Rapa Nui Moai Day 1 Tour

We had booked a 2-day private tour of the island and were met promptly at 9 am by Nakia, who drove and walked us around the southern coast and inland showing us nonstop 🗿 🗿🗿🗿🗿🗿🗿

We visited these sites (I think they are in order, but the Rapa Nui language reminds me of Hawaiian where there doesn’t seem to be enough variation in letters for me to distinguish one site from another!)

First up was the Rako Raraku, or the quarry where the Moai were carved and there are more than 150 of them on the hillside in various states of creation.

Then came the Tongariki site, where 15 Moai have been reassembled on their platform (called an Ahu). All the Moai had been pushed over throughout the island, but this one was rebuilt in the 1990s.

We visited Orono, site of 150 years of the bird man competitions where men would risk life and limb diving down a cliff and swimming through crazy waves over to bring an egg back and claim the prize of leadership for a year and a virgin. This site has an amazing volcanic crater.

Then Vinapu where a lovely rainbow 🌈 appeared out on the ocean while we walked among toppled Moai.

Such a full day and hardly anyone is here. We can’t believe that we are often the only ones at these sites.…our guide is a bit in the “mystic” side of things for Melissa’s taste, but he’s definitely showing us his heritage.Read more