South Pacific

Blog 8:  It is now the evening of Monday 10th February:

(Image) - Leaving the magical tropical islands behind....

We are in the South Pacific very close now to our destination port of Auckland, New Zealand, after ports of call in American Samoa and Tonga. The ship's time is presently 13 hours ahead of GMT: Weather is cooling the further south we travel; we are now at the same latitude as North Africa so the tropical weather is behind us. The sea state is described as 'slight' which is a lifetime away from the sea conditions when we left Southampton 37 days ago!

We have now well and truly crossed the Equator and the International Time Line - the ship's entertainment ceremony was organised to represent the legend that permission was needed to be sought from King Neptune to allow the first time equator passengers to 'cross the line'. This was duly granted after a drenching and flour throwing session and all was very jolly indeed. What a very nice man that chap Neptune is, letting us proceed on our journey. The Equator was a bit bumpy having passengers jump across the line but we all made it into the Southern Hemisphere safely.

The stars are really wonderful and the night sky is so immense with the Southern Cross clearly

(Image) - The Southern Cross....

visible now on the horizon. The moon has a spectacular shadow effect on the ocean; leaning on the ship's railings and looking into the the Milky Way and our Universe, it is quite literally a whole world away from the weather and challenges in the UK. Through binoculars on a clear night you can also just make out our neighbouring Galaxy of Andromeda. What a wonderful and thought provoking planet we live on.

  (PIC) - the first dawn of a new day....

Looking back at the last few days of our voyage, we lost a complete day on Friday February 7th (the day that never was!). This apparently is normal on a West to East circumnavigation as we have gained an hour 11 times now on our voyage; to compensate we lose a day and end up with a change of clock to thirteen hours ahead.  The International Time Line is a bit jagged as some islands have chosen to remain on Eastern time schedules. Tonga where we visited last Saturday is actually the first inhabited location in the East to see the dawn of a new day. American Samoa on the other hand is still in time line with Western USA and therefore we were still eleven hours behind until the Saturday. All very confusing really, well it is to me.

(Image) -  the 1969 Apollo mission....

One of the ship's talks I went to hear was about the Apollo missions and the fact that in these local waters the first moon landing capsule dropped safely back to Earth in 1969.  I remember as if yesterday that July moment of history so was in a bit of a reminiscing mood for a while afterwards. 'The eagle has landed - one giant leap for mankind" etc.  According to our Speaker, Neil Armstrong actually said "one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind which does make the whole dramatic moment dialogue more meaningful...

(PIC) - Pango Pango....

On Wednesday 5th February it was Talofa (Hello) to American Samoa. We arrived in the capital and main port of Pago Pago - actually pronounced Pango Pango - The reason is extraordinary - Early Christian missionary discoverers did not have a letter N in their type set to record the name for posterity, so although they knew it as Pango Pango it has always through tradition been written as Pago Pago. Polynesians arrived on the island of Tutuila around 10,000 BC and remained ever since. Their heritage, crafts and cultures are still clearly visible today.

(PIC) - Tutuila coast line....

Although strategically situated in the South Pacific, there were no major attacks or invasions here during WW2 other than a single UBoat shelling in 1942. The enemy of all of the South Pacific plate islands is natural disasters. In 2009 a size 8.0 earthquake off the island caused a Tsunami of four waves 20 feet in height. The devastation was enormous and even today there are still many signs of destroyed homes and vegetation.  This small group of islands is a protectorate of the USA and the latter has poured millions of dollars into the regeneration project, but bizarrely Samoan citizens although having a free visa entry into USA still cannot vote in the USA Presidential elections. I have no idea why that is so and it does seem a bit unfair.

Some of the Polynesian traditions are quite quaint e.g. do not stretch your legs out in a public place, it's a sign of lack of respect. Also never eat 'on the go'; meal times are sacred and snacking is a 'no go'. This is a bit ironic as they just love their two island MacDonald outlets. Traditions may be changing as the mainland American way of life is now coming along very fast to this lovely island.

(PIC)- The Ladies of Samoa....

This was our first warning of Mosquitos present - non malarial but itchy to the skin so we needed to 'Deet' up as we were travelling inshore. The dress code for visitors to Samoa is to wear nothing too daring, no 'speedos', not a problem for me although my varicose veins are now tanning up quite nicely so I am sure my legs are worth showing off to the local ladies (NOT)!

(PIC) - Tour coach - Tutuila....

