English: Maupiti consists of a central island poking 213 meters above the sea surface, framed by low-profile serpentine islands and coral reefs that enclose a lagoon. The water inside the lagoon glows electric blue, surrounded by much paler blues of fringing coral reefs. Waves breaking on Maupiti’s south-western shores appear brilliant white. Above the water line, forests carpet the islands. Only on the central island does the land rise high enough to cast a discernible shadow, and because this island sits in the Southern Hemisphere, the shadow falls to the south at this time of year. On the north-eastern fringing island, the landing strip of a tiny airport cuts a long east-west line across vegetated land and coral reef.