Prior to carrying out the hike, we viewed Mt. Teurafaatiu from far away Tereia Beach near our lodging. The hike starting point is on the other side of the island:
A short distance north of the main dock and snack shop on the island are these concrete steps heading up the hillside to the west:
A closer look at the concrete steps which mark the beginning of the Mt. Teurafaatiu summit hike:
There were some beautiful Plumeria flowers (or Frangipani) lining the bottom of the trail:
Red Hibiscus flowers were blooming nearby as well:
Looking back down from the top of the concrete steps. From here to the summit, the trail turned to dirt and rock:
A coconut tree which is far enough up the hillside to be safe from Maupiti's coconut crabs:
The next two pictures showcase the early part of the trail as it passes through some grassy areas:
The trail occasionally climbs up rocky areas like this which seem to have natural steps:
Morning Glory (or Ipomoea) wildflowers also stood out during this hike, as seen in the next two pictures:
Shaded areas of the trail were a welcome sight at the lower elevations:
View looking to the north at a distant ridgeline covered with trees:
Looking back to the east. Note the six sailboats visible in this picture. We will be seeing different vantage points of these sailboats on the way up:
The hiking route trends southwest as it climbs out of the village:
The hike climbs above the bordering villages of Petei and Vaiea during the early portion:
Looking down at Vaiea village, the main island dock can be seen on the left and the distinct church building with steeple on the right:
This small rock outcropping is the first main viewpoint during the hike up. It's a great place to take a first break:
The next three pictures show a sweeping view from south to north as seen from the first main viewpoint. The sheer cliff seen in the distance is Mt. Hotu Paraoa:
Onoiau Pass can be seen far in the distance to the left of Mt. Hotu Paraoa:
Looking to the north, the South Pacific ocean can now be seen beyond the lagoon and reef:
White Thunbergia flowers were blooming near the first main viewpoint. Also known as Thunbergia Fragrans, these are quite beautiful:
Looking out at the long shallow portion of the lagoon in between Motu Tuanai (left) and Motu Tiapaa (right):
A slightly higher vantage point looking to the north:
A slightly overgrown trail but still easy to follow. This trail seems to get a lot of use by visitors. We saw at least 3 other groups hiking on the same day that we went:
Another rocky section to climb in between portions of dirt trail:
These are what the trail markers look like. These markers are useful since there are numerous confusing forks in the trail on the hike up:
Elevation gain was quite steady and steep during the hike. There were very few flat portions of trail:
Two tall palm trees towering over the trail:
Looking down some steep hiking terrain:
This portion of the trail was completely shaded and covered by trees:
Josh reaching the top while on the first of several rope climbs:
The next two pictures show a major rope climb in order to reach the base of the largest rock outcropping on the hike:
These steep rocks must be climbed in order to continue the hike:
Prior to reaching the base of the largest rock outcropping, I took the next two photos:
Looking straight down at Vaiea before finishing the rope climb:
Notice how the rope drops down from the base of the outcropping. This is definitely a steep and challenging area:
The large rock outcropping limits visibility to the north. This is the view looking to the east:
The view to the south toward Onoiau Pass is the most impressive:
Panoramic looking out at the lagoon and motus from the rock outcropping:
Zooming in on Mt. Hotu Paraoa (820 feet) at the lower left corner. Apparently there is an obscure and somewhat exposed trail to the top, although we did not find or attempt it:
Mt. Hotu Paraoa pictured with Onoiau Pass behind it. Onoiau Pass is the pass between the lagoon and ocean which is used by boats traveling to and from Maupiti:
A clear view looking down at Vaiea showing the main dock and colorful church building:
A zoomed look at the southern tip of Motu Tuanai:
The next three pictures show rope climbs that are mandatory in order to progress from the base of the largest rock outcropping to the top of it:
Once on top of the rock outcropping, there is a spur trail leading to the edge of it which has some nice views:
Tahitian Screwpine trees were growing at the higher elevations:
Notice we now had a higher angle for the view to the south:
This is the far end of the top of the largest rock outcropping. I wouldn't get too close to the edge because these rocks look like they could break off at any moment:
Notice that the airport runway is now visible (left side) looking to the north since we could see over an additional ridge:
And notice how close we are getting to the main ridgeline which runs up from Mt. Hotu Paraoa:
Looking straight up at the summit which we are now drawing close to:
My camera's zoom allowed me to take this photograph of the summit of Mt. Teurafaatiu:
The next three pictures showcase some of the trail terrain located in between the top of the large rock outcropping and the summit of Mt. Teurafaatiu:
Tahitian Screwpines were lining both sides of the trail:
