Teti’aroa is an atoll north of Tahiti most famous as having been the home of Marlon Brando, and it’s now the site of the world-renowned “Brando” resort. It’s also the quintessential remote spot, as Barack Obama made clear when he chose the Brando on Teti’aroa to relax and write his book after he left office.

Teti’aroa is not an easy island to visit by sailboat because there is no break in the reef, so you have to anchor outside the reef (if you can get your anchor to grab hold along the outer reef – and of course that’s not ecology or coral friendly). It’s not recommended.

Difficulty of access (unlike Bora Bora by contrast) has kept the inner lagoon of Teti’aroa as clear, clean and beautiful as the Tuamotos.

Teti’aroa is also very proactive in preserving its natural resources and has launched an innovative project to develop coral reef rebuilding and replenishing systems, helping to ensure the long-term survival of coral reefs in the face of climate change and ocean acidification.

This project, a collaboration between the Tetiaroa Society, Mission Blue and the CRIOBE, will capture, nurture, and raise reef fish and crustaceans in an aquarium at the Tieti’aroa Society’s ecostation. The protected aquarium environment will allow a much higher percentage of these creatures to survive infancy than happens in nature. Once they are more established and past the most vulnerable ages, they will be released back into the lagoon. The goal is to restock degraded natural populations. Longer term efforts include tagging technology that will help convince Polynesian fisherman of the benefits, as well as coral gardening to grow healthy corals and increase overall coral cover and biodiversity. Let’s hope this project is copied wherever coral reefs exist.