Huahine

Introduction

Huahine is one of the Leeward Islands of French Polynesia.

Geography

Huahine measures 16 kilometres in length, with a maximum width of 13 kilometres. It is made up of two main islands surrounded by a fringing coral reef with several islets, or motu. Huahine Nui (Big Huahine) lies to the north and Huahine Iti (Little Huahine) to the south. The two islands are separated by a few hundred yards of water and joined by a sandspit at low tide. A small bridge was built to connect Huahine Nui and Huahine Iti.

In the northwest of Huahine Nui lies a 375 hectares brackish lake known as Lac Fauna Nui (Lac Maeva). This lake is all that remains of the ancient atoll lagoon. Air transportation is available via Huahine airport, located on the northern shore of Huahine Nui.

Events and Festivals

• Hawaiki Nui Va'a is a canoe race takes place over three days in early November. Over 100 traditional canoes race from Huahine to stunning Bora Bora island, covering more than 50 kilometres in a bit over 4 hours. There are several other canoe races at other times of the year as well, but this is the big one.

Weather

Located within the tropics, the climate of Huahine is tropical. The average temperatures are around 28 °C to 32 °C during the day and still well above 20 °C at night. The hotter months are between November and April and this is also the wet season with much more rain compared to June to September. Occasionally tropical storms hit some of the islands during this time, though certainly not every year.

Getting There

By Plane

Huahine - Fare Airport (HUH) offers flights with Air Tahiti to/from Bora Bora, Moorea, Papeete and Raiatea.

By Boat

• Vaeanu operates the Pape'ete-Huahine-Ra'iatea-Taha'a-Bora Bora return trip, leaving Pape'ete on Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 5:00pm and from Bora Bora on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday.
• Hawaiki Nui also travels the Society Islands circuit, and has two departures a week (Tuesday and Thursday at 4:00pm).
• The Aremiti 3 travels from Papeete on Monday and Friday for Huahine and Ra'iatea.

Sleep

External Links