Exploring Polynesian culture

Visit Tahiti and Her Islands and you won't just get to see some the planet's most eye-catching scenery, incredible blue seas and spectacular hotels. This part of the world also comes with a fascinating history and culture. Learning a bit about the islands' past will add an extra dimension to your visit.

Travel to these islands and you'll quickly notice how fiercely proud the Polynesians are of their heritage. The national pastime of Va'a or sea kayaking harks back to the exploits of sea-faring ancestors, as does the similarly popular sport of surfing, which has its roots in Polynesia (Hawaii popularized boardriding, but Captain Cook noted its early origins here).

Meanwhile, the elaborate tattoos that many Tahitians sport are an expression of one-ness with ancestral tradition. Many people you chat to in French Polynesia will happily impart one of the countless local history tales, myths and moral fables, whose number and staying power are remarkable, considering that old Polynesian cultures weren't fond of writing things down.

A good place to pick up an introduction to Polynesian history and culture - and familiarise yourself with a general overview of the islands- is the Museum Of Tahiti And Her Islands, just west of Tahiti's capital, Papeete.

Intriguing exhibits here paint a vivid picture of the islands' geology and colonization. Your eyes will widen as you learn about the tenacity and ingenuity of the early Polynesians; There's much to take in, from their epic paddles over oceans that still take hours to cross in a 747, to elaborate tools such as a drill made from a rat's tooth.

You can browse the museum on your own, or get an extra dimension of history lessons from an exuberant guide, who will even greet you with a traditional Polynesian peace incantation and shake a bunch of flowers at you to confirm, ancient-style, that you won't be going to war during your visit.

Less than an hour away from Tahiti, the island of Raiatea is the most sacred spot in Polynesia, and home to its best-preserved marae - traditional temples dating back hundreds of years. Remarkably, fresh Marae remains are still being discovered on a regular basis on the island, though not on as large a scale as the island's main archeological draw, the Marae Taputapuatea. This vast structure was consecrated to Oro, the revered god of war.

The ruins look out to sea on a desolate but beautiful stretch of coast, a suitably forbidding setting for a temple where human sacrifices were once offered to the most ominous of deities. Few tourists make the effort to experience this distinctly spiritual place, so you'll probably get to look around it more or less by yourself.

Short on beaches or big hotels, Raiatea attracts only a limited number of tourists, and has a fantastically relaxed vibe as a result. Locals are exceptionally friendly and the sort of tourist-centric bustle and traffic jams you'll experience on Tahiti just doesn't come into play here.

Take a drive around the island's coastal road and you won't know which direction to look - at the lush, massive mountains of the interior, or the succession of calm, green bays dotted with sand islands.

Over on Moorea, just a short hop from Tahiti, the Marae have a very different setting. The temples here are ensconced deep in the jungle. Hiking through primeval forest to find temple complexes emerging from the lush greenery is truly thrilling, and the green vines and soaring mountains all around just add to the drama. In one small valley you'll find a succession of well-preserved marae and other settlements, in a variety of shapes and sizes. Most striking of all is a temple constructed from carved spheres of rock. Once your guide informs you that the round bricks are supposed to symbolise human skulls, and you'll look upon the ominous structure in a different light...

(Visit www.tahiti-tourisme.co.uk for more info on Tahiti and her islands. Click here to search for Tahiti flights with Air Tahiti Nui.)