TREKKING THE TRAILS OF EASTER ISLAND

HR Director Vivienne Thorn tells us more about this remote Island...

Trekking the Trails of Easter Island

Nearing the end of a five hour flight from Santiago, the pilot surprised us all by changing his role and becoming our guide – I hadn’t expected my eagerly awaited excursion to start so soon. Following his guidance, I looked out of the window and saw the rolling grass- covered hills and the rugged volcanic coastline of this small island. I gasped as we flew close to a volcano crater. This was one of the best flight approaches I have experienced – what a wonderful introduction to this unique place.

The following day I began my trek along trails up the slopes of one of the extinct volcanoes, Rano Kau – after an hour’s walking along rough terrain, but not very steep, we arrived at the edge of the crater and saw the stunning green lake below – green because the surface is covered with floating plants. As we walked along the edge of the crater, we had spectacular views of the majestic Pacific Ocean. Our trek ended at the ceremonial site of Orongo Ceremonial Village where our guide explained about the ancient ceremony of the bird man which was to choose the next chief of the island – it was an incredible test of strength and stamina where contestants would have to climb down a steep cliff, swim across strong currents to an island and then climb more cliffs to reach seabird nesting sites. To achieve the status of chief, a contestant would have to retrieve an egg and return it in one piece to the Orongo Village. Standing on the edge of the cliff I was astounded that anyone could survive such a feat.

Easter Island, known locally as Rapa Nui, is the most remote island in the world – the nearest inhabited island is Pitcairn which is 1,900 km northeast and is known as ‘the naval of the world’. It is only 25km by 12km, so getting around is very easy. Standing on the highest point of the island, only 468m, I was awe struck as I watched the powerful towering waves crash over the rocky coastline and felt humbled that I was visiting such a remote place and witnessing the raw beauty and strength of the natural elements.

The Moais are a very distinctive feature of the island – these are 887 rock statues each with a unique stern face with classical strong features. They were built in memory of the Rapa Nui ancestors. The true meaning, construction and transportation of the moai has been the centre of much debate and conjecture. An exciting discovery was made only a few years ago when a coral eye was found which proved that all the Moais had inlaid eye. Our treks took us to see many of these statues and we also visited the quarry to see how they carved the rock into these figures.

Walking along the many trails over the island allows you to fully experience the natural and archaeological beauty of this special place and if you are visiting South America I would strongly recommend you include a visit to Easter Island. If you enjoy active water sports, there is scuba diving and surfing.

PS. in case you’re wondering why it is called Easter Island, it was discovered on Easter Sunday in 1722 by Jakob Roggeven, a Dutch Admiral.