Coastal Village
The village on the island of Kuru that Lara visits during the events of Tomb Raider III is inhabited by a Polynesian tribe. The tribe is the same one that originally lived in the Lost City of Tinnos on an island near Antarctica. The level is the first in the South Pacific stage.
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Appearance in Tomb Raider III
Lara arrives in a warm, shallow lagoon surrounded by dark cliffs and tropical vegetation. Immediately there is a multi-path option; Lara can either find a Smuggler's Key to access a passage into a cave within the cliffs, or use a passage underneath the cliff face to access a small canyon.
If Lara used the Smuggler's Key, she will find a long vine draped cavern filled with water. Once she has climbed, jumped and traversed her way across, she will find herself on a small wooden bridge over the canyon mentioned previously. Ahead of her is an entrance to one of the island's temples.
Inside the temple Lara can choose either to jump into the waterfall that flows down the side of the cliff, or to take a short-cut down to the village proper. If she decides to go over the falls, she will have to collect three Serpent Stones to access a gate to the village.
The village itself is a motley collection of rough wooden huts, arranged in a fairly random pattern in front of imposing gates. An area to the left leads to a tree house next to a swamp, where someone with an Australian accent continues to try to attract Lara's attention. To the right is another village area with tiers of huts build on top of each other, and several more tree houses.
By accessing a corridor within a stone built wall, Lara can pull a switch to open a trap door in a small pool in the village. Swimming up here, Lara can enter the tree-house, and discover the owner of the Australian voice.
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Notes
No Polynesian civilisation has ever achieved anything particularly spectacular in terms of masonry and stone-working, so the local tribe, although cannibal, are obviously far more advanced than their subsistence farming neighbours.