The buses here are basic, colourful and unique in style - open sided, hard seats, a bouncy ride but somehow quite quaint and definitely no place here for a bendy bus or a double decker.
There are no windows - natural AC as standard.

The older Fagatogo village around the port is still steeped in the history of the old but now gone USA Naval base from 1900 to 1951. The buildings are still here and are now used as headquarters for Government including the Police. There are Museums, Churches, a few shops and small bars but nothing really commercial. This is a quite peaceful place  - no begging happens on this island unlike at other stops along our route. A very polite and respectful community, happy with themselves and their way of life. In the Museum there are a lot of papers and information surrounding Samoa's role in the Apollo missions. The Samoan flag was carried to the moon by the astronauts to say thanks for the fact that it was in their territorial waters that the landing capsules splashed to earth and were transferred through the port back to the USA.

(PIC) - Flower Pot Rock....

 There are plenty of photo opportunities and visits along the coast lines including Flower Pot Rock and Leone village where there is a fine church of the first Christians dating back to the mid 19th century which has now been renovated after extensive damage in the 2009 Tsunami. There is a story that the Early Christians settlers mistook the word Samoa which loosely translated is a thanks after a meal for "some more". The locals kept plying their visitors' plates with more food which they could not refuse as that was seen as disrespectful. As a result the Missionaries got very fat indeed. I am not sure if that is true but I liked the play on words. Food for thought (a very bad pun)!!

(PIC)  - an empty golf coarse....

There is a golf course with picturesque panoramic views on this island and would you believe only $5 dollars a round. It is well maintained and unbelievably empty so come on guys get on a flight and have a round or two in pretty pleasant weather conditions all year round.
It rains a lot in Samoa especially at this time of year and that means lush vegetation and tropical rain forests, flora and fauna. Their National Parks are full of rare species so the nature buff is in their element with trails and tracks for the walker, quiet beaches for swimming and snorkelling. Something for everyone would make this an ideal holiday destination.

(Image) - typical tapa cloth..

Meals include  breadfruit, spinach cooked in earth ovens, coconut milk, guava and sweet potato. The famous tradition of producing Tapa cloth is very interesting - made from the inside bark of a tree using wooden stencils and a stamping process. They can churn out many cloths from the same mould and have being doing it this way for centuries  - I guess this must have been the world's first mass production plant long before Mr Ford invented the Model T factory line in the USA.

I really enjoyed my visit to this gem of an island and would quite easily return there again one day.

Saturday 8th February:

We then had one day at sea (losing Friday completely) we were privileged to be one of the first people in the East to see the dawn of a new day. We are now 13 hours ahead of GMT: I was up early to see the coastline and the dawn silhouettes of the island of Tongatapu.

We had arrived in Tonga - malo e lelei (mah-loh-eh-leh-leh-e) translated to mean hello or welcome.

(PIC) -The flatness of Tonga....

The main island of Tongatapu is situated in an archipelago of 176 land masses in four main groups of small islands. The total population is only 105,000 living on 40 inhabited islands scattered over 420,000 square miles of ocean.  Two thirds of the total population are living in the capital of Tongatapu which is our docking port Nuku' Alofa.

These are raised coral limestone islands so different from Samoa. Tongatapu is flat with a lagoon in the centre. Lots of greenery and vegetation but I cannot help but imagine if the sea level rose or there was a huge Tsunami wave then it could be goodbye to many of the Tonga islands.

(PICs)  - James Cook 1773 landing place and famous banana tree plaque.....

The Dutch first visited here in the 1600's in the hope of setting up some trading routes. Captain James Cook on his arrival in 1773 dubbed the islands 'the Friendly Islands'. His landing place after anchoring the Endeavour and the famous banana tree under which he sought shade to write his diary is marked with a plaque and is a popular tourist site situated alongside the beautiful lagoon. The intrepid Captain loved the people here and visited Tonga twice more before he was killed in a skirmish with locals on Hawaii in 1779 (see previous blog).

King George Topou 1st unified all the islands in the four groups in the mid 19th century. Tonga became a British protectorate colony in 1900. Independence was later gained in 1970 and membership of the United Nations in 1999. There is a 90% literacy rate as schooling and family traditions are the core essentials of the Tongan way of life.

(PIC) - The Royal Palace....

