Tahiti Tourisme North America (TTNA) would like to share the following admirable stories and let our media partners know about two sea turtle clinics where volunteers devote their time to care for marine turtles.

Te Mana O Te Moana is a non-profit association that was founded by Dr. Cécile Gaspar in September 2004. Through research, conservation, communication and educational activities, Te Mana O Te Moana helps protect the marine environment of French Polynesia and educate the public.

The association manages the Turtle Marine Clinic, which is run from the InterContinental Moorea Resort & Spa. The InterContinental Moorea Resort & Spa kindly dedicated a part of its private lagoon to the Sea Turtle Rehabilitation Center, which serves as a temporary hospital for injured turtles and a permanent home for severely injured turtles unable to leave the center.

The clinic houses the green turtle and the hawkbill turtle. More than 50 turtles have been sheltered by the clinic to date and 13 have been successfully released back in the wild.

Te Mana O Te Moana also promotes environmental awareness for the local Tahitian community through school programs and communication materials that aimed at a better understanding of the local natural heritage.

The Turtle Sanctuary, located in the heart of Le Méridien Bora Bora’s private lagoon, is managed by the resort and dedicates itself to the protection of marine turtles. It offers protection to many vulnerable creatures including the sea turtles and offers guests the privilege to swim with turtles in their natural environments.

The sanctuary was founded in order to educate the public though presentations that cover everything from evolution of the sea turtle, to mating rituals to the algae-eating habits that turns sea turtles green, as well as the protection of the sea turtle.

The turtle sanctuary focuses mainly on green sea and hawksbill turtles because of their vulnerability towards predators. Unlike land turtles, sea turtles cannot tuck into their shells for protection. 

During nesting season from October through February, guests and volunteers search for turtle nests on the beaches of Bora Bora. The goal of this project is to collect, mark the eggs, and tag mothers for future identification. The nests are transported to the resort’s private beach for two months for safekeeping and to the resort’s nursery for one year for maturation away from predators.

TTNA would like to thank all the wonderful guests and volunteers for their amazing hard work and dedication, time and effort, to care for the sea turtles and our fragile ecosystem.

Please visit Le Méridien Bora Bora for more information.

Guests are invited to experience the solar eclipse from July 15 - 29, 2009 aboard the luxurious Paul Gauguin, specifically designed for the Polynesian waters.

The voyage will be lead by Alex Filippenko, a PhD and award-winning professor of astronomy at UC Berkeley along with a team of local guest experts. Being aboard the Paul Gauguin for this event will give guests the opportunity to maneuver to the ideal viewing position on eclipse day - July 21, 2009 and offer an unforgettable journey between the Polynesian islands and lagoons including Bora Bora, Moorea and Taha’a.

The Paul Gauguin, a six-star ship, differentiates itself by carrying only 330 guests and, thus, offering a very intimate atmosphere to guests exploring the islands of Tahiti. The Paul Gauguin also boasts excellence through its nomination by Condé Nast Traveler as being one of the “world’s top-rated small ships” since 1998. 

A solar eclipse is a rare occurrence that happens when the earth and sun are perfectly aligned so that the shadow of the moon sweeps across the earth. It can only be seen within the narrow path of totality, which covers only one percent of the earth’s surface.

When the moon completely blocks the sun, darkness takes over the day; the stars and the planets become visible in the sky while the temperature drops at the same time.

The 2009 solar eclipse will travel from India to China and across the Pacific.

Guests will enjoy the lowest amount of clouds on the eclipse path, lowest humidity level and the best viewing position and witness more than three and half minutes of totality. 

For more information on the Paul Gauguin’s excursion, please visit Total Solar Eclipse on the Paul Gauguin.

Art Classes

In an effort to demonstrate the hotel’s passion for supporting local and international culture, Le Méridien recently launched L’Atelier, which offers guests the privilege to interact with creative personalities behind works of art.

