Motu Tapu, is a private island in the

lagoon A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform, such as reefs, barrier islands, barrier peninsulas, or isthmuses. Lagoons are commonly divided into ''coastal lagoons'' (or ''barrier lagoons'') an ...

Bora Bora Bora Bora (French language, French: ''Bora-Bora''; Tahitian language, Tahitian: ''Pora Pora'') is an island group in the Leeward Islands (Society Islands), Leeward Islands in the Pacific Ocean, South Pacific. The Leeward Islands comprise the we ...

French Polynesia French Polynesia ( ; ; ) is an overseas collectivity of France and its sole #Governance, overseas country. It comprises 121 geographically dispersed islands and atolls stretching over more than in the Pacific Ocean, South Pacific Ocean. The t ...

. It is the located between To'opua and the lagoon entrance Te Ava Nui Passage. In the 19th century, Tahitian queen Pōmare IV held Motu Tapu as her private beach.

Etymology

The name "Motu Tapu" means "Sacred island" in several Polynesian languages.''Vaka Moana – Voyages of the Ancestors'' – Howe, K.R. (Editor), Page 33

References

Islands of French Polynesia {{FrenchPolynesia-geo-stub