Day 20 … a full day tour of Rapa Nui

Today we were booked on a full day tour of Rapa Nui that would take us to the south east and northern parts of the island to explore more archaeology, history and culture, and to visit what is considered the most amazing place on the whole island. So far we have been blown away by what we have seen so we were looking forward to what was supposedly the big moment.

We enjoyed another lovely breakfast on the verandah of our hotel before heading out to meet up with our tour. Spot on 9 am a car arrived with a driver who was there to transport us to another hotel where the tour bus would collect us. Our bus consisted of the 4 American ladies travelling together, the UK couple from yesterday and a UK/French couple that we had not met before. Our guide was Nico (😌) and our driver was Karim.

And so off we went to tour the island. To save all the usual gumph of getting on and off, getting our tickets and passports to be checked at the Park gates etc … we will just give you the details of each location we stopped at.

Ahu Akahanga … situated on the south coast, this site features several fallen Moai statues on the Ahu (platform) and in the surrounding area. There are quite a number of the ceremonial platforms and also some Moai that are in “travelling” form … that is, they hadn’t made it to the site of the platform and can be found lying prone in the earth. Due to their archeological significance they are fenced off to signify that they are not to be touched. The Moai laying down have fallen … perhaps due to the civil war era when fighting clans would topple each others Moai or due to earthquakes or tsunamis in the past. We saw evidence of houses, greenhouses, chicken coops and a cave where people slept.

Rano Raraku …Yesterday's guide Simon told us Rano Raraku was the highlight of the all day tour. Not Ahu Tongariki - our next stop with 15 Moai lined up along the beach front in that iconic Easter Island image. He assured us that Rano Raraku was better than that. Word to the wise ... always trust your guide - he was right.

Rano Raraku is a volcanic hill in the middle of the island. It is "the factory of Moai" where the Moai were quarried from lapilli tuff, hardened volcanic ashes that mix lots of different minerals from the area. As you approach the green slopes of the hill you can see Moai dotted all over - some upright, some fallen, some unfinished. And as you follow the walking path up the hill you see some that were still in the process of being carved out of the stone when the practice ceased in the 1700s. Some are 2-3m tall, one still embedded in the hill is 22m long and estimated at 200 tonnes. Some have their faces carved, some had progressed to the ears, neck and upper back. Some were ready for transportation to their Ahu (platform) up to 24km away using a variety of means. It is a wondrous sight, and we had sunny blue skies to make the photos even better. But get this ... the quarry was a "human/neutral place". All 7 clans used the same quarry to carve their own Moai, no disputes or arguments, a shared resource. We loved it.

Ahu Tongariki … is the largest Ahu on the island. Its Moai were also toppled during the civil war and the Ahu itself was swept inland from a tsunami. The Ahu and its Moai were restored in the 1990s funded and supported by the Japanese government working with the Chilean government. The restoration has resulted in 15 Moai standing tall on their platform … they are glorious. The tallest Moai weighs 86 tonnes and stands in the middle of the platform. At the time of the restoration the Japanese government also returned a Moai that they had acquired and it stands at the entrance to this section of the park (take note British Museum! The Rapa Nui want their items of cultural significance back!)

Ahu Te Pito Kura … which translates to “the navel of light”, refers to an archeological site on the north of the island that features a large fallen Moai (called Paro) and several large spherical magnetic stones. In the past you were able to get closer to the stones but due to vandalism the park officials have built a rock wall to protect them. The central large rock is said to scramble the directions on a compass. Guides used to bring a compass with them to demonstrate this but due to a few foolish and inconsiderate people this can no longer happen. Our guide suggested we make a wish here, and got us all to join hands around the stone wall. Fun fact … 11 people is what you need to just encircle this site, 10 would not have made it.

Our final stop was Anakena Beach. It is an archaeological site with two separate Ahu holding a single and a group of 7 Moai restored by locals. Which is great for the history/culture buffs. And if that doesn't work for you Anakena is the picture perfect Polynesian beach. Clear blue waters in a small cove with a mouth maybe 200m across. White sands. Hundreds of palm trees swaying above green lawns sloping gently down to the beach. After inspecting the Ahu I (Ian) had a swim and Jacqui paddled her feet for about 20-30 minutes. The water was that perfect temperature just on the warm side of refreshingly cool. I could see small fish swimming by me. The swell was gentle and playful. So lots of people from many nations swam, sun-baked, paddled and frolicked together. Tropical paradise.

There were also a restaurant, bars and souvenir shops doing busy trade in Pisco Sours, cocktails, foot long empanadas, seafood platters and coral necklaces. We left having spent $0, with 100 photos and memories that will last a lifetime.

The drive back to our hotel took less than 30 minutes - once again we were the first to be dropped off. The highlight was Karim's play list in the bus, from Kenny Rogers to 70s disco hits and finally some early classics. The bus sang along to "Unchained Melody" - completely mangling a lovely song, joined Tom Jones in "You're My World" and finished with Paul Anka and "Diana" (including Ian doing the falsetto parts). Not a great advertisement for tourism.

We should also mention our boxed (bagged) lunch here. Huge chicken, avocado and salad roll (think whole chicken breast pulled and marinaded with half an avocado), two boiled eggs, bag of peanuts, fig bar, banana and bottle of chilled water. Each. Our lunch and breakfast leftovers are making up dinner for our final night on Easter Island.

And for the record, here are a couple of shots from last night's sunset. Not the best display on show but it still attracted 150+ people to our front yard.