Tahiti and specifically Huahini was first visited by Magellan and the first European contact was from the Spanish in the 1500’s. Captain Cook also visited in the 1700’s. It was even visited by Captain Bligh and the Bounty. The Polynesians were most likely descendants of the East Asian explorers of around 1000 A. D. The Polynesian people came to be very good sailors and eventually sailed and settled New Zealand long before the white man came.