Some places aren't made for high octane experiences. On a low-lying atoll like Rangiroa there's no bungee jumping opportunities. With so few visitors, there's no speedboat rides or jet skiing. With the biggest settlement having no more than a few hundred people, there's no "sights" to see.
But, with Rangiroa, the "sight" is all around you – the island's huge, luminescent lagoon glittering in all shades of blue. And what a sight it is – if you wanted to construct a stereotypical desert island paradise, Rangiroa would probably be it.
Seeing as land is no more than a few hundred metres wide, everything here is dominated by that lagoon – it's the food source, it's the playground, it's the attraction that drives visitors to come to an incredibly out-of-the-way place like this.
So, the thing to do here (some might say the only thing to do here), is to find a comfortable spot by that lagoon, set up camp on the white sands underneath the shade of a swaying coconut tree, and launch yourself into those warm blue waters for a spot of snorkelling. Fortunately, we weren't just setting up camp in any old spot – a couple of generous fellow passengers had invited us to join them at the Kia Ora resort (the island's only 5-star resort), where they had rented a bungalow for the day. With all views framed by the lagoon, this was luxury beyond luxury.
There were plenty of tropical fish to see in the coral garden in front of "our" bungalow, while the food (seafood of course) was fabulous, but the temptation to just settle into a hammock and drift off to the sounds of lapping waves and rustling palms was hard to resist. Every time I opened my eyes, it was still a "wow" moment – the variety of shades of blue almost seemed like it was a painting rather than nature.
If you're going to do nothing all day, I would recommend Rangiroa as the perfect spot.
But, with Rangiroa, the "sight" is all around you – the island's huge, luminescent lagoon glittering in all shades of blue. And what a sight it is – if you wanted to construct a stereotypical desert island paradise, Rangiroa would probably be it.
Seeing as land is no more than a few hundred metres wide, everything here is dominated by that lagoon – it's the food source, it's the playground, it's the attraction that drives visitors to come to an incredibly out-of-the-way place like this.
So, the thing to do here (some might say the only thing to do here), is to find a comfortable spot by that lagoon, set up camp on the white sands underneath the shade of a swaying coconut tree, and launch yourself into those warm blue waters for a spot of snorkelling. Fortunately, we weren't just setting up camp in any old spot – a couple of generous fellow passengers had invited us to join them at the Kia Ora resort (the island's only 5-star resort), where they had rented a bungalow for the day. With all views framed by the lagoon, this was luxury beyond luxury.
There were plenty of tropical fish to see in the coral garden in front of "our" bungalow, while the food (seafood of course) was fabulous, but the temptation to just settle into a hammock and drift off to the sounds of lapping waves and rustling palms was hard to resist. Every time I opened my eyes, it was still a "wow" moment – the variety of shades of blue almost seemed like it was a painting rather than nature.
If you're going to do nothing all day, I would recommend Rangiroa as the perfect spot.
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