Moorea, soaring magically out of the ocean in an explosion of green velvet, is what you would imagine a South Seas island to be. A wide, shallow lagoon surrounds the island's vertical mountains where poetic threads of waterfalls tumble down fern-softened cliffs. Fields of pineapples and vanila hidden in peaceful meadows will fill your senses and renew your belief in the majesty of nature. Pastel-painted youses surrounded by gardens of hibiscus and birds of paradise, circle the island in a fantasy of happy, yet simple villages. All who have traveled here agree: the beauty of Moorea is unforgettable.

The "sister island" to Tahiti is a land of history and legend. Tradition has it that Moorea was the dorsal fin of the great fish of Tahiti. History tells that the god Hiro, desirous of Rotui the most beautiful mountain of the island and the peace where spirits of the dead pause before their decent into the underworld, wished to make off with her one night to his home in Raiatea. But the warrior Pai put him to flight, throwing his spear which passed through the other famous mountain known from that day on as Moua Puta (Pierced Mountain). -- The hole thus caused can still be seen to this day.

The sculptured beauty of Cook's Bay ranged with chiseled mountain peaks, including the very lovely Rotui, is paralleled by its twin bay of Opunohu whose dark waters reflect the steep mountain sides, will always attract artists, lovers of beauty and philosophers from around the world.