Understanding the Mo'ai...

Our hotel, as arranged by Lindblad, was the Explora Rapa Nui. We don't know where this ranks on the island, but it was an excellent eco-resort with fabulous food and great cocktails (the local Pisco Sour went down very well), a very comfortable room, and an infinity pool, a sauna and a wellness spa. Explora operates luxury hotels in remote destinations in South America. In our room was an Amelia Earhart quote, "Adventure is worthwhile in itself".

Beautiful rural outlook to the east from the Explora.

Spectacular afternoon at Explora Rapa Nui.

The whole "feel" of the Explora reminded us of the Great Southern Lodge on Kangaroo Island in South Australia. The Explora was well patronised, with many guests apart from ourselves, all of who seemed to spend their days in the hands of enthusiastic and friendly guides. While Ata focused on history and mythology with us, hiking was popular, and so was diving, amongst the other guests.

The weather on Rapa Nui is sunny and warm, 20-30C, especially when compared to where we have been, but Ata warned us to be ready for a little rain every day. He was right, and we did well to always have raincoats with us. The rain was never heavy though, and the fabulous shower in our bathroom at Explora gave us cause to wonder where does the water come from!

The big questions on Rapa Nui, are how and why did the Polynesians build such big idols. Other polynesians managed to satisfy themselves with more modest statuary, such as totems or tikis, quite small or up to man-sized. What happened here? Well, we are really none the wiser. Moai are symbols of authority and power and repositories of the spirit after death. Did the various clan leaders compete with each other to produce bigger and better moai to increase their mana, some mystical spiritual currency?

Puna Pau

Considerable engineering and skill must have been involved in carving a large moai, getting it from the source material, and erecting. Before Ata lets us into these secrets, he showed us Puna Pau, a volcanic crater and apparently the only source of red scoria or cinder used for the moai's hat or topknot, pukao. How did the competing clans ever cooperate sufficiently to share this resource?

One of many abandoned pukao at Puna Pau.

The scoria quarry at Puna Pau.

Apparent carving area for mo'ai topknots at Puna Pau.

More horses than people on Rapa Nui!

Ahu Akivi

In gentle foothills of the Terevaka volcano, there is an altar of seven erect moai known as Ahu Akivi, more or less the same size. This site, restored by Mulloy, is maybe 5km away from the west coast, but here the moai are facing the ocean, and exactly face sunset at the Spring Equinox. Astronomical positioning does not occur elsewhere on Rapa Nui. By all accounts, Ahu Akivi was first built as a platform associated with cremation in the 1500's, with the moai erected much later, in the next century.

The 7 mo'ai at Ahu Akivi face east and the coast.

Like most restored mo'ai, these were broken at the neck, and are without eyes.

Dogs appear to roam Rapa Nui freely, and always appear when we visit a site.

Ana Te Pahu

Near Akivi is Ana Te Pahu, a long volcanic lava tube formed by rock solidifying around flowing lava. Ata told us that such caves are common on Rapa Nui and were used as refuge and habitation. This cavern looked big enough to hold an entire clan, and there was a lot of evidence of rock wall construction for defence purposes et al. Gardens were grown at entrances.

A steady stream of visitors to Ana Te Pahu.

Guava growing near Ana Te Pahu.

Entrances to the cave are hidden in a depression. Ata helped us climb down.

The cave extends some 500m!

We sampled a fruit Ata called "haia". It was sweet and fragrant.

This view of Ana Te Pahu shows that there is not much ceiling to the cave.

These wildflowers grow in sunny spots in the cave.

Akahanga

We went to the south coast quite close to the Explora Hotel. Here, at Akanhanga, we saw unrestored sites of destroyed altars and moai of two clans whose villages were within easy sight of each other, maybe only 200m apart. The moai have all been pushed over, most broken, amd rocks are strewn everywhere. Ata said that the destruction was generally caused within clans, not between them - evidently the populace wre disgusted with the profligacy of their betters. We noticed that red scoria was used here as part of the altars, not just the pukao. Petroglyphs were evident.

From the ruins of one clan at Akahanga, the next clan is very close.

Pushed over mo'ai at Akahanga, with red scoria altar stones quite evident.

Petroglyphs must tell stories of the past.

Moai and their Ahu commemorate dead royalty, but are not burial places. More typically, the dead are cremated with the remains placed on "tables" to be cleaned up by birds. Here, we could see one of these tables.

Table used to protect storage areas, and to lay out the remains of the dead.

Another cave, much smaller than Ana Te Pahu, was nearby.

Modest refuge cave near Ana Te Pahu.

Small vegetable farming activities acn be seen over Rapa Nui.

Example of Rapa Nui's rustic gate and fence construction.

The road from Explora south to the coast.

Political activism is alive on Rapa Nui, but what the protestors want is uncertain.

Spectacular sunrise on Rapa Nui.