Rapa Nui
This tiny speck of land in the eastern Pacific is better known as Easter Island. A territory of Chile, it’s renowned for its collection of stone statues (moai) which even have their own emoji.
Their presence dominates any visit to the island and they’re an integral part of all photography. But there’s more to Easter Island, including an astonishing freshwater caldera, a tropical beach and its only town Hanga Rua, filled with an abundance of wonderful restaurants.
As for the stone statues, there are various theories about them. Our guide told us they represented ancestors, while the civilisation fell apart partly because so much effort was put into creating them.
The island is a five-hour flight from Chile’s capital Santiago and undoubtedly worth a visit – you’ll find nothing like it anywhere else.
Click first image to view the gallery
mikeosbornphoto 
Fantastic gallery, Mike! I’ve been following your journeys on Instagram but must look through your galleries here. That silhouette of the statues is terrific.
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Many thanks, Jane, glad you like it. An island well worth seeing if you ever get the chance. I’m very selective and quite slow on the Insta! Interested to see you’ve been to New Zealand – one of my recent destinations. Fantastic country.
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Yes, I have been to NZ and loved it. My most recent post is a reflection on its beauty and the tragedy. Glad you had a fantastic trip!
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A great place and strangely familiar to me as a Brit! The country has lost a lot of its innocence, tragically.
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Gorgeous photos, Mike! Given the only thing we usually hear about the island is the statues, it’s really lovely to see some of the other side of the place. I particularly love ‘Caldera’ – nature at her best! The ending of civilisation there kind of underlines what could happen with the planet – deforested completely by the natives, nothing substantial grew there, so they had little choice but to leave (well, from what I’ve read/seen, anyway). Makes you think!
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Thank you Richard, yes, I was blown away by the caldera, possibly more so than the moai. Interestingly the Maori faced similar pressures and their solution was to get out there and find the relatively vast land of New Zealand! Good on them :)
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It’s amazing when you think of the time when this was being done. The spirit and drive they had must have been amazing!
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I wonder how much of it was belief and how much was because they had no choice?…
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For Easter Island, I’m guessing no choice.
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Wow!What an amazing looking place. Great images, Mike!
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Thank you Sheila! Yes it’s pretty awesome, a real sense of history and mysteriousness :)
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Beautiful photos, Mike! I didn’t know there’s much more, than only the statues, to see on the island.
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Thanks Koos! Yes I was surprised. The caldera is staggering and not a statue in sight there :)
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One of the best short overviews of Easter Island that I’ve come across, most just dwell on the statues and I’ve never seen many if any images of the town or island itself. Thanks for this Mike, you sure are getting around the world at present!
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Hi Lee, lovely to hear from you. Ah thank you, glad you like it. It’s very hard to avoid the moai, but there’s more to Rapa Nui. I was pretty close by just recently, though not quite near enough just to swing by for a cuppa!
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Ahh. Maybe next time :)
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