Jim Hendrickson - South Pacific Odyssey

SOUTH PACIFIC ODYSSEY

Marquesas and Mariana Islands,

South Australia, American Samoa,

Samoa, and Indonesia

Jim Hendrickson

Copyright 2016 Jim Hendrickson

All rights reserved.

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OTHER BOOKS BY JIM HENDRICKSON

L IKE A LEAF ON A RIVER (Travels of a Young Man)

THE RESTLESS GLOBETROTTER (Germany, Greece, India, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Cook Islands, and Marquesas Islands)

N ORTH TO ALASKA! (Montana to Alaska by Bicycle)

SHALOM, ISRAEL! (Washington State to Israel by Bicycle)

VAGABOND ON A BICYCLE (100,000 Miles and 100 Cultures on a Bike)

TRAVEL IS MY PASSION (Memoirs of a World Traveler)

RVING TO THE LAND OF THE MIDNIGHT SUN (Washington State to Alaska)

AROUND THE WORLD IN THIN SLICES (From Asia Through the Northwest Passage)

HEAVEN ON EARTH (Travels of a Restless Soul)

MY ENDLESS PURSUIT OF TRAVEL (Western, Northern and Central Canada, Minnesota, Colorado, Germany, Switzerland, Portugal, Slovenia, Croatia, Montenegro, Bosnia and

Herzegovina, Serbia, Macedonia, and Kosovo)

STRANGE TALES OF JEFFERSON COUNTY (Stories from a World Traveler at Home)

FOOTLOOSE IN SOUTHERN SOUTH AMERICA (Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, and the Falkland Islands / Islas Malvinas)

WANDERLUST IS IN MY BLOOD (Sardinia, Corsica, Malta, Sicily, Germany, Ukraine, Republic of Georgia, and Armenia)

COWBOYS, INDIANS, AND ME (Montana, Minnesota, South Dakota, Wyoming, and North Dakota)

ISLAND-HOPPING IN THE SOUTH PACIFIC (Fiji, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Kiribati, and Samoa)

CONTENTS

I NTRODUCTION

FRENCH POLYNESIA

1. Pension Ti Miti

1. Welcome Aboard the Aranui !

1. A Day at Sea

1. Arrival in the Marquesas

1. Ua Pou

1. Hiva Oa

1. Fatu Hiva

1. Tahuata

1. Ua Huka

1. Return to Nuku Hiva and Ua Pou

1. Another Day at Sea

1. Rangiroa

1. Society Islands: Bora Bora

1. Te Amo Hostel

MARIANA ISLANDS

1. Guam

1. Saipan

1. Tinian

1. Rota

A USTRALIA

1. Kangaroo Island

1. Murray River Cruise

SAMOAN ISLANDS

1. American Samoa

1. Samoa

I NDONESIA

1. Bali

1. Java

A FTERWORD

INTRODUCTION

In 1992, I boarded a freighter in Tahiti and sailed over 2,500 miles northeast for sixteen days through the Tuamotu and Marquesas Archipelagos, two of the most remote island groups in the world. The freighter, named Aranui 2 ( aranui means The Great Highway in Maori), served as a vital lifeline between the outside world and the residents of those far-flung islands by transporting various goods such as bicycles, toiletries, motor scooters, clothing, foodstuffs, fuel, building materials, tools, and much more.

The arrival of the Aranui 2 created a holiday atmosphere: As the ship anchored at each port of call, the islanders would hurry down to the shore of their village where they patiently waited for the vessels large whale boats to deliver the goodies they had ordered. Once the muscular, tattooed crew members had unloaded that precious cargo, they took on copra (dried coconut meat for making perfume and various body oils), citrus fruit, fish and barrels of Noni (a type of evergreen tree used to prepare various medicines from their leaves, roots and fruit)all destined for Papeete.

The unspoiled beauty of the majestic Marquesas Islands and the warmth of their people thrilled me so greatly that I decided to take the same cruise on the new Aranui 5 , built in China and put into service in December 2015. Because the flights from my home in Washington State (USA) to Tahiti were rather expensive, I extended my South Pacific trip to nearly three months with visits to Guam, Saipan, Tinian and Rota in the Mariana Islands, as well as eastern and southern Australia, American Samoa, Samoa, and Indonesia.

After packing my suitcase and backpack as lightly as possible, I was ready to begin my South Seas adventures.

FRENCH POLYNESIA

Pension Te Miti

After collecting my suitcase at Faaa International Airport in Papeete, the capital of Tahiti, I needed a taxi to take me to my overnight accommodation, the Pension Te Miti (Te Miti means The Sea in Tahitian). I tried to negotiate a lower price with a cab driver, but I quickly learned that French Polynesians seldom bargain. Reluctantly, I settled on paying the exorbitant fee of 2,500 francs (US $22) to Hiti, my female cabbie, for the ten-mile ride to the pension where I arrived at six oclock in the morning.

The Pension Te Miti is a hostel surrounded by lush green mountains and situated within walking distance of a sandy beacha perfect venue for a cool swim in the ocean. The one-story white-washed building had several basic double and triple rooms, plus a tiny dormitory with four bunk beds for men and/or women guests. In addition, the pension included a large covered open-sided lounge, a small well-equipped kitchen, and two bathrooms. Christelle, the wife of the owner, showed me to my dormitory in which four persons were fast asleep, so I didnt disturb them.