- Fremantle and Perth, Western Australia
- On the road to Margaret River, Western Australia
- Rottnest Island, Western Australia
- Back to Broome, Western Australia
- Lacepede Island, Western Australia
- Talbot Bay, Western Australia
- Montgomery Reef and Freshwater Cove, Western Australia
- Hunter River and Mitchell Falls, Western Australia
- Ashmore Reef, Australia
- Vansittart Bay, Western Australia
- King George River, Western Australia
- Darwin, Northern Territory
- Agats, West Papua, Indonesia
- Kokas, West Papua, Indonesia
- Misool, Yapap Lagoon, Indonesia
- Yenwaupnor, Gam Island, Indonesia
- Mansinam Island, West Papua, Indonesia
- Cenderawasih Bay, Indonesia
- Cenderwasih Bay, Indonesia Supplemental
- Vanimo, Papua New Guinea
- Garove Island, Papua New Guinea
- Duke of York Island and Rabaul, Papua New Guinea — and the trip takes a turn for the worse
- Ghizo Island, Solomon Islands and my health situation is still uncertain
- Honiara, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands; a 72-hour pause in our trip; and a triumphant return!
- Dravuni Island, Kadavu, Fiji
- Vulaga, Fiji
- Pangai and Nukupule Island, Ha’Apai Group, Tonga
- Vavau, Tonga
- Apia, Upolo, Samoa
- Aitutaki, Cook Islands
- Raiatea, Society Islands, French Polynesia
- Maroe Bay, Huahine Iti, French Polynesia
- Bora Bora, French Polynesia and end of trip
So here we are, finishing up nearly four days in Bora Bora and we achieved our goal in coming here — chilling out and having a good, unrushed time. We stayed at the Intercontinental Thalasso Resort and Spa, located on one of the narrow islands (Motu Piti A’au) that looks across to the main island and Mount Otemanu, which means “the peak that sucks up living things”(it’s a long story involving the demigod Maui). It really has been an imposing sight and can be seen pretty much anywhere in Bora Bora. Our first day was totally about relaxing and massages. Our second day we went snorkeling. You may recall me mentioning seeing a shark when we were drift snorkeling in Raiatea; well here we went swimming with them and rays — both inside and outside of the reef. To be fair, the local guides feed them (yes, I know all the issues with that) and they are quite docile. In fact, you often don’t realize that they are passing quite close to you until you turn around. We also went to another coral garden where we saw a stunning array of fish and more clams of every color you could imagine. Sadly, my camera battery died just before we went through the coral garden.
On our last day, we took the boat shuttle over to Bora Bora, rented a car and drove around the island. Of course that’s not a huge challenge given that the road trip is only about 20 miles. I should mention that our shuttle captain asked me to drive so he could play his ukulele. While much of the island was pretty quiet, the main city of Vaitape was mobbed, with three cruise ships visiting that day. And yes, we did find a memento of our time there from an artist named Jean Pierre Frey. We really love the colors. From here we fly back to Papeete and after a last night in Papeete, fly home. After more than two months, we are ready!
So what are my takeaways from this amazing trip (and I really do mean amazing — we saw and did so much!)? I guess a few themes emerge:
The incredible story of migration. I think it is safe to say that most everyone now believes, human life originated in Africa. The story in this part of the world is all about migration, most likely starting from Asia through Micronesia, Melanesia, to Polynesia. Of course, those terms have largely been abandoned in favor of near- and far-Oceania. On this trip we got to see the latter two of the three and we tended to visit small communities along the route that have stayed largely the same over their history. Throughout our itinerary, we got to see the core traits, culture, and even a base language that run across these places. But much the way Darwin described the Galápagos Islands, once these settlements occurred, they adapted their core tenets to meet the needs of the local situation. What becomes obvious is that the connections between people who have never even seen or experienced each other are tangible. But that’s not to say that there was no intermingling. We learned that even today that there is great connectivity between Fiji, Tonga, and Samoa as an example — not just for trade, but for intermarriage, and cultural interchange. It was very educational to learn the similarities and differences between all these locations.
