rapa nui, usually called easter island, is an extremely remote place in the pacific ocean, about halfway between tahiti (distance = 3700 km) and chile (distance = 4000 km). it was settled by polynesian people from about 500 onwards. between 700 and 1100 rapa nui prospered, and their unique architecture flourished. its awesome feature are statues (called 'moai'), carved with stone tools from volcanic tuff and erected on a platform ('ahu') near the ocean. almost 1000 were made; their size is between 3 and 9 m. the island of rapa nui has three large craters. the stunning southern one, 'rano kau', is now a crater lake and filled with ancient kinds of vegetation. (the pic below combines two views of this circular crater). in 1722, rapa nui, by then quite declined, was found by a dutch explorer; spanish, british and peruvian ships followed, yet finally it became a colony of chile. christianity was introduced, and the eventually developing tourism led to a revitalization of art, which combines historic and modern 'european' features. alltogether rapa nui is an amazing place and very worthwhile to visit. i managed to visit this island on my way from chile to australia in 2005.
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