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Helen Betts | all galleries >> Galleries >> A Week in Tahiti > Black sand beach, Tahara’a
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1987

Black sand beach, Tahara’a

A beautiful and well-known beach near our hotel on Tahiti.

*****

In 1987 we stopped in Tahiti on our way home after our two-year posting to Canberra. Needless to say, it was quite a change from Australia and a pleasant interlude before facing life in Washington, DC.

Steam rising, posted earlier:

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Zoltán Balogh04-May-2024 14:32
Are those two people swimming in the ocean despite the pourng rain? Wow, quite daring... V
Julie Oldfield22-Apr-2024 01:11
The downpour doesn’t dampen the fun or sense of paradise. V
Carl Carbone21-Apr-2024 22:11
Pretty scene. I like how you framed it.
janescottcumming21-Apr-2024 15:46
The weather might not have cooperated but the swimmers don’t seem to mind. Lovely location. V
Alain Boussac21-Apr-2024 14:48
They seems like alone to the world in the sea. The mist or sea spray give a great atmosphere to this image which looks like the vision of a past paradise...V.
Pierre Martin21-Apr-2024 13:38
great picture with that heavy rain and the swimers!
Jeff Real21-Apr-2024 13:03
I love the atmosphere!
That is an intriguing beach with perfect framing!
V
joseantonio21-Apr-2024 09:06
I can see what you said about humidity-.V
Tom LeRoy21-Apr-2024 07:23
Must have been a great trip. Love this beach scene . V
Bill Miller21-Apr-2024 07:14
I like the textures and moody atmosphere here
Nirvan Hope21-Apr-2024 06:08
So civilized with those chairs right on the beach. An idyllic place for a hotel.
Liz Bickel21-Apr-2024 06:03
When we were there, the hotel had no lounge chairs on the beach. The hotel merely gave us beach towels to use, and that was all. The beach was also empty of all tourists, except for us!!! Or for that matter, empty of anyone else when we were there. I can definitely say this because we made like Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr on the beach in "From Here to Eternity." Well, we were honeymooners. There was a lady with a little hamburger stand at the top of the pathway going down to the beach, but we never ever saw another soul near this magnificent beach. The railing to the right in your photo is also "new". So, things must have changed quite a bit after we were there. Your photo looks like it was raining. It was sunny every day for us. And most spectacular. We spent a lot of time on this beach. It had the scent of tropical flowers mixed with fresh sea spray. A true sensory trip. Plus, the view of the Tahitian landscape was absolutely breath taking. The beach (which seemed different to me as a 17 year old than in this photo) has been one of my very favorite travel memories ever. Honeymooner's memory??? The teeny grain, black sand was unlike sand anywhere else I ever experienced in this world. It was very fine and powdery and not at all like a regular black sand beach. It was hard to shake out it of a bikini. LOL. The beach on Moorea and other parts of the main island were also black volcanic, but very different than the stretch of beach next to the Tahara’a. Hope you have more photos of this beach. It was like a slice of paradise with flowers growing right up to the start of the sand. And for us, it seemed like a secret cove. Guess we were just lucky about that since it was next to the hotel and meant for hotel guests. I'm not sure who else got hamburgers from the hamburger lady, but they sure never came down to the beach when we were there. I see people out in the water in your photo. Thanks for sharing this.
Ton, Ben & Rob Nagtegaal21-Apr-2024 05:31
Beautiful composition and a lovely view, great shot. V