Nunue


Tahitian Huts
Photo by: Steven Punter, Creative Commons

Nunue is a district settlement in the island of Bora-Bora, a world famous island resort fringed almost completely by a coral reef. Bora-Bora in turn, belongs to the Society Islands of French Polynesia.

The islands under French Polynesia are politically recognized as an overseas colony of France. The island group’s capital is Papeete, located in Tahiti, also the largest in terms of population. While Tahiti belongs to the Windward Islands administrative division of French Polynesia, Bora-Bora belongs to the Leeward Islands, along with the islands of Raiatea, Tupai, and Tahaa. Like Bora-Bora, these islands are also enclosed within a coral reef, and shine a resplendent aqua blue.

The administrative seat of Bora-Bora lies in Vaitape, a district situated to the island’s west. Just directly south of it lies Nunue, at the receiving end of Pofai Bay. The entire economy of the island is dependent on tourism. Aside from the resorts that dot along the island’s coastline, the local entrepreneurs and the government have set up resorts on the atoll surrounding the island, especially on the northern portion. Most of the resorts feature overwater bungalows, a consistent characteristic in the island ever since Hotel Bora-Bora built it first 10 years ago. These kinds of hotel accommodations are regularly featured in postcards, books, magazines, leisure marketing material all over the world, and make Nunue and Bora-Bora very iconic to remember when it comes to travel destinations.

The widely spoken languages in Bora-Bora are Tahitian and French. The latter is the official language. However, some also speak English, as the tourist clientele are mostly Americans and British, followed by Asians (especially Japanese). Visitors come here mainly for scuba diving and snorkelling in the waters between the island proper and atolls and these activities are so popular in the island that it drowns all other forms of leisure.

It is not only the sea the welcomes visitors. Tourists are given tours to the island’s twin extinct volcanoes, Mount Otemanu and Mount Pahia. The first peak is simply a sight to behold due to its unusual shape, with an outcropping of rock at the top, just like a castle.

To get around from Vaitape to Nunue, one can ride bicycles, which is the most common form of transportation. To get from island to island, a person can charter an outrigger boat, jet skis, speed boats, and even catamarans, if one wants to experience a Polynesian sunset in the water. Bora-Bora has been heralded as one of nature’s unique wonders of the world.

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