If Tahitian Screwpines look similar to some of the trees seen on my Hawaii reports, that's because they are known as Hala trees in Hawaii:
The final path to the summit would not be complete without another rope climb up steep rocks, seen in the next two pictures:
This small Tahitian Screwpine is growing right below the summit block:
Arriving at the summit of Mt. Teurafaatiu exactly 2 hours after beginning the hike:
Incredible panoramic view of Maupiti as seen from the summit of Mt. Teurafaatiu:
Overview looking to the left of Mt. Hotu Paraoa:
And an overview looking to the right of Mt. Hotu Paraoa:
From the summit, this is the farthest you can see to the north. Motu Paeao (the smallest of Maupiti's five major motus) is faintly visible at the far left:
Zooming in for a perfect view of the airport landing strip located on Motu Tuanai:
Motu Tuanai is the second largest of the five major motus:
Here is a zoomed in look at the six sailboats which we spotted earlier near the beginning of the hike:
The southern end of Motu Tuanai is visible across from Vaiea:
The church building is one of the most colorful and distinct buildings on Maupiti:
This flagpole on the summit looks like it regularly has makeshift flags added to it until the wind shreds them:
Looking due south, this is the classic summit view from the top of Maupiti. Onoiau Pass cuts in between Motu Tiapaa (left) and Motu Pitiahe (right):
The very top of Mt. Hotu Paraoa can be seen on the left (mixed in with other ridgeline bumps above and around it):
A zoomed view of the lagoon showing a boat speeding toward Onoiau Pass:
I took this zoomed picture of Motu Pitiahe to the south because we spent an afternoon here one day. In the bonus pictures, you will see a photograph that I took from the beach seen here:
There are no motus located on the southwestern side of the reef which encloses Maupiti's lagoon:
View a little further to the right showing more of the southwestern coastline:
Also visible from the summit is Maupiti's only peninsula which stretches out into the lagoon:
Beyond the peninsula, Motu Auira (the largest of Maupiti's five motus) is clearly visible. Thus, all five major motus can be seen from the summit:
Tereia Point and Tereia Beach can be clearly seen from the summit by looking to the west. In this picture, you can see where we crossed the lagoon from Tereia Beach to Motu Auira:
The final picture from our hike shows me standing on the summit of Mt. Teurafaatiu:
The bonus pictures start out with two views of Maupiti and Mt. Teurafaatiu as seen during the airplane flight in:
A nice picture showing Mt. Hotu Paraoa (left sheer cliff) and Mt. Teurafaatiu (just left of the center high point) as seen from the lagoon:
Mt. Teurafaatiu (just right of center high point) as seen from a beach on Motu Auira:
This was the view promised earlier (on the picture where I had zoomed in on a beach from the summit). This is taken from Motu Pitiahe. This is an excellent look at the face of Mt. Hotu Paraoa:
Our final two viewpoints of Maupiti and Mt. Teurafaatiu were taken from near airport beach on Motu Tuanai:
One day after the summit hike, we hiked into Haranae Valley to search for the petroglyphs:
A huge centipede was spotted on our hike. Known locally as the "Hundred Feet", these have highly virulent poison that causes painful inflammation when someone is bitten:
A Copper-striped Skink, also known as a Blue-Tailed Skink. We saw several skinks (lizard family) during the hike:
After hiking up the trail for a bit, we then dropped into the riverbed and located the petroglyphs:
Two clear pictures of turtle petroglyphs etched into river boulders:
Getting a picture with one of the petroglyph boulders:
We now move on to some of my favorite snorkeling photos taken in Maupiti's lagoon:
The next four pictures show huge Manta Rays that we went swimming with. At one point, there were five Manta Rays swimming around us at once:
Four pictures of Pacific double-saddle butterflyfish, which are quite beautiful:
These fish (as well as most others) can be attracted to you by offering food:
Two pictures of Convict surgeonfish. These fish have a blade-like tail in the spine which is as sharp as a surgeon's scalpel, so caution is in order when swimming near them:
Marine Bivalve Mollusk Maxima Clams are interesting and colorful to photograph:
At least five Maxima Clams of different colors can be seen here:
Two pictures of some outstanding coral features in the lagoon:
Two fish hiding out underneath coral while I swam by:
Stingrays can bury themselves underneath sand. Thus, caution is in order while snorkeling and especially while walking through the lagoon:
A Stingray with two fish passing by in the water:
The next three pictures show me feeding chunks of fish to the Stingrays:
Locals had removed the barbs from the tails of these wild Stingrays, otherwise feeding them would have been dangerous:
Moorish Idols are some of the prettiest of the tropical fish:
I managed to capture this photo of an octopus watching me (lower left corner):
While snorkeling on the ocean side of Motu Auira, I came across this Sea Urchin and dangerous Spotfin Firefish (or lionfish):
A close-up of the Spotfin Firefish, which has venomous spiny dorsal fins:
This final picture from Maupiti sums up our feelings about the island and our time here:
