The clear morning light is great in the morning for capturing images of the Beautiful Royal beach at Anakena

At ten metres tall, here lies one of the tallest moai ever to be erected, now but a vestige of its former glory. Nearby sits the famous magnetic circular stone which legend says came to Easter Island from the ancient homeland of Hiva with the first king, Hotu Matuʻa.

One Makihi is an unrestored conglomerate of ahu platforms sitting as they have been for over two hundred years since the islanders turned on the traditions of their ancestors and began toppling the hundreds of moai found throughout the island.

Restored between 1992 and 1996, this is the most awe inspiring of the various platforms. Here, fifteen of the largest moai set their stone faces like flint, looking eternally toward the setting of the sun, as well and the comparatively insignificant tourists who come to pay them homage.

This is the birthplace of the moai, a virtual quarry of statues. Here, hundreds of handsome heads and torsos sit in various stages of carving, still waiting to be transported to their various ahu located all over the island.