Located on the tropic of Capricorn, Tubuai enjoys a temperate climate, tropical yet cooler than Tahiti. Two volcanic mountain ranges stand out against the milky sky typical of the Austral archipelago. There, the blues seem colder, and the greens sharper under the diaphanous light which highlights the turquoise lagoon of this oval-shaped island.

Rurutu (the 'gushing rock' in Polynesian language) is the most northern island of the Austral archipelago.