I don’t imagine there are many people who can say they have climbed the mountain on Maupiti.

One of the last islands in French Polynesia; it is often missed as many boats have already checked out when they pass it. After hearing how beautiful it was we decided to risk it and go. The pass is untenable in a strong southerly swell and so it is important to get the weather right.  Luckily we timed it well and enjoyed our few days stuck in the lagoon before we could get out of the pass again.

There isn’t much in the way of infrastructure on Maupiti.  A few shops and one restaurant that provides lunchtime snacks. We tried and tried to persuade one of the local pensions to open for our party of 13 to eat dinner but with no luck.

Just a little way to the right of the dingy dock there are steps up the hill which are the beginning of an hour and a half treck /climb up the mountain. We set off early morning but it was not long before we were cursing the sun. Luckily much of the hike was through forest which gave us some relief. There were several view points along the way and each time we got higher the view just got better and better. Once at the top it was hard to take in the stunning landscape below. Everywhere you looked there was just a rainbow of blues and greens. Not a single photo did it justice but we tried!

All the way down I was craving an ice lolly and cannot explain my excitement when we managed to find some in the pretty basic local shop. It’s the small things..

Maupiti’s other main attraction is it’s manta ray cleaning area.  This is a small area where at certain times of the day the local manta rays come to get themselves cleaned by the wrasse fish. Sadly when we went for a snorkel in the afternoon we didn’t see any but the two that swam past our dingy enroute to town sort of made up for it.

If nothing else Maupiti was worth the visit just to say we’d been there! What a cool , remote place it was. It’s times like this when I have to reflect and be so thankful for this journey I am on.  The world can be such a beautiful place.