The green islands of Huahine - Huahine Nui and Huahine Iti - are surrounded almost entirely by a protective reef, which creates a calm lagoon around them.

Separated by a hair's breadth, the two islands have sheltered interiors - wild worlds of blossoming plants and rugged landscapes that remain largely untouched.

The Ariiura Garden Paradise, showcasing a range of traditional Polynesian medicinal plants, is well worth a visit, as is Eden Parc, a nine-hectare private valley with an extensive collection of ecologically important vegetation from across the globe.

This proclaimed Garden of Eden is also the starting point for the annual Huwaiki Nui Va'a race, in which 100 outrigger canoes paddle over three days between Huahine, Ra'iatea, Taha'a and Matira Beach in Bora Bora.