Tubuai

Tubuai is the administrative centre of the Austral Islands, a low green island of two old volcanic masses joined by a plain, sitting inside a wide lagoon with motu on the reef. Its climate is cooler than Tahiti, which lets it grow potatoes, carrots and other crops that supply the Papeete market. Mutineers from the Bounty tried to settle here in 1789 and were driven off within months, leaving the earthworks of their fort.

Background

The island's own name is Tupuaʻi, and islanders use the Tupuaʻi form of the Austral language. It lies 640 km south of Tahiti, 210 km from Rurutu and 195 km from Ra'ivāvae, and has 2,185 inhabitants on 45 square kilometres. Its highest point, Mount Taita'a, reaches 422 metres. The encircling reef holds a lagoon of 85 square kilometres, almost double the island's area, up to 5 kilometres wide and mostly around 6 metres deep, with a pass for ships on the north side. People have lived here since at least 1215 CE. James Cook mapped the island in 1777 without landing. Toa trees once grew thickly on the motu, and islanders built houses from their dense wood.

Source: Wikipedia, "Tubuai"

The landscape

• The wide lagoon - the reef and motu enclosing the island.
• The cool climate - the temperature that lets root crops grow for the Tahiti market.
• The Bounty fort - the earthworks left by the 1789 attempt to settle.
• The two volcanic masses - the hills joined by the central plain.

When to go

May to October is the dry season, though the Australs are cooler and wetter than Tahiti. Flights are limited. Cyclone season runs November to April.

Practical notes

There is very little tourism infrastructure and few pensions. Flights are infrequent and expensive. The lagoon is shallow and the passes are limited.

Nearby

Rurutu is north, and Raivavae is east.

Key facts