The Islands of Tahiti is a destination famed for its beautiful turquoise lagoons and picture postcard beaches of pure white sand. However, there are certain islands in French Polynesia that have something even more spectacular to offer. They are islands where the sand on the beach is pink! Please don’t take any of this unique treasure home with you, but feel free to photograph it to your heart’s content!
Bora Bora, Moorea, Tahiti; names that dreams are made of. But today we’re going to tell you about another truly wonderful, natural treasure to be found in The Islands of Tahiti: the pink sand beaches of Tikehau and Rangiroa in the Tuamotu Islands. Colored by the reddish-pink shells of microscopic single-cell organisms called forminifera, these stunningly beautiful beaches attract visitors from all over the world, who come just to see, photograph and marvel at them. During your visit to Tikehau, you can go scuba diving, snorkeling, swimming and enjoy boat trips to explore the motu. Rangiroa is above all, a superb destinationan ofor scuba diving and snorkeling. But it has plenty of other attractions as well, not the least of which is a winery! The Vin de Tahiti domain is the only vineyard in the world to be found on a motu in the middle of a lagoon. The delicious white and rosé wines are perfect for a picnic on the white and pînk beaches of Rangiroa.
The pink sand of Tikehau
Tikehau is home to some of the most beautiful beaches in The Islands of Tahiti. Some of them are long stretches of soft white sand, but the most spectacular are pink. The color comes from single cell organisms called forminifera, which have been depositing their reddish-pink shells on the beach for millions of years. However, Tikehau’s lagoon is remarkable for more than its pink beaches. The famous French explorer, Jacques Cousteau, said that it had a bigger variety of fish than anywhere else in the world: eagle rays, schools of barracuda and in the passes, tuna, hammerhead sharks, gray sharks, sea turtles, dolphins manta rays and much, much more. With its magnificent beaches of soft white and pink sand, coconut trees, a superb lagoon and a population of only 500 or so islanders, Tikehau is the archetypal South Sea Island paradise.
The pink sand of Rangiroa
It takes just over an hour by boat to get to Les Sables Roses (The Pink Sands) from the main village of Avatoru in Rangiroa. This stunning sandbank lies in the middle of the world’s second biggest lagoon. It is a magnificent stretch of bright pink sand, about a hundred and fifty meters long, in shallows of crystal clear, turquoise. The setting is so magical that it almost looks unreal. When you take photographs, make sure that there is something white in the picture, like a towel. Otherwise the folks back home won’t believe that you didn’t photoshop it!
An excursion to Les Sables Roses is a truly unforgettable experience. After more than an hour on the lagoon, you come to a sandbank where you stop for an hour or more, to take photos and marvel at the beauty. It’s also a superb spot for snorkeling, with rays and tropical fish to observe. Afterwards, you go to the nearby motu for a picnic lunch on the beach followed by a siesta in the shade of a coconut tree. Then you’ll have time for another swim and snorkeling session before heading back to the main island. Sandy beaches aren’t the only treasures that come in white or pink in Rangiroa. The white and rosé wines of the Vin de Tahiti vineyard in Avatoru are delicious!
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