Rapa Nui by scooter

Time to say goodbye to the South American Continent…

After almost 6 flight hours (Boing 767, no small what so ever bird…*smiley winking* there was:

One thing to clarify, as we Germans tend to speak about “die Osterinseln” and some English speaking people “the Easter Islands”: It’s only one island – and some two or three very tiny islets – so singular it should be!

After a welcome with some flowers…

… we walked a bit on the sea front to see some Moais (the famous stone figures) on their Ahus (platforms)…

… and enjoyed the sunset there.

Day 1 (the first full day)

The next day, we were crazy enough to rent mountain bikes to explore the island.

The way (road??) was getting smaller and more and more rough, we thought we were lost and only had the feeling that the direction might be the right one. Nobody around to ask, so we kept on going straight ahead. And yes, we where on the right track and found the only Moai group on the island standing not at the coast and looking towards the sea (all the others watch in the other direction).

Well, then we had the brilliant idea to cycle up the highest volcano on the island (about 500m). Does not sound too bad, but given the fact, that most of the “way” was just grassland with some 4×4 wheel tracks, it was really exhausting. I decided, that this

was enough bird view for me, took a rest and sent Thorsten alone to the top, as he really wanted to go up there…

On the way back we passed a lava tube and some Ahus with Moais lying on the earth. Btw, all the standing Moais where re-erected and some partly restored in the 20th century, as they all where thrown from their Ahus by humans during tribal wars or tsunamis.

And even though we have been there before, there is no chance of getting tired looking at the Moais again and again…

Day 2

No details about hurting parts of the body – only that: we decided that for today we need something to move with an engine and a softer seat. Guess what?? Yes, we rented a scooter and drove once around the island to see much more Moais and other things.

From there, we headed to the Ahu Tongariki, a group of 15 Moais (largest group of standing Moais on the island) – re-erected by Japanese. And yes, of course the Japanese chose the group in a picture perfect surrounding…

Just to make sure that we know where to go, we needed to drive on a rough dirt road with our dear scooter to the north coast of the island. Why?? Just to make sure, we like the Anakena Beach where (according to the legend) the first Rapa Nui people arrived to the island.

Handover to Hardmän, who will tell you more about beaches, the scooter and much more!