SUP Paddle Boarders!

Do you like to paddle board? Well, we do! At Motu Teta we have tons of water sports equipment, including paddle boards! When you’re feeling like a leisure activity, take a quick paddle around the island. Oh, and here are seven fun facts we bet you didn’t know!

• Stand up paddleboarding (or SUP) has existed in some form or another for thousands of years.

• South American and African cultures used boards, canoes, and other handmade watercraft along with a long stick to propel themselves to travel, fish, or ride waves recreationally.

• African warriors stood up in dugout canoes and used their spears as paddles to move quietly into enemy territory.

• Ancient Peruvian fisherman used a craft called “caballitos de totora” which was a small kayak-looking craft made of reeds that was equated to riding a horse due to instability. They used a long bamboo shaft like a long paddle and would surf the waves after a day of fishing.

• In 1778, Captain James Cook sailed to the Hawaiian Islands and was the first European to witness the locals surfing.

• Hawaiians surfed on a board they called the “he’e nalu” which were canoes or specially carved boards made from wood of the Koa tree.

• In Hawaiian villages, the chief got the biggest board.