Port Stops Hawaiian Islands: Oahu, Kauai, Hawaii, Maui, Molokai The Pacific Basin Hawaii is the youngest U.S. state and the only one made up who circumnavigated and mapped the country in 1769. Today, entirely of islands. While each of its six islands has its own New Zealand maintains a rich blend of Maori and European personality, they all share the aloha spirit: a sense of compas- cultures, and is a top destination for outdoor adventurers. sion and peace. In addition to its reputation for surfing and some of the best beaches in the world, Hawaii is also known Chatham Islands for its connection to nature. You don’t have to look far to find The Chatham Islands are a Pacific archipelago located about the deep and enduring relationship between Hawaiian people 420 miles southeast of New Zealand. They were first occupied and their land and ocean resources. by Polynesians about 800 to 1000 years ago and are the birthplace of the peace-loving Moriori culture. The islands Phoenix Islands Protected Area were discovered in 1791 by Europeans aboard the English ship At 157,626 square miles in size, the Phoenix Islands Protected HMS Chatham, making them the last major Pacific Islands Area (PIPA) is one the largest marine protected areas in the to be settled. Much history remains today including Moriori world. PIPA is located in the Republic of Kiribati, a region com- settlement sites, ancient tree and rock carvings, and remnants posed of three island groups – the Gilbert, Phoenix, and Line of whaling and sealing stations. Islands – just five degrees south of the Equator. PIPA is one of Earth’s last intact oceanic coral archipelago ecosystems due to Tubuai its remoteness and lack of a permanent human presence, and Tubuai is the main island in the Tubuai Island Group in the was named a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2010. Austral Islands chain in southwestern French Polynesia. The island is surrounded by a lagoon and coral reefs, with two American Samoa volcanic domes in the center of the island. Captain Cook first American Samoa is the southernmost territory of the United mapped the island in 1777, but it was the mutinied crew of the States and a key naval station. Originally settled by French HMS Bounty, led by Christian Fletcher, that first disembarked explorers and British missionaries, the Samoan Islands on the island. Increased contact with Europeans strained the became a hotly contested whaling and coal-fired shipping port native populations, who had inhabited the island for over in the 19th century and was eventually split East/West by the 2,000 years. United States and Germany in 1899. American Samoa is a series of volcanic islands and coral atolls, including Vailulu’u Tahiti Seamount, an active submerged volcano. Tahiti is the largest island in the Windward Group in the Society Islands. It is the cultural and political center of French Fiji Polynesia. The island is volcanic, with high peaks, and is Fiji is an archipelago of over 300 islands that covers 200,000 surrounded by coral reefs. It was first settled in 200 BC by square miles of ocean. Called “the crossroads of the Pacific,” Polynesians and was declared a French colony in 1880. Tahiti Fiji is a multicultural nation with a population made up pri- was a key stopover island for whalers, fisherman, and other marily of indigenous Fijians, Indians, Chinese, Europeans and Pacific voyagers. Today tourism and the black pearl trade South Pacific Islanders. As with many other Pacific islands, Fiji dominate the economy. was discovered by European traders and whalers in the 17th century. Today it is best known for its idyllic beaches, diving, Fakarava and pristine surroundings, and a thriving ecotourism business. Fakarava is an atoll in the Tuamotu Group in French Polynesia, and is home to a population of about 900. It was the original New Zealand: ancient capital of the Tuamotu region before Tahiti became Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin, Wellington, more developed. The atoll is shaped like a rectangle with a Hauraki Gulf, Lyttleton, Bluff large and deep central lagoon, the second largest in French The Maori people were the first to arrive in New Zealand, jour- Polynesia. Known for its rich ecosystems, Fakarava is a desig- neying in canoes from Hawaiki – their place of origin – around nated UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. Today it is known as a top 1,000 years ago. Dutch explorer Abel Tasman was the first dive and pearl farming destination. European to sight the island, but it was Captain James Cook