Image: Hawaiki Nui Va'a 4

Description: Hawaiki Nui Va'a is an outrigger canoe race that happens once a year in French Polynesia. It takes place over 3 days connecting the islands of Huahine, Raiatea, Taha'a and Bora Bora in a hommage to ancient times. It is a huge party in these islands with Bora Bora being the final leg and the big finale at Matira Beach! This year 83 canoes seating teams of 6 paddlers competed to win this prestigious race with a couple of teams from Hawaii and New Zealand as well as New Caledonia. Tahiti's Shell Va'a team won for the 3rd year in a row. They are proving to be pretty unbeatable at the moment as they also won Molokai in Hawaii for the second year in row earlier this month. At Hotel Bora Bora, we are the last point before Matira Bay and the arrival at the public beach so we had staff drumming at the point to encourage the paddlers to the end and a big tahititan oven for all our guests on the beach. You will notice from these pictures that the arrival side of the point was a beautiful blue sky whereas the other side was very grey and cloudy making for a pretty dramatic setting!
Title: Hawaiki Nui Va'a 4
Credit: [1]
Author: Bianca Henry from Bora Bora, French Polynesia
Usage Terms: Creative Commons Attribution 2.0
License: CC BY 2.0
License Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0
Attribution Required?: Yes