French Polynesia

From MaxTravelz

French Polynesia (Polynesie Francaise) is an archipelago of islands that is an overseas dependent territory of France in the South Pacific Ocean about one-half of the way from South America to Australia.

It includes five archipelagoes (4 volcanic, 1 coral); Makatea in French Polynesia is one of the three great phosphate rock islands in the Pacific Ocean - the others are Banaba (Ocean Island) in Kiribati and Nauru

Contents 1 Regions 2 Cities 3 Other destinations 4 Understand 4.1 Climate 4.2 Terrain 4.3 History 5 Get in 5.1 By plane 6 Get around 7 Talk 8 Buy 9 Eat 10 Drink 11 Sleep 12 Learn 13 Work 14 Stay safe 15 Stay healthy 16 Respect 17 Contact 18 External links

Regions

There are 5 archipelagic regions:

• Archipel des Marquises
• Archipel des Tuamotu
• Archipel des Tubuai
• Iles du Vent
• Iles Sous-le-Vent

Cities

• Papeete - Capital, which is on the island of Tahiti.
• Mataura
• Rikitea
• Uturoa

Other destinations

• Clipperton Island is administered by France from French Polynesia
• Bora Bora is one of the more beautiful islands in the Society group. A popular destination but very pricey.
• Rapa. A remote atoll.

Understand

Climate

Tropical, but moderate. Natural hazards : occasional cyclonic storms in January. Very humid.

Terrain

Mixture of rugged high islands and low islands with reefs.

Highest point 

Mont Orohena 2,241 m

History

The Polynesians inhabited these islands for several hundred years before their discovery by western explorers.

The British discovered Tahiti in the mid 1760's and Captain Cook visited there in 1769 to observe the Transit of Venus before sailing on to the south and west in search of the fabled Terra Australus Incognita with the assistance of a Polynesian navigator.

The French annexed various Polynesian island groups during the 19th century.

Dependency status 

overseas territory of France since 1946

During the 1960's and 1970's, the French conducted atmospheric nuclear tests in the islands, primarily at Mururoa atoll. Testing later moved underground after international protests from other Pacific countries, including a flotilla of yachts and a warship from New Zealand to monitor tests in 1974. Testing continued into the early 1990's, despite attempts to disrupt them by enviromental activists. In September 1995, France stirred up widespread protests by resuming nuclear testing on the Mururoa atoll after a three-year moratorium. The tests were suspended in January 1996.

In recent years the islanders have been working towards autonomy and economic independence from France. However, the process is a gradual one and is expected to take a decade or two to occur.

Get in

French Polynesia has a very remote position in the South Pacific Ocean, so unless you are already there, flying is the only option. There are cruiseships and cargo ships travelling from Hawaii or New Zealand but non on a regular schedule.

By plane

The flagcarrier of French Polynesia is Air Tahiti Nui and the main airport and regional hub is Papeete. Air Tahiti Nui flies internationally to Tokyo, Osaka, Los Angelas, New York, Auckland, Sydney and Paris. Thery cooperate with Air France, Japan Airlines and Quantas. Although Air New Zealand flies to Papeete.

Get around

The territory of French Polynesia has about the same surface as the European Union but the combined land area (all islands and atolls) is just about the size of [Mallorca]]. Most people live on the two islands Tahiti and Moorea. These islands have street networks and public transport (including good touristic infrastructure). To jump from island to island there are two options:

1. Air Tahiti Nui offers domestic flights inside of French Polynesia to e.g. Bora Bora.
2. Ferries (sometimes combined cargo and pax boats like e.g. the Aranui) travel between most islands.

Talk

The official languages are French and Tahitian.

Buy

Eat

Drink

Sleep

Learn

Work

Voluntary service: Volontariat Civil à l'Aide Technique (VCAT). Conditions: you must be French or from another EU-member state or a country belonging to the European Economic Area. You must be over 18 and under 28 years old (inclusive). You must not have had your civic rights revoked by a court or have been convicted of certain offences. VCAT

Stay safe

Stay healthy

Respect

Contact

External links

• Ministry of Tourism of French Polynesia
• Official Tahiti Tourism site

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