Fodor's Expert Review Papetoai Temple

This temple is the main attraction of little Papetoai and is also known as the Octagonal Church, due to its eight sides. Protestant missionaries constructed it between 1822 and 1827 deliberately on the site of a former marae in an effort to assert the new religion. The buttercup-yellow church with a red roof was rebuilt in the latter part of the 19th century but remains the oldest European building still in use in the South Pacific. Just one spike-shaped stone remains from the days when it was a marae. The church is often locked, so if you want to see inside, turn up for the Sunday church service. Nearby is the small dock where cruise ship passengers come ashore by tender boats. Craft markets stalls are set up when a cruise ship is in town.