Rapa Nui, also known as Easter Island, is seen as one of the most remoted places on Earth as it’s located far away from other land (3,500 kilometers west of the nearest continental point (Chile) and 1,770 kilometers east from Tahiti).
The name „Easter Island“ was given by the island’s first recorded European visitor, the Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen, who encountered it on Easter Sunday the 5 April in 1722.
The Island is most famous for its nearly 1,000 monumental statues, called moai, created by the early Rapa Nui people. In 1995, UNESCO named Easter Island a World Heritage Site.
We arrive at this facinating island on the 5th of August around lunch time after a very enjoyable flight, as we pass the whole Island on close distance before we turn to land on the VERY short runway.
Our nice and quiet hotel Taha Tai is located in Hanga Roa, the only village on this island and the taxi ride here takes only a few minutes.
We decide to take it easy and start with lunch, discover the main street and to take a walk to see our very first moai. For the first time since weeks (last time in Amazonas Rainforest) it’s warm enough to wear only a t-shirt and shorts as the temperature is above 20°C, and we love it! 😃
Our first sunset here is magical and after watching it together with probably more than hundred other people at Tahai, THE sunset place at this Island, we enjoy a nice dinner and a glas of red wine in the restaurant at our hotel.
Day 2
We explore southwest part of the island on our own and finally we are hiking again! The trail – just next to the clear blue ocean, the high waves and the steep cliffs – is amazing as it takes us to the two caves Ana Te Pora and Ana Kakenga as well as the 7 moai at Ahu Akivi before we start to “climb“ the highest point of the Island, the hill Terevaka (511 m.a.s.l.). From the top we have a nice 360° view of the island and we reach it just in time to take some nice photos before some clouds come in from the north. We hitchhike back to the village to watch the sunset at Tahai.
Day 3
To make sure that we also get some knowledge about the most important facts and the culture, we decide to take a full day tour with a local guide. Unfortunately the tour starts 30 minutes late which makes the visit of the sights before lunch a bit stressful. Nevertheless, the visits are super cool! We see Akahanga, Reno Raraku and Tongariki before lunch and Te Pito Kura and the Moai at Anakena in the afternoon where we also get an hour time to take a swim. I try to not get my hair wet at first, but that turns out to be absolutely impossible as the big waves are splashing my back (and face) one time after another!
We spend the evening with nice drinks, great food and a bottle of wine at the Te Moai restaurant to celebrate that we have been together for two years! Our journey together have just started but due to all the things we already discovered together, it actually seems longer. I guess I don’t need to say that this trip is definitely the highlight so far!
Day 4
Until this day we were unbelievably lucky with the weather and for the first time on this trip, we get a bit of rain. Luckily it’s only in the afternoon so we spend the time before lunch to discover the south part of the Island where we enjoy the waves at the sightseeing spot Ana Kai Tangata and walk up to the Rano Kau crater to get a fabulous view before the rain comes in. We decide to discover this sight further the next day as this is one out of two sights on the island that can only be visited once with the national park ticket. We escape the rain as we hitchhike down the hill, buy postcards and look for souvenirs in the stores that are open and spend the rest of the day at our hotel.
Day 5
As we don’t want to miss the sight Orongo and the beautiful view from the crater, we make sure to make the most out of our last day here. We are lucky to get another day of fantastic weather and after hiking up to these sights, we are returning to the village to look for the perfect Moai souvenir to take with us back home. This is not as easy as it might sound as Lukas are looking for the perfect one, and there are many talented local artists on this island. Very happy with finding “the one” we celebrate this fantastic evening with a drink and by watching the sunset at Tahai for the very last time.
Very happy with our stay here, we say goodbye to this beautiful island around midnight as we departure to fly to the next destination: French Polynesia 🇵🇫
Living The Moment 