The remote people are getting along fine — but they can’t do it totally on their own. Many of the places we visited were largely self-sufficient, living on subsistence fishing and farming. But modern amenities and needs have crept in pretty much everywhere we visited. Probably one of the most poignant examples was in the ASMAT village of Uwus where all the warriors were dressed for battle in their dugout canoes and yet all had their cell phones. Externally driven cultural changes also have had a significant impact in this regard. Sticking with the ASMAT tribe, when the Indonesian government and the missionaries forced them to give up headhunting and cannibalism (which had deep cultural and religious importance), what do you do with your culture, how do you measure your self-worth, etc.? I sense that they are still finding their way with this. In a different example, when the Indonesian government ships a large number of traditional Muslims to an area like Kokas, how do they fit in and how do the locals accept them? If that village is any measure, then the answer is very well. Rather than trying to force newcomers into a mold, they seem to have learned from each other and given each other the respect to live both individual lives and come together as a community. But in many cases, the need for external investment is growing. Some of this is a carry over from colonial times and influences, but some is related to the desire for modern conveniences and the impacts of climate change (e.g., ocean water level rise). Many countries are coming in to help/invest but, far and away, China has become the dominant player in the South Pacific. Time will tell how that all plays out.
For the most part, the reefs seem to be pretty healthy. This trip was totally amazing for the snorkelers (and would have been even more so had we been able to dive). We visited some of the most beautiful and productive reef environments in the world (both inside the Coral Triangle and out). We went from very warm waters to quite cool waters and most reefs looked quite healthy. There is clearly a correlation between the population density, ship traffic, etc. and the health of the reefs. We were generally in relatively lowly populated areas and, in many cases, the populations there depended on the reefs for their sustenance. Consequently, they learned conservation and sustainability as a necessity. As we got into more populated areas, the density of the reefs and the number of fish and coral species was much less. Another positive, however, has been the recognition of the criticality of health of these ocean ecosystems to our broader health and well-being on the planet. There are a number of ongoing coral restoration projects being undertaken by governments and other nonprofits. I really love the story of the restoration of the “Grand Central Station” reef on Njari Island in the Solomon’s. To restore a reef environment to one of the most diverse on the planet after 80% had been destroyed by cyclones is truly amazing.
I’m am firmly convinced that expedition cruising is the best way to see remote ocean-accessed areas of the world. I believe this was our sixth expedition cruise. Through this type of cruising, we have seen many areas of the Arctic (including the Northwest Passage), the Antarctic (including the Falklands and South Georgia Island), the Galápagos Islands, and the Patagonian fjords. Now we have seen a good chunk of Oceania. Expedition ships are built to get you into places that other ships normally can’t access and they limit the number of passengers (generally less than 350 people) to both reduce the impact on environments we visit and provide more opportunities for those who are aboard. The ships’ expedition teams are made up of people who have devoted their lives to the study of nature, science, and the culture of the areas we visit. That is often supplemented with local/regional cultural ambassadors that can provide much more insight and help us better understand the people and places we visit. On this trip, expedition leader Dom and his team were really great. They are every bit as excited as we are to be out there and they go way out of their way to keep to the planned itinerary despite what weather, port issues, or any other disruptions might bring. Dom’s mantra is “flexibility, flexibility, flexibility,” and that always worked. If we didn’t do this, we would do that — something of equal (or sometimes even better) interest. And that raises a point that some of you may be thinking — do we get to spend enough time in each place to really get everything from it? And the answer is obviously no. But that’s okay for two reasons: (1) often it’s the summation of all the places we have visited that really bring the story home, and (2) we can always go back for longer land visits later (which we have done before).
Anyway, thanks for tagging along. I’m always happy to get your feedback (even if I have comments turned off here because of all the spam). Until next time!
This entry was posted in Bora Bora, French Polynesia, Travel
I am a traveler and sometimes clay sculptor, following a long career working in consulting. My work allowed me to travel the world extensively and I was hooked. Today, I travel with my wife/best friend to explore new places, meet new people, and learn new things.
