Easter Island_CHI.jpg

 

Key Facts

 

Location: Motu Kao Kao
Platform height: 27m
Water depth: over 8m
Average water temperature in March: 26°C
Average air temperature in March: 22°C
Type of water: Seawater (Pacific Ocean)

Eventdetaljer

Sted
Rapa Nui, Chile (Finn på kart )
Start
12. MARS 2011 ved 10.00
Slutt
14. JAN. 2011 ved 09.35
Om
887 moais and 12 high divers - the heavyweights of Rapa Nui will bear witness to the heavyweights of cliff diving at the kick-off competition on Chile's most westerly point. The World Series' third season makes its first stop in one of the most mystical places in the world. For its 3,791 inhabitants, it is 'Te pito o Te Henua' (the Navel of the World), for the many visitors Easter Island attracts, it is one of the world'™s most isolated places. Part of the Polynesian triangle, 3,510 kilometres west of mainland Chile and 4,085km east of Tahiti, the people of Rapa Nui have developed one of the most distinctive of all cultures but are perhaps best known for the legendary moais, monolithic statues measuring up to 10m in height and weighing up to 86 tonnes. The island was declared a National Park by Chile in 1935 and in 1996 the UNESCO designated it a World Heritage Site. The largest of three islets just south of Easter Island serves as the diving location for the first stop in the 2011 World Series. The 3.9-hectare 'big'™ islet, Moto Nui, is the summit of a large volcanic mountain which rises over 2,000 metres from the seabed and is the sacred place where the 'Tangata Manu'™ (bird man) cult took place prior to Christian times. The ritual was an annual competition to collect the first Sooty Tern (Manu Tara) egg of the season from the islet, swim back to Rapa Nui and climb the sea cliff of Rano Kau to the cliff top village of Orongo. Today it is an archaeological wonder. Paying homage to the diverse ethnic culture and beliefs, history and environment, the first ever cliff diving competition to be held on Easter Island soil will take place on March 12, 2011.