Vaitape is the largest city of island Bora Bora

Bora Bora

The commune of Bora-Bora is made up of the island of Bora Bora proper with its surrounding islets emerging from the coral reef, 29.3 km² in total, and of the atoll of Tupai , located north of Bora Bora...

 in French Polynesia

French Polynesia

French Polynesia is an overseas country of the French Republic . It is made up of several groups of Polynesian islands, the most famous island being Tahiti in the Society Islands group, which is also the most populous island and the seat of the capital of the territory...

. It has population of 4,927. This city has about half of the island's population which is about 9,000. It is located about 130 mi (209.2 km) northwest of Papeete

Papeete

-Sights:* Interactive Google map of Papeete, to discover the 30 major tourist attractions in Papeete downtown.*The waterfront esplanade*Bougainville Park -Sights:* Interactive Google map of Papeete, to discover the 30 major tourist attractions in Papeete downtown.*The waterfront...

, the capital of French Polynesia. The main language of Vaitape is French

French language

French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...

, although 20 percent of the population speaks Tahitian

Tahitian language

Tahitian is an indigenous language spoken mainly in the Society Islands in French Polynesia. It is an Eastern Polynesian language closely related to the other indigenous languages spoken in French Polynesia: Marquesan, Tuamotuan, Mangarevan, and Austral Islands languages...

.

History of Vaitape

The area was first settlled by early Polynesians

Polynesians

The Polynesian peoples is a grouping of various ethnic groups that speak Polynesian languages, a branch of the Oceanic languages within the Austronesian languages, and inhabit Polynesia. They number approximately 1,500,000 people...

 during the 4th century. Many more people arrived on canoes and the population had grown. The early Polynesians had made houses out of grass

Hut (dwelling)

A hut is a small and crude shelter, usually used for dwelling. Its design favors local techniques and materials to allow for swift and inexpensive construction.-Modern use:...

. They also hunted fish with spears and sticks. The Tahitians

Tahitians

The Tahitians, or Maohis, are indigenous peoples of Tahiti and thirteen other Society Islands, as well as the modern population of these lands of mixed ancestry . The Tahitians are one of the most significant indigenous Polynesian peoples of Oceania....

 lost the French Tahitian War making Tahiti

Tahiti

Tahiti is the largest island in the Windward group of French Polynesia, located in the archipelago of the Society Islands in the southern Pacific Ocean. It is the economic, cultural and political centre of French Polynesia. The island was formed from volcanic activity and is high and mountainous...

 and all the other islands belong to France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

. During the California Gold Rush

California Gold Rush

The California Gold Rush began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The first to hear confirmed information of the gold rush were the people in Oregon, the Sandwich Islands , and Latin America, who were the first to start flocking to...

, people left Vaitape and went looking for gold. The only way to go to California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

 at that time time was by ship. By the 1900s the population of the area had grown and during World War II it served as a military supply base, and an oil depot, airstrip and seaplane base.

Weather

The city has a tropical climate

Tropical climate

A tropical climate is a climate of the tropics. In the Köppen climate classification it is a non-arid climate in which all twelve months have mean temperatures above...

 since it is in the tropics

Tropics

The tropics is a region of the Earth surrounding the Equator. It is limited in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the northern hemisphere at approximately  N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the southern hemisphere at  S; these latitudes correspond to the axial tilt of the Earth...

.

Geography

Vaitape is located on the western side of the main island of Bora Bora. It has a view of the western part of the Bora Bora lagoon. It is about 2000 mi (3,218.7 km) east of Sydney

Sydney

Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

. It also has a view of Bora Boras tallest mountain, Mont Otemanu. It is surrounded with islets marking the end of the Bora Bora lagoon. The city is located about 20 ft (6.1 m) above mean sea level. Mount Pahia is another major mountain close to Vaitape.

Transportation

Bora Bora Airport

Bora Bora Airport

Bora Bora Airport , also known as Motu Mute Airport, is an airport serving the island of Bora Bora in French Polynesia. It is located on the islet of Motu Mute....

 is an airport outside Vaitape on one of Bora Bora's surrouning islets. Small boats leave the mainland and go across the Bora Bora Lagoon. Several ferries leave Bora Bora and sail to Tahiti and Moorea

Moorea

Moʻorea is a high island in French Polynesia, part of the Society Islands, 17 km northwest of Tahiti. Its position is . Moʻorea means "yellow lizard" in Tahitian...

. Some of these ferries are the Aremeti ferry and the Moorea ferry. Uturoa

Uturoa

Uturoa is a commune of French Polynesia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. The commune of Uturoa is located on the island of Raiatea, in the administrative subdivision of the Leeward Islands of which Uturoa is the administrative capital. The Leeward Islands are themselves part...

 has a few ferries coming into Vaitape.

Air

Bora Bora Airport serves Bora Bora and the boats that sail across the lagoon to reach the islet are brown. The airport has many destinations to other islands of French Polynesia. Air Tahiti

Air Tahiti

Société Air Tahiti Société Anonyme is a regional airline with its head office on the property of Faa'a International Airport, in Faaa, Tahiti, French Polynesia, near Papeete. Air Tahiti's network covers 46 islands within French Polynesia, plus the island of Rarotonga...

 is the only airline at the airport. It serves inter-island flights to other islands in French Polynesia. If the residents want to make an international flight, they would take Air Tahiti to Faa'a International Airport

Faa'a International Airport

- Overview :The Faaa International Airport is a relatively small airport. Air Tahiti has flights every day going to all the other islands in French Polynesia while international flights go to different countries such as the United States or New Zealand. The airport is on Tahiti which is an island...

 in Faaa

Faaa

Faaa is a commune in the suburbs of Papeete in French Polynesia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. Faaa is located on the island of Tahiti, in the administrative subdivision of the Windward Islands, themselves part of the Society Islands. Faaa has a population of 29,851, making...

. The Faa'a International Airport is the only airport in French Polynesia serving international flights. The airport is located on Tahiti. Air Tahiti can be seen from Vaitape landing at the airport. So far, none of the planes have landed in or near Vaitape.

Sea

The ferries of Aremiti and Moorea leave the Vaitape wharf twice a day. The Aremiti ferry sails to both Tahiti and Moorea. The Aremiti ferry is white with red and white stripes. The Moorea ferry is white on the top and blue on the bottom. The Moorea ferry sails to the Vaiare Wharf at Moorea. Sometimes, cruise ships from Papeete leave the wharf and come to Vaitape to stop and pick up more islanders. Some ferries sail to Uturoa on the island of Raiatea

Raiatea

Raiatea , is the second largest of the Society Islands, after Tahiti, in French Polynesia. The island is widely regarded as the 'center' of the eastern islands in ancient Polynesia and it is likely that the organised migrations to Hawaii, Aotearoa and other parts of East Polynesia started at...

. Other small boats go to other of Bora Bora's islets to have tours and walk around.

Road

Bora Bora's main road runs through Vaitape and is the busiest street. There are some other major streets are the small street that links the main road to a Bora Bora Pearl shop. The closest freeway to Vaitape is Tahiti's west coast freeway.

Economy

There are some supermarkets located in the city. There are some things like fish, fruit, bread, cereal and French pastries in the supermarket. Some of the fruits are breadfruit

Breadfruit

Breadfruit is a species of flowering tree in the mulberry family, Moraceae, growing throughout Southeast Asia and most Pacific Ocean islands...

s, pineapples, and Bananas. Some of the fish are salmon. Many fruit are imported from Faaa.