CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons (Mlgdenni)Landmark· Tahiti· French Polynesia — Society Islands
Point Venus Lighthouse & Black-Sand Beach
17° 29.7′ S · 149° 29.7′ W
Tahiti's northernmost point, where Cook set up his observatory for the 1769 transit of Venus. The white 1868 lighthouse stands over a black-sand beach popular with young Tahitians.
Practical
Coordinates from Tahiti Heritage. The lighthouse was built from 1866 and inaugurated in 1868 (French Wikipedia). Wallis anchored in Matavai Bay in 1767, the Bounty on 26 October 1788, and the London Missionary Society on 5 March 1797. Point Venus was the most-measured reference point in the Pacific, used to rate chronometers. Black sand, clear water by a fishing reef (Wikivoyage). Reach it by dinghy from a short-stay anchorage in Matavai Bay (24 h maximum), or by road from Papeete (about 8 km to Mahina).
Best for
History walk and a swim on black sand
Nearby
- Point Venus Beach (Matavai Bay)0.1 NM away
- Point Venus Underwater Trail (Pointe Tefauroa)0.1 NM away
- Super U & Champion Mahina (Point Venus junction)0.7 NM away
- Matavai Bay / Point Venus Anchorage1.1 NM away
- Plage Lafayette (Maivai), Arue1.5 NM away
- Faille d'Arue & Roses de Matavai (Arue Pass)2.2 NM away
- Tomb of King Pomare V (Arue)2.4 NM away
- Nautisport Life-Raft Service Centre (Arue)2.7 NM away