This year’s most beautiful Olympic venue is 15,000 kilometres from Paris

Tahiti is one of the planet’s most romanticised destinations. However, modern-day Tahiti has its fair share of detractions: peak-hour traffic jams, a capital city with slums, and few public beaches to access along the strip of coastline hosting most of its resorts.

But the good news is that there are actually two Tahitis. And the other Tahiti – well, that’s the Tahiti you came for, even though there’s hardly anyone to share it with, despite the fact it begins barely an hour’s drive from the airport. And while it’s technically a different island, Tahiti Iti (small Tahiti) is connected by a land bridge, so you don’t need a boat or plane to get there.

Once you cross that bridge, you’re in a different world. Green mountains tower above, fishermen sell fresh-caught fish they hang off rope by the roadside, and there’s hardly a car to be seen: because there’s nowhere to go. The road comes to a dead-end half-way down each coastline. Tahiti slows right down in Tahiti Iti to a pace some would say all Polynesia ought to run at.

There are three roads you can choose to take on Tahiti Iti. Drive the north road beside the lagoon until you reach the end at a black sand bay in the picture-perfect village of Tautira. Or take the middle road through pastures to a plateau with views out across Tahiti. But I like the south road best, for it leads to Fenua Aihere (the bush country) – one of the few wildernesses in all of French Polynesia accessible only by boat or foot.

Take the south road beside the sea until it ends at the tiny fishing village of Teahupoo. You might recognise the name – it’s where the world’s best surfers gather for two weeks each year to surf the planet’s most dangerous wave. Death-defying images are broadcast across the globe for a fortnight and then Tahiti Iti becomes a secret all over again. This year, however, Teahupoo has gone one step beyond – serving as the surfing site for the Paris Olympics.

The best way to explore the bush country of Tahiti Iti is on a full-day boat tour beyond Teahupoo. There are hiking trails across the wilderness. If you’re fit and have a guide, you can traverse the entire 22-kilometre roller-coaster track from east to west. But travelling by boat allows me to appreciate the scale of the wilderness from the lagoon. And saves me a lot of sweat.

Gigantic triangular mountains – their tips covered in cloud – drop down at right angles, creating huge shadowy, hidden valleys. Humpback whales congregate in the waters beyond the reef to give birth in winter, while pods of bottlenose dolphins surf the bow waves of our boat.