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latest picture taken: October 23, 2009

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55  At the South coast of Tahiti Iti,

at Pointe Riti, a peninsula provides

shelter from the open sea –

ideal for children to take a bath

 56  Small jetty at the end of Tahiti

Iti’s South coast road at Teahupoo

57  People enjoying Sunday

afternoon at Taiharuru Beach

at the North coast road of Tahiti Iti

58  Evangelical Church of Pueu

at the North coast of Tahiti Iti

 59  Tautira, where the North coast

road of Tahiti Iti meets the Vaitepiha

Valley, is one of ourfavorite places,

42 miles from Papeete

60  Tautira’s “end of the village sign”

marks not only the end of the hamlet,

but also the end of the North coast

road of the peninsula of Tahiti Iti

61  An outrigger canoe is heading

towards the sea in Tautira, where

Capt. James Cook anchored on

August 12, 1777, with his ship Endeavour

 62  Playing ball at the black

Taiharuru sand beach on the

North coast of Tahiti Iti

63  This shot against-the-light highlights

the mountainous scenery of

Tahiti Nui’s (main island) North shore

64  In the Papenoo Valley, a falling

tree is blocking the road to the

Urufaau Pass (tunnel) and Vaihiria

Lake. With our machete, we

manage to cut us a passage .....

 65   ..... and continue our climb

as steep as 20% on a narrow

concrete roller-coaster track to

the pass of 2’910ft. altitude with

the 365ft. long one-lane tunnel .....

66  ..... the higher we climb, the

more spectacular the mountain

panorama gets (Mt. Mouatamaiti

(4’826ft.), looking like the

“Swiss Matterhorn” of Tahiti

67

 68

69

In the Papenoo Valley, dozens of waterfalls are tumbling everywhere down vertical slopes

70  On the top of 2’910ft.

(Urufaau Pass), 12 miles from

Papenoo on the North coast

(which is about another 12 miles

from Papeete) a 356ft. long tunnel

– cut through the mountain ridge –

leads to the Southern side at

Mataiea on the South coast (another

10 miles), where no maintenance

was done anymore on the track

 71  Between the tunnel and

Mataiea, 10 miles away on the

South coast (which is about

29 miles from Papeete), lies

between steep mountainous

slopes the small Vaihiria Lake

at an altitude of 1’552ft..

Unfortunately the last 7 miles from

the lake to Mataeia are open to

the public only from time to time

72  We park our LandCruiser

at the Northern side of the

mountain tunnel on the Urufaau

Pass that leads to the Vaihiria

Lake and on to Mataeia on

the South coast

73  Mosses and lichen

cover the tree trunks in

the clean mountain air

 74  We leave the mountain

range that separates the

North from the South

75  Tahiti’s mountain scenery: The

Papenoo Valley with its same named

river – the biggest and longest in Tahiti

76  Papeete, the capital of French

Polynesia, sits on a small land strip,

sandwiched between the ocean and

an impressive mountain backdrop

 77  The Chinese temple Kanti in

Mamao near Papeete with its elegant

red roofs and its water lily pond contrasts

strongly against the common architecture

78  The white tombs of the Chinese

Cemetery near Pirae/Papeete that are

perched on different levels at the slope

of a hill are visible already from far

79  Street musicians entertain the

passers-by at the Boulevard Pomare in

Papeete hoping for a small contribution

 80  Emil is getting some make up at

the TV studio of Tahiti Nui Télévision

for the talk show “Manihin” on 10/4/09

81  Robert, a retired teacher from French

Wallis & Futuna, invites us for a fabulous

couscous and all kind of other treats

82  Water lilies are always worth a

picture – at the town hall of Papeete

 83  Bougainvillea are always most

fascinating in their colors and volumes

84  Those hanging yellow clycinal

flowers are growing on a tree

85  Liliana is standing in front of the

Haamaremare Rahi waterfall that belongs

to the three Tefaarumai waterfalls at the

North coast, 6 miles East of Papenoo

 86   The biggest of the three

Tefaarumai waterfalls, called

Vaimahuta, rushes through tropical

vegetation down to the valley

87  Side-by-side stand the two

other Tefaarumai waterfalls: The

Haamaremare Rahi (left) and

the Haamaremare Iti (right)

88  Happy! At Point Outuaiai in Arue,

we toast on our 25th Anniversary

of "exploring the world"

 89  As prelude to our 25th Anniversary

we enjoy mother finch with its

insatiable youngsters

90  At our 25th Anniversary of "exploring

the world" we are invited by Elise and

Mathieu (left) and their friend Etienne

(beside Emil) for a fish lunch in Arue

91  Just another of the

beautiful tropical flowers

 92   The tomb of King Pomare V,

the last ruler of the Pomare dynasty,

sits on Point Outuaiai in Arue

93  Beautiful evangelical church

of Arue on Point Outuaiai

94  We are climbing through the

forest path from Faaa towards the

TV Antenna on the “Massif du

Pic Vert” that is watching over

Papeete from 4’728ft. altitude

 95  New fern sprouts grow

in abundance on the higher

altitude at the TV Antenna

96  Lush vegetation with

Spanish moos and ferns cover

the slopes on 4’500ft. altitude

97  A fairytale forest with tree

ferns near the TV Antenna

 98  Mist patches rise from the

“Plateau Tamanu” to the

mountains at the TV Antenna

99  Our LandCruiser looks like

an ant under the gigantic trees

near the TV Antenna

100  A red flower gives a colorful

dot to the forest greenery

 101  Yellow flowers are

hanging in bunches on a tree

102  Red Frangipani blossoms

rise against a deep blue sky

103  Noor is a Polynesian

beauty already at a young age

 104  Farewell from Astrid and Marc,

our welcoming hosts from “Tahiti

Vacations” in Mahina, where

we spent two relaxed months

105  Emil is driving our LandCruiser

in its 17th container in the port of

Papeete. Thierry, the manager of the

Swire Shipping Agencies (left)

and one of his staff are watching

 

Other websites from Tahiti:

 

• Pictures from the first part of our Tahiti trip: Island of Tahiti - part 1
• Pictures from the third part of our Tahiti trip: Island of Moorea
• 25th Anniversary of "being on the road" on October 18, 2009, in Arue near Papeete/Tahiti