Huahine island

The island was originaly populated by the first Polynesian explorers around 850 AD.  There are numerous temples (maraes), which trace the history of Polynesians.  Huahine’s former name was Matairea which means “joyous breeze”.  Its present name comes from Hua, meaning sex and Hine, meaning female, which corresponds to a mountain ridge resembling the outline of a supine woman.  Its recent history begins with the voyage of Captain Cook in 1769.  It became a French Protectorate in 1888 and annexed in 1897.  Its inhabitants have been French citizens since 1945, while Polynesia became a Territory in 1946.

Huahine has a surface area of 75km2.  Fare, the island’s port town has 1246 residents.  The other villages are Faie, Fitii, Maroe, Haapu, Parea and Tefarerii.  Geologically the island is the result of years of volcanic activity with her highest summit reaching 669 metres.  She is, in fact made up of two similar-sized islands Huahine Nui (big) and Huahine Iti (small), separated by a narrow isthmus, now connected by a little bridge.  Those of you who make an island tour by land or sea will notice the lagoons, deep-carved bays and mountainous landscapes are constantly changing throughout each and every day.  There exist six passes in the surrounding coral reef, allowing water and crafts to pass freely to the open ocean and return to the safety of the lagoon.

Huahine’s economy is principally oriented toward agriculture with the production of rockmelon, watermelon, vanilla, black pearls and fishing.  The tourism sector include family pensions, hotels and tours. The Services sector include:    Municipal offices, post office, schools, airport, health and construction/equipment, offering employment opportunities for the local population.  The commercial business are situated in Fare and are provisioned by regular cargo freighters coming from Tahiti every two or three days and an airport service provides daily links with Tahiti (35 minutes) and the other islands.