The Kingdom of Tonga is the only country in the South Pacific with an unbroken royal dynasty for more than 100 years. Tonga has never been controlled by foreign powers. The Palace is on the sea front next to where we disembarked. It was a striking welcome to this island, this view plus the colourful welcome from the island's Police band.  A new King is to be crowned shortly continuing the blood line. It was the old queen Salote of Tonga that took the coronation of Queen Elizabeth by storm in 1953 by riding in the procession in an open topped limousine showing off her fantastic hat and colourful clothes.

(Image) - Paanga Dollar...

Tonga have their own currency the Paanga Dollar which is worth about half of the American Dollar. The cost of living here is pretty good as lots of the fruit and vegetables are obtained freely from the land and families live on their own 'handed down' plots of land. No foreigner can buy land here as the land must by law be passed down to family. All the family members of different generations live on the plot and there must be total agreement between them to sell off any part of the land.


Nothing however remains for ever and emigration these days is high especially to Australia such is the pressure of modern life and more influence on the Polynesian cultures from foreign superpowers. China is beginning to assert some influence here and gradually snippets of land are being purchased to create the commercialised 'beach resort' so much now intruding on many South Pacific islands.

(Image) - Tonga Rugby Players...

Sport is big in Tonga and I mean 'big', especially Rugby Union which is their national sport and that means huge really guys.  Size brings with it some challenges  - 90% are overweight and 40% of those are diagnosed as obese, in fact Tonga has been declared as the most obese country in the world. This is a hereditary situation as their diet of fresh fruits vegetables and fish would be seem to be healthy living in the wider world.

(PIC) - typical tonga bus service....

Lots of locally made handcraft from the exquisite ngatu (tapa) cloth making and weaving to the lava lavas (sarong). Black pearl necklaces are beautifully made and a good barter insures a mutually agreed friendly handshake on the sale.

The bus time table non existent - just flag one down and pile in (sitting on somebody else's lap is custom and practice on a bus in order to pack them in and stack em high).

There was an unfortunate and unsavoury moment in the market when one of our passengers had an attempted robbery of their handbag. There appears to be a drug habit amongst a few (I stress a few) of the youngsters here due to lack of work and some boredom. The western culture is coming here fast. The local Police and Security are so laid back that there needs to be a rethink if more Cruise ships and Tourists are going to make this a 'must see' island on their South Pacific travels.

(PIC) - Ha'amonga Trilithon....

Despite this incident, crime on the island is rare, It really is an island worth visiting - its beauty is not as striking as the volcanic mountains of Hawaii but it makes up for it with its differences created by polynesian cultures and heritage. The only ancient monuments and tombs in the South Pacific are on this island unless you take in the famous figures of Easter island. The terraced Tombs (Langi) date from around 1200 AD from a former dynasty and are an impressive site made from huge blocks of coral rock, rising in terraces to a height of 4m.

(PIC) - Classic Tonga beach setting....

With its fine Royal Family residences, still many unspoilt beaches and nature reserves with rare wading birds in the lagoons like Pacific Black Duck and the Reef Heron, the Tern and the Plover plus over 100 different marine species this island offers a complete package to any Tourist wanting a bit of everything in a faraway idyllic setting and something different from French Polynesia and the delights of Tahiti and Bora Bora .

Now we are nearing our destination of Auckland New Zealand to arrive on the morning of Tuesday 11th and the start of a  28 day 'whistle stop' tour by car of both islands to include an overnight stay in the very southern Stewart Island. We have over 20 B&B's booked plus the cross island ferry and a couple of tours including the Bay of Islands and a trek in the Mountains made famous as one of Lord of the Rings film locations.

I have been invited to play a in a bowls match in a lake side town and I am very much looking forward to the fast and swinging NZ green. Its all going to be very exiting. There is lots of free WiFi so I can start to include pictures with the blogs as they are published. Hopefully I will find the time as we are travelling extensively.

The Aurora has been a splendid 37 day voyage of discovery and I cannot recommend highly enough the ship, its crew, its entertainment and food. We have met some absolutely delightful fellow passengers. We have visited once in a lifetime destinations and now we are in a position to compare the two other cruise lines we are travelling with later on our adventure, Princess and Cunard. That is for later blogs.

Total nautical miles from Southampton to Auckland = 14,094nm. I also carried a pedometer and just on the ship I personally walked over 90 miles covering over 200,000 steps. It's a big ship and a long way to dinner especially as I never used the lift. Unfortunately that did not help my weight and the 12 pounds I have gained must now come off in NZ if I am to fit into my clothes for the next voyage of discovery.

NB - A nautical mile is 1.15 statute miles.

DKT