisted of an airstrip to get there without
breaching the reef, 12 simple bungalows, a kitchen hut, dining hall and
bar, all built from local materials: coconut wood, thatch roofs and even
large seashells for sinks.

[{Image src='04_Brando.jpg' caption='The Billionaires Pool, Motu Oroatera\\© [AirPano|https://www.AirPano.com]' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='576'}]

The village became a place for friends, family and scientists studying
the atoll's ecology and archaeology. Over the years, Brando spent as
much time as he could there and used it as a getaway from his hectic
life in Hollywood. Although he didn't spend as much time there as he
wished, it is said that he always cherished his moments on Teti'aroa.
During his stay on the island, he was often visited by his children,
grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Upon his death, Brando's son
Teihotu lived on the island for some time.

[{Image src='05_Brando.jpg' caption='Marlon Brando_s Tetiaroa atoll. French Polynesia\\© [AirPano|https://www.AirPano.com]' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='263'}]

Eventually, the village became a modest hotel managed by his Tahitian
wife, Tarita Teriipaia, who had played his on-screen love in Mutiny on
the Bounty. The hotel operated for more than 25 years, even after Brando
left French Polynesia to return to Los Angeles. Many hotel guests
lamented the lack of amenities normally found at an island resort.

[{Image src='06_Brando.jpg' caption='Marlon Brando_s Tetiaroa atoll. French Polynesia\\© [AirPano|https://www.AirPano.com]' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='516'}]

Motu Onetahi now hosts a luxury eco-hotel (The Brando Resort), spa,
research station, staff village and private runway. Many billionaires
and Hollywood celebrities come to this secluded island. It was here that
Barack Obama wrote his memoirs and Prince William and Kate Middleton
also came here for their honeymoon.

[{Image src='07_Brando.jpg' caption='Marlon Brando_s Tetiaroa atoll. French Polynesia\\© [AirPano|https://www.AirPano.com]' alt='' width='900' popup='false' height='467'}]

It is highly probable though that none of them had ever seen Teti'aroa
the way you will see it now through these aerial panoramas. Teti'aroa
was the first and last station of my 2,400 km long catamaran expedition
that I undertook in 2019. I chartered a catamaran to visit some special
islands of French Polynesia. As my starting base was Tahiti, Teti'aroa
was the obvious first and the last station to make aerial panoramas. I
was very lucky as my captain, Teahui is closely related to the Brando
family so I had privileged access to Teti'aroa and I could visit all of
the motus — except for Motu Onetahi.

\\ \\
[13 panoramas of French Polynesia. PartIII |Geography/Territories_Oceans_and_Islands/French_Polynesia/Pictures/French_Polynesia._Part_III]

[{SET customtitle='French Polynesia. PartIII  (AP)'}]