Such a dream came true last year – we set foot on Easter Island! Also named Rapa Nui by the Polynesian people, this tiny island is nothing but a drop in the Pacific Ocean, but such a special one and famous for its enormous moai.
We arrived from the lip-chapping cold of the Andes, skipped a night due to our stopover in Santiago and the long flight to Hanga Roa and on top of that I still felt that wine of the vineyard tour in Mendoza hanging around in my head – so all in all the sunshine and that tropical climate with its accompanying flowers and a Polynesian necklace upon arrival made for a pretty neat welcome.
We dwelled on the island for five days which is quite a lot of time if you consider Easter Island’s size is only 164 sq km (63 square miles) – (if you’re Dutch: it’s the size of Terschelling). This amount of time gave us the chance to see all of the highlights, during all the different weather conditions. After all, we discovered that the weather changes super fast in here. Sometimes it even felt more like we were driving around Ireland rather than a Polynesian island as you can see below.
So have a look upon Rapa Nui – I selected our best photos for you in here! Lava tunnels, sacred volcano craters, tropical flowers, wild horses, Polynesian petroglyphs, dreamy sunrises, the little town of Hanga Roa, a pristine beach, rainbows, a bit of wildlife and of course an enormous amount of moai; it’s all in here!
And don’t worry, more articles about where to go on the island, what Moai to see and how to do Easter Island on the cheap are in the making!
Hibiscus flowers in the town of Hanga Roa
The volcano of Rano Kao
Ahu Akivi: a commemoration to the seven first explorers of Rapa Nui
Hiking one of the lava tunnels, this Vietcong escape was the way to get out of it
Cows on the volcano of Rano Kao
The lonely maoi along the Pia Taro road
Beach Anakena in the north with Ahu Nau Nau
Sunset at Ahu Tahai
Ahu Tongariki
Petroglyps at Orongo
Another pretty hibiscus flower
Above the cave of Ana Kai Tanata during a pretty wild storm
Upon arrival near Anakena beach
Wild horses, you can see them everywhere on the island
Rainbow over Ahu Tongariki
Driving the eastern road of the island
Flowers in the north of the island near Anakena Beach
Sunset as seen from the volcano of Rano Kao
Sunset at Ahu Tahai
The volcano of Rano Kao
Cow near Te Peu
Beach Anakena in the north
The volcano crater of Rano Kao
