This breathtaking aerial photograph by Pierre Lesage was taken from a kite soaring high above Ahe, an almost entirely-enclosed coral atoll located in the northern Tuamotu Archipelago, just 14 km to the west of Manihi, in French Polynesia. Ahe Atoll’s ring shape is broken by only a single small passage into the lagoon. It has a length of 23.5 km and a width of 12.2 km. Ahe has a land area of approximately 12 km2 and a lagoon area of 138 km2.

As of 2007, Ahe Atoll had 561 inhabitants. Geographically, Ahe Atoll is part of the King George Islands (Iles du Roi Georges) subgroup, which includes Ahe, Manihi, Takapoto, Takaroa and Tikei. [Source]

This photograph was taken at the Cocoperle Lodge also located on Ahe. It’s about an hour flight from Tahiti and features six authentic bungalows sitting on the beach. The Lodge is respectful of ecology and identifies itself as an ecolodge.

The photo was captured using a Go Pro 3 Black Edition mounted to a 2.6 meter Rokkaku kite. For more information on kite aerial photography (KAP), be sure to check out Pierre’s incredible Flickr page. He also has an iPhone and iPad app featuring some of his best photography. You can find it here.