| TAHITI
Located 7.5 hours by jet from Los Angeles, Tahiti and her Islands are known
as French Polynesia. French Polynesia consists of five archipelagoes; the
Society Islands, Austral Islands, Marguesas Islands, Tuamotu Atolls and the
Mangareva. The islands are a mixture of volcanic islands and
coral atolls. The islands have rich, fertile soil and support a much
wider diversity of vegetation than the atolls. The population is
Polynesian, Chinese and European. Tahiti, with the capital Papeete is the
largest of the 118 islands and atolls in French Polynesia. Neighboring
islands include Moorea, Tetiaroa, Huahine, Bora Bora, Raiatea, Tahaa and
Maupiti.
French Polynesia has around 100 species of birds, including terns, petrels,
noddies and frigatebirds. And the abundance and diversity of marine
life is immediately obvious when you poke you head underwater.
The Islands offer a rich marine environment of walls,
reefs, and a variety of fish life, including some exciting shark encounters,
set amid a Polynesian paradise of dazzling sunshine, turquoise lagoons,
spectacular beaches and lush vegetation. Just of the serene beaches
the ocean is bursting with pelagics, eagle rays, turtles, mantas and silver
tip sharks.
During the live aboard trip the boat will explore the channels and corners
of the Tuamotu Atoll. All diving is done from the skiff as drift diving with
several safety precautions. Divers carry safety sausages, dive alert
horns, mirrors and sometimes personal epirbs.
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