Easter Island

Introduction

Easter Island is a tiny spec of volcanic land completely isolated in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. The closest inhabited land is Pitcairn Island (with a population of around 200 inhabitants), which is approximately 1,900km northwest, and central mainland Chile is approximately 3,500km due east. The Island is also entirely a National Park – “Parque Nacional Rapa Nui”.

Shaped like an Australian “boomerang”, or triangle, the island is not a “tropical paradise” (like Tahiti, for example) as some would imagine it to be, but rather a fascinating, mystical place famously known for its 887 Moai statues occupying various sites throughout the land.

Easter Island gained its English name from the first recorded European visitor to the Island - Dutch sailor Jacob Roggeven, who arrived on Easter Sunday in 1722 and referred to it as “Paasch-Eyland”, which was 18th century Dutch that translated into Easter Island in English.  In Spanish this translates to “Isla de Pascua” and the Polynesian, locals call it “Rapa Nui”, but it is also affectionately referred to as the “belly-button” of the World due to its tiny size amid the vast expanse of the Pacific Ocean, and its remote location as well as historic references to it being “the navel of the World” by the original Polynesian settlers.

Hanga Roa

There is one village on Easter Island, and it is called Hanga Roa, home to approximately 5,000 people, and also where the international airport is located (the runway of which was extended and paid for by NASA back in the 90’s in order to have an emergency landing runway at this location for the then space shuttle).

Chilean Administration

Chile annexed Easter Island in 1888 and retains political and economic control to the present day, which is often contested by a small minority of the locals. It is also a World Heritage site as determined by UNESCO (United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization), as well as declared a National Park of Chile. Such dual status means that there is little development or investment into infrastructure on the Island, and if there is any it is strictly controlled. It also means that Hanga Roa is, in many respects, is still a “rustic” village that appears, in many areas, to lack care for its appearance, giving a natural, but “unkempt” impression.

Description

The Island is located just south of the Tropic of Capricorn and enjoys a maritime sub-tropical climate that is heavily influenced by maritime sea currents and sea breezes. Average annual temperature is 21 C (70ºF), with most rain falling in April and May and the hottest months being January and February, whereupon it can be very humid. Daily rain showers are common.
 
There are two natural, small sandy beaches, offering the Pacific Island stereotype image of white sand and palm trees, albeit the palm trees here have been planted by man. The principal of these two beaches is called Anakena, about 18km from Hanga Roa, and where most Islanders and tourists come to visit for a day at the sea.

Ahu’s

Some Moais are erected in a single line on top of ceremonial, earthen mounds that are covered in stones. These stone-covered mounds are called “Ahu’s” by the locals (and are similar to the importance of an Alter in a Church, therefore they are considered sacred). Each “Ahu” has the Moai’s faces looking inwards from the sea, bar one “Ahu” where the Moai’s face outward to the sea. However, many Moai’s are now lying on the ground having been purposefully toppled at some time in the past, and ceremonial platforms were damaged, but many have been resurrected back into their original positions and the “Ahu’s” restored.