Page 16 - DreamScapes Magazine | Winter/Spring 2024

BUCKET LIST TRAVEL
Unabashedly, with a TV swagger, Heimata adds, “Our culinary traditions ought to be Michelin-starred.” In an ironic twist, the pres- tigious French culinary bible, unlike the throngs of arriving French tourists, has yet to discover Tahitian dégustation.
Polynesian chefs, meanwhile, forage premium goods (there are numerous flora and fish species) to combine cooking tradi- tions with nouveau healthy eating. There’s no better place than a garden by the sea to source the bounty.
On terra firma cultivated by the hands of one man, a sensory explosion is erupting on French Polynesia’s largest volcanic island. Enter Mato (Hervé) Maraetaata fanning a branch from the sacred noni plant in a greeting ceremony somewhere outside Papeete in the rocky eastern hillsides.
“Welcome,” smiles the larger-than-life greeter, holistic shaman of sorts, and a partner with Nani Travels, an NGO with several missions in sustainable tourism and environmental con- servation. Hervé, a descendant from the Marquesas Islands, leads me across an ankle-deep river to his home, an off-grid, rustic island sanctuary. The kitted-out hideaway has a gable-roofed hut, an alfresco temple for spiritual cleansing, an ocean rescue dog named Lion he saved, chickens and yes, a Garden of Eden blooming and ripe that is nestled on a former dumpsite he willed into this paradise.
By hanging endemic vines and shrubs of butterfly pea flowers, I dine on the prescribed national dish, Poisson Cru. Served in a coconut bowl, raw tuna chunks marinated in lime juice and bathed in fresh coconut milk with carrot slivers are prepped by his wife Ura. The soundtrack of the sea as his metronome, Hervé leans in sharing a harrowing ocean odyssey. In 2010, the veteran mariner with a six-man crew sailed in a single-hulled Polynesian outrigger canoe called O Tahiti Nui Freedom from Tahiti to Shanghai in a gru- elling 123-day saga, on a route inspired by his
ancestors. They lived traditional ways while
battling the raging sea. He survived.
You can’t get more local than that, I thought. Until I flew to Huahine.
HUAHINE: MANA IN THE
GARDEN OF EDEN
In 20 minutes, I island hopped on board Air Tahiti (no fixed seating and a complimentary drink and snack) leaving behind the romantic getaway of Bora Bora where we spun around the luxe eco-responsible resort on complimentary bikes, rested on our ultra-secluded deck and yes, indulged in pure heaven. It’s true what the brochures say by the way.
Now here we were. Another world away. No traffic lights. One road with only the darting roosters disrupting the drive as the Mother of Massages took us to her tropical lair.
On this palm-fringed island with a relaxed vibe, I signed up for a couple’s massage. We were in the hands of Marie Chris- tine. Rare exotic orchids hanging from the beams, strings of seashells and a living green wall envelope the wellness sanctuary—its centrepiece: a solid rock soaker tub built for two. The idea was simple. Soak dépouillé (bare). Drink organic rosemary-infused distilled water prepared that morning and slather on thermal mud imported from Rotorua, New Zealand, home of the world-famous geothermal mud baths.
Only available here (Marie Christine Auloy, creator of Huahine Massage & Spa, is Tahiti’s first importer of the super- charged mineral-rich mud healing detoxifier), Stephen and I soon realized we were not getting a couple’s massage at a usual spa. Wrapped in a hand-painted paréo, the rustic setting brought back the simple basics in living. “Whenever you can— swim in the ocean,” the Lyon expat shared during my magic passion-fruit-monoi-oil massage.
In the glow of the late afternoon sun, we returned to our beachfront hotel, Le Mahana Huahine. The soft sand spilling into the sea, the surf sounds casting a siren call, Marie Chris- tine’s words of wisdom returned.
Floating in the cradle of the South Pacific’s embrace, the magic of Tahiti’s creative souls had worked. Mana forever. DS
16 DREAMSCAPES WINTER/SPRING 2024
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TRAVEL PLANNER
For travel information about The Islands of Tahiti see
tahititourisme.ca/en-ca/