Tetiaroa

Tetiaroa is an atoll of a dozen motu around a shallow lagoon about fifty kilometres north of Tahiti, held by the Pomare royal family as a retreat and later bought by Marlon Brando, who filmed nearby in 1960. It is now run as a resort with an ecostation attached that does research on the reef, the seabirds and the atoll's ecology. Bird Island holds large seabird colonies and turtles nest on the beaches.

History

Tetiʻaroa was a place of pleasure for the Tahitian chiefs, for song, dance, fishing and feasting, and for the custom of haʻaporiʻa, in which nobles ate to gain weight and kept out of the sun, plump and pale being a sign of wellbeing; it was held by the chiefs of Pare-'Arue and later by the Pōmare dynasty. William Bligh is said to have been the first European visitor, in 1789, and the United States Exploring Expedition came on 10 September 1839. In 1904 the royal family sold the atoll to Johnston Walter Williams, a Canadian and the only dentist in Tahiti, who ran it as a residence and copra plantation, and in 1960 Marlon Brando found it while scouting locations for Mutiny on the Bounty; he decided on the purchase in 1966, and in 1970 built a small village on Motu Onetahi with an airstrip, 12 simple bungalows and buildings of coconut wood and thatch, which became a place for family, friends and researchers studying the atoll's ecology and archaeology (Wikipedia, Tetiʻaroa).

What's there

• The lagoon - a shallow enclosed lagoon between the motu.
• The seabird colonies - the large nesting populations on Bird Island.
• The ecostation - the research facility working on the atoll's ecology.
• The royal and Brando history - the atoll's owners before it became a resort.

When to go

May to October is the dry season. Access is by light aircraft and is controlled. Day trips are limited and the resort is expensive.

Practical notes

Access is strictly controlled and the resort is among the most expensive in the Pacific. Day trips are limited in number. Parts of the atoll are closed to protect nesting birds.

Nearby

Tahiti is south, and Moorea is southwest.

Key facts