The new onsite artists’ space features contemporary artists from the islands and around the world including Marc Rambeau, Gérald Gaillard, Jean Achille and Gabrielle Jones.

Along with opportunities to learn about contemporary works of art including paintings, photography, sculpture, music and dance, the guests can also learn techniques and create their own works of art.

Cooking Classes

L’Atelier du Chef program marks Le Méridien’s tenth anniversary with a celebration of food, creativity and the allure of French Polynesia with a new cooking class program.

Le Méridien is the first hotel in Tahiti to offer cooking classes with hands-on instruction in culinary techniques including pastry and traditional Polynesian entrees. Small intimate classes, with a maximum of five students, provide for a personalized one-on-one experience ideal for any skill level.

The classes showcase various cooking techniques used by new Executive Chef Sebastien Philizot at the renowned resort restaurant, Le Carré. Philizot, a 28- year old chef, comes directly from the InterContinental in Malta and replaces Michel Dujas, who has gone to Morrison’s Café in Tahiti.

Chef Philizot recreated the resort’s eatery as a gourmet lounge-restaurant with menu choices ranging from duck carpaccio to island sushi and Mahi Mahi with fresh coconut. The exclusive culinary workshop is ideal for honeymooners who wish to discover the distinct taste of Polynesian cuisine.

For more information on these programs, please contact Emily Easter with Hawkins International at emily@hawkpr.com

Tumata Robinson, a well established icon of Tahitian dance, dedicates her time and passion to teaching the Polynesian art of the “Ori Tahiti.” Tumata leads her prestigious dance school for more than a 100 lucky “vahine” students on the main island of Tahiti. 

Visitors can also attend her classes on her 70 year-old Tahitian estate, about 30 minutes outside the city of Papeete on the Western coast of Tahiti, in the district of Paea. Pick up and drop off available at most hotels.

Tumata offers various levels of instruction:

Level 1: ‘Ori Tahiti iti’- An hour-long introduction to the basic skills of Tahitian dance.
Level 2: ‘Ori Tahiti’- A three day Tahitian dance workshop, one hour each day.
Level 3: ‘Ori Tahiti Nui’- A five day in-depth Tahitian dance workshop, two hours each day.

Students learn the essential skills, hand gestures, hip movements and correct alignment of the body. They also learn how to develop and increase step-balance coordination and flexibility. At the end of the workshop, students will be able to perform basic footstep choreography and will also be awarded with a certificate of “Ori Tahiti.”

For more information about Tumata’s classes, please visit: tumata.robinson@mail.pf

Tahiti Pearl Market opened its first international store in Honolulu, in the heart of the business district on March 27th 2008. 

Founded in 1994, the Tahiti Pearl Market began as a farming business and has grown to be one of the largest Tahitian pearl suppliers in the world.

After years of successfully offering high quality jewelry made with the finest pearls from the harvest they have brought their incomparable selection and unique jewelry boutique concept to Hawaii. 

Tahiti Pearl Market is one of the first jewelers to offer Tahitian cultured pearls directly from its farms. While enjoying the warmth of Tahitian hospitality, shoppers learn how to select, grade, and value Tahitian black pearls for their rare and unique color, shape and size.

 Shoppers are invited to join in the creative process from choosing the pearls to the type of piece desired. Tahiti Pearl Market’s on-site expert team then creates the customized jewelry piece.

Frank Tehaamatai, owner and founder, hopes to open more stores worldwide in an effort to give the Tahiti cultured pearl the recognition it deserves on a broader scale and continue to develop boutiques dedicated to this unique gem. 

More than 200 people attended the grand opening where invitees witnessed more than 40,000 beautiful loose Tahitian cultured pearls.

Guests were also given the opportunity to meet the “Tahitian Pearl Ambassadress,” Nancy Morgan, a model and international representative for the Tahitian pearl industry.

For more information on the Tahiti Pearl Market, please visit: www.TahitiPearlMarket.com