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Easter Island Photos
Sunset over the vast Pacific Ocean, with a few beautiful Maoi in the foreground! These ones were a mere 5 minute walk from our Residencial.
Ahu Akivi - seven beautifully restored Maoi which unusually rested inland and faced out to the sea. They were very impressive all lined up and vertical - it´s such a shame that most are sadly unrestored and lie toppled near their podiums.
Gary in a lava tube! This dramatic cave was formed when the lava running through it drained away, as the rock above had already solidified. There were loads around this island - this one opened spectacularly (behind me as I took the photo) half way down a cliff over the crashing waves of the Pacific. And below you´ll see Gary again - this time on the outside by the rugged volcanic coastline!
This is the Mirador Crater at the South West corner of the island. On it´s far rim stands the village of Orongo (where they held the weird Bird Man contest... read the main text above for details!). The floor of the crater was stunning: loads of pools of water reflecting the light, separated by strange matt-like plantation. Bleak but beautiful!
The islets off Orongo... where the poor men who were nominated to find the egg of the sooty tern had to climb down to, swim to (avoiding sharks) and then somehow survive on for weeks! They don´t look too appealing eh? Crazy!
A fantastic view of the impressive 15 Maoi at Tongariki, with yet more volcanic cliffs in the background. The Moai here really were stunning - they were in great condition and of course there were lots of them!
A closer view of the Tongakiki Maoi. They looked even better from here!
This is the volcanic crater from which the Maoi were carved. It was lovely in it´s own right as you can see - red-yellow earth lining a reed-filled lake. But the special bit was behind me as I took this photo... have a look at the next few photos to see what I mean.
This huge Maoi unfortunately never made it past the carving stage. This is how they were made: carved in detail from the mountian, and then moved (somehow) about the island.
This Maoi was high above the crater floor, and must have been nearly completed when the work stopped as he had really detailed features! Sad that he never got to stand on the coast line somewhere, although he was so big that I haven´t a clue how they would have moved him there! Below you can see some Maoi that made it a little bit futher. There were hundreds of these heads dotted around the volcanic mountain, probably waiting to be moved to their platforms. But these were the most impressive Maoi we saw anywhere on the island. They were huge (the ones in the photo were well over 10 m tall) and beautifully carved. But you have to wonder WHY they put so much effort into all this!
And finally, a collection of five Maoi standing on the coast just after sunset. The sky would turn beautiful shades of yellow, red, and even purple every night. Easter Island is a truly unique place!
Sunset over the vast Pacific Ocean, with a few beautiful Maoi in the foreground! These ones were a mere 5 minute walk from our Residencial.
Ahu Akivi - seven beautifully restored Maoi which unusually rested inland and faced out to the sea. They were very impressive all lined up and vertical - it´s such a shame that most are sadly unrestored and lie toppled near their podiums.
Gary in a lava tube! This dramatic cave was formed when the lava running through it drained away, as the rock above had already solidified. There were loads around this island - this one opened spectacularly (behind me as I took the photo) half way down a cliff over the crashing waves of the Pacific. And below you´ll see Gary again - this time on the outside by the rugged volcanic coastline!
This is the Mirador Crater at the South West corner of the island. On it´s far rim stands the village of Orongo (where they held the weird Bird Man contest... read the main text above for details!). The floor of the crater was stunning: loads of pools of water reflecting the light, separated by strange matt-like plantation. Bleak but beautiful!
The islets off Orongo... where the poor men who were nominated to find the egg of the sooty tern had to climb down to, swim to (avoiding sharks) and then somehow survive on for weeks! They don´t look too appealing eh? Crazy!
A fantastic view of the impressive 15 Maoi at Tongariki, with yet more volcanic cliffs in the background. The Moai here really were stunning - they were in great condition and of course there were lots of them!
A closer view of the Tongakiki Maoi. They looked even better from here!
This is the volcanic crater from which the Maoi were carved. It was lovely in it´s own right as you can see - red-yellow earth lining a reed-filled lake. But the special bit was behind me as I took this photo... have a look at the next few photos to see what I mean.
This huge Maoi unfortunately never made it past the carving stage. This is how they were made: carved in detail from the mountian, and then moved (somehow) about the island.
This Maoi was high above the crater floor, and must have been nearly completed when the work stopped as he had really detailed features! Sad that he never got to stand on the coast line somewhere, although he was so big that I haven´t a clue how they would have moved him there! Below you can see some Maoi that made it a little bit futher. There were hundreds of these heads dotted around the volcanic mountain, probably waiting to be moved to their platforms. But these were the most impressive Maoi we saw anywhere on the island. They were huge (the ones in the photo were well over 10 m tall) and beautifully carved. But you have to wonder WHY they put so much effort into all this!
And finally, a collection of five Maoi standing on the coast just after sunset. The sky would turn beautiful shades of yellow, red, and even purple every night. Easter Island is a truly unique place!
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