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Tahiti Dive Resorts | Tahiti Live Aboards

Tahiti Dive Resorts

Austral Islands | Bora Bora | Marquesas | Moorea | Tuamotu Islands & Rangiroa

Marquesas (Marquises)

The Mysterious Islands that seem to be lost at the end of the earth are the most remote of the 5 archipelagos of Tahiti. The Marquesas lie 1000 miles north of Tahiti. These islands have been separated from the modern world of Tahiti, no pollution or developed tourism. The population is very low and the people are friendly and hospitable. The capital is a village of some 1000 inhabitants which survive on copra, fishing and handicrafts. The absolute beauty and mystique of the remote Marquesas beckoned to some of the most notable writers and painters of our time. The mid 19th century put the Marquesas on the map with the arrival of Herman Melville, author of Moby Dick jumped his whaling ship off Nuku Hiva in 1842 and wrote two books about his adventures on the islands. Robert Louis Stevenson and Jack London each visited the Marquesas and wrote of their impressions in several short stories about the South Pacific.

Jacque Brel, the famous Belgian poet of song and painter Paul Gauguin, whose earth hued portraits of Polynesia are now world famous, both chose to live their last years on Hiva Oa and are both buried here.

Natural wonders overtake your senses on the remote islands as 1000 ft waterfalls cascade down sheer volcanic cliffs. Towering lush green mountains disappear mysteriously in the clouds. The islands have no coral reefs or lagoons, the ocean crashes directly against the rocky coast indented with fiord like bays. Black sand beaches and sheltered coves beg to be explored. You won't want to miss a visit to the museum on Hiva Oa where archeological and artistic displays provide insight into the rich history found here. Ancient traditions of ancestral designs on wood carvings, seen nowhere on earth and tattoo artistry still thrive among the locals and never cease to amaze the island visitor.

The Marquesas offer a once in a life time experience, this is Polynesia Central. Inhabited by Maoris who came from Somoan islands more than 2000 yrs ago, the Marquesas were the origin of the migrations toward Hawaii and Easter Island. Decimated by diseases brought by Europeans around 200 years ago, the Marquesan civilization almost disappeared at the beginning of the century.

Now for the DIVING. There is one dive operator in the Marquesas on the island of Nuku Hiva. This is the most isolated group of islands in the central Pacific Ocean, with very little fishing that most of the dive sites have never seen divers bubbles! This makes the fish and marine life very curious and unafraid of divers. They have a abundance of manta rays, leopard rays, eagle rays and all kinds of sharks; hammer heads, silky, white & black & silver tipped sharks, jackfish, tuna, dolphins and swordfish. A few miles away from Nuku Hiva is a resident pod of several hundred pygmy orcas (peponocephales) or melon head whales! They bask themselves all year round during the hot hours of the day and come and observe divers and play with them! There are caves and cliff faces that shadow giant sting rays.

I recommend this after a week of diving the Tuamoto's- Rangiroa on either the Tahiti Aggressor or land based diving. You can only make 2 dives a day here in the Marquesas, however this will allow you to explore the island by horse back, helicopter or 4x4!
This is an amazing place not to be missed if you are planning a trip to Tahiti!

Accommodation is easy, only 2 places we recommend, the Pearl Beach Hotel the only 4 star property here or a basic village small hotel which is less expensive.

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