About Vaiharuru Falls
Vaiharuru Falls (not to be confused with the one in Papenoo Valley) was one of those look-but-don’t-touch waterfalls.
It plunged dramatically at a distance from the main road on the east side of Tahiti Nui (the larger part of the “dumbell” of the Island of Tahiti).
I’d have to say this is probably more for waterfall collectors or if you’re looking for a place to stop and stretch for a short break from driving.
However, with that said, it could’ve easily been a more touted attraction as it was supposed to be one of the filming locations of John Huston’s remake of Herman Melville’s Typee
Instead, when his remake of Melville’s more famous work, Moby Dick
Vaiharuru Falls looked like it fell in two main tiers with a large section between the tiers unseen from our vantage point.
Looking to improve the Vaiharuru Falls Experience
It was definitely no slouch as far as major waterfalls were concerned, but I’d have to say that this was one of the more obscure waterfalls as we really had to know where to look in order to spot it.
If it wasn’t for reading through our 2007 Moon book, we wouldn’t even have known to look for it.
Otherwise, we easily could’ve continued driving past this guy without even noticing it or passing it off as just another miscellaneous waterfall!
With such an impressively tall and pretty waterfall, it made us wonder if there was a way to get closer to the Vaiharuru Falls without trespassing.
Or, would it be possible to access this waterfall without worrying about getting the rental car stuck or having to bushwhack our way there?
Whatever the case, we didn’t find any infrastructure in the form of signs nor an obvious trail that would’ve taken us closer.
Unfortunately with a fussy baby in tow, we weren’t in position to try our luck either.
Timing and Best Sanctioned Spot for Vaiharuru Falls
Instead, the photo you see at the top of this page was taken near the bridge over the Faatautia River (see directions below).
You’d probably need to have a pretty decent zoom on the camera in order to capture the falls satisfactorily.
Otherwise, it’d look pretty small from such a distance.
Plus, there were some trees blocking our ability to see if the Vaiharuru Falls was even taller than what we could tell.
So I’m sure there was more to this waterfall than meets the eye!
I also couldn’t tell if we happened to see this waterfall in a swollen state or if it could go dry in the Dry Season.
Because we spotted this waterfall in the midst of Tahiti’s Wet Season (in what seemed to be a particularly active cyclone season), we weren’t in a position to make that evaluation.
So it’s entirely possible that you might spot this waterfall later in the year and wonder what the fuss is all about.
Authorities
Vaiharuru Falls is on Tahiti Island near Faaone in Tahiti (or more formally French Polynesia). For information or inquiries about this area as well as current conditions, visit the Tahiti Tourism website or their Facebook page.
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