The temple area stands on the edge of the huge lagoon that encompasses both Raiatea and the neighboring island of Taha'a. Coconut palms have been planted on the coastal flats all the way around the island, and provide its main export, copra (dried coconut meat).

Today the maraes have been restored and the area is open to the public. It is an hour's drive south from Uturoa, the main town on Raiatea -- the last few miles of road are not paved, just packed coral. There are no displays or interpretive signs, though local tour guides regularly stop there. I went there alone, and experienced a wonderful feeling of stepping back in time, with nothing in sight to remind me of the 20th century.

The great standing stone at Hauvivi, about eight feet tall, is reminiscent of Stonehenge. The smaller stones were intended as backrests for powerful chiefs attending ceremonies here. They couldn't have been very comfortable, and I found them just perfect for tripping over.

Along the seaward side of the platform is a wall, four to six feet high, of massive basalt slabs. Another such wall, even larger, is visible inland, edging another huge stone-paved platform -- the actual Taptaputea temple. In addition to these two large platforms, there are several smaller ones.

Taputaputea is located near the mouth of Fa'aroa Bay, a deep fiord-like indentation of the east coast of Raiatea. Polynesian tradition considers this to be the spot from which great voyages of exploration and colonization departed. Whether it was from this exact place or not, it is true that Polynesians discovered and settled practically every island in the South Pacific, including tiny dots such as Pitcairn and Easter Island, and extending from the relatively huge islands of New Zealand, to Hawaii in the northern Pacific.