Lighthouse At Pointe Venus At Papeete, French Polynesia Editorial Photo

Capt. James Cook observed the transit of the planet Venus in 1769 at Point Venus, Tahiti`s northernmost extremity. The low, sandy peninsula covered with ironwood casuarina trees is about 2 km 1 1/4 miles from the main road. Captains Wallis, Cook, and Bligh landed here after anchoring their ships offshore, behind the reef in Matavai Bay. Cook made his observations of the transit of Venus across the sun in 1769 from a point between the black-sand beach and the meandering river that cuts the peninsula in two. The beach and the park-like setting around the tall white lighthouse, which was completed in 1868 notwithstanding the 1867 date over the door, are popular for picnics.