Magnificent statue island

I have been here for about 2.5 days since Easter Monday. I have been around this national park which is the island.

i joined a guided tour with Hugo, a local guy with really passionate about his culture. So first we went to the big crater in Orongo, what a view. Here I would like to have a time turned off and just enjoy the view again… we also learned the story of the bird man, that they had to swim 1.4 km to the small island across from the crater then climbed the cliff, got the egg of the bird and swam back. The best people was selected from the 7 tribes and they stayed in the stone cave around the crater, waiting for the bird to come. Then we went to one of the highest point where we could see the whole island. After that the journey continues to Vinapu, where we found some broken faces, in total 12. Then we had a break for lunch, at the harbor, I saw 4 giant turtles, box fish, other fish swimming around in the clear water. What a view!

In the afternoon, we went first to the Anatepahu lava cave which has been used as ahouse and also shelter during the war. Then we went to Ahu a tiu where 7 statues facing the sea instead which contemplate the 7 tribes that lived in the island. Then we continued to Puna pau where they made the hat. The hat showed a certain status and it was made from different type of rocks.

After coming back to town, I did a small walk to Tahai, where people said that it is the best place to see the sunset. On the way there, I passed many sculptures and statues, sometimes it is difficult to recognize which one is original and which one is new only for the tourist. At Tahai, there are some statues and people are sitting around the grass field waiting for the sunset which is very nice because of the open horizon. There was a bit of clouds but I enjoyed it especially when a big dog suddenly just sat next to me and asking to be pat.

First impression touring around the island, was mostly the view. This island has about 4 volcanoes and 111 conical mountains. For me the view is magical as being an island in the middle of the pacific ocean. From any points of the island, you will see the ocean that has no ends, very open horizon. This Polynesian culture about making and having this statue is also very interesting.

on the second day, with the same guide,

I went on a full day trip around the island. The first stop was Rano raraku, the quarry, the place where they produced all the statues, according to the order of the family. Then the family should transport it by themselves to the dedicate platform. There are different sizes of statues there and the tallest one is about 21 m. From this site, I could see already a platform of one tribe by the sea, called Tongariki. This platform has 15 statues of about 5-8 m tall and only one statue has hat. From there, we went to Hanga tee, it is like an open museum with the typical houses of the tribes. One of the biggest statue, about 8 m, 95 ton is located in Te pito kura, only it is on sleeping position now. I ended up with a dipped in pacific ocean with a series of statues on Anakena beach.