Tahiti to Easter Island Marquesas, Tuamotus & Pitcairns September 29 - October 17, 2014 Tuesday & Wednesday, September 30 & October 1, 2014 Papeete, Tahiti / Embark Caledonian Sky / Rangiroa, Tuamotu Islands After long flights over the Pacific, we took day rooms at the Inter- Continental Resort Tahiti for some much-needed rest. Once up, we relished views of the saw-toothed silhouette of the island of Moorea. In Polynesian, the name "Moorea" refers to a yellow lizard found on the island. After brunch, we boarded buses and began our tour of Tahiti. The lush landscape provided us several nice viewpoints, including Point Venus, the site of Captain Cook's astronomical observations of the transit of Venus across the disk of the sun. We also admired the home of James Norman Hall, author of Mutiny on the Bounty, brought to film in 1935. At the Museum of Tahiti and Her Islands, our guides interpreted a number of exhibits explaining the Polynesian culture and natural history. There were handmade canoes, stitched together with coconut fiber and caulked with breadfruit latex, colorful feather capes, striking ferns, mother of pearl fishhooks, and nice maps of the region. We boarded the Caledonian Sky and at dusk we were under way, with briefings and cocktails, before enjoying our first dinner aboard. The next morning, the sun rose over relatively mild seas as we steamed along the perimeter of Rangiroa. Birders on deck saw a number of spectacled and blue terns, and one Tahiti petrel. After our briefings on Zodiacs and snorkeling, we dropped anchor in the inner lagoon. We had a delightful escort of half a dozen bow-riding bottlenose dolphins. The scuba divers went out for their first dive, finding gray sharks, sea turtles, and oodles of fish. After lunch, we visited the village of Tiputa and saw the infirmary, school, and Catholic church, and found a few pearls for sale. Later, we snorkeled all afternoon—fish were everywhere, including a dozen species of butterflyfish, titan triggerfish, and unicornfish. Back on board, we settled in for a talk from Jack Grove, called An Introduction to the Fishes of Polynesia. We soon went to clink cocktails and meet our ship’s master, Captain Hakan Admarker, who hosted a welcome dinner. Thursday & Friday, October 2 & 3 At Sea / Nuka Hiva Island, Marquesas Islands Thursday morning we heard from Peter Harrison, who discussed Facts and Figures of Feathered Friends, and revealed which came first, the chicken or the egg. (As birds are a direct descendent of egg-laying dinosaurs and lizards, it was the egg.) This revelation was followed by Peter Zika talking about Rainforests. Lunch was taken by most on the Lido Deck, outdoors with shade, a slight breeze, and good view of the surrounding sea. In the afternoon we watched a documentary on the South Pacific, followed by an ice cream social in the lounge. Edmundo Edwards gave his presen- tation on The Settlement of the Pacific and the Culture of the Marquesas Islands. During cocktail hour we heard our first recap and briefing, before retiring to dinner. A golden sunrise and mild seas awoke us the next morning, as we approached the northern group of the Marquesas Islands, with their dramatic volcanic skylines. On deck occasional noddies and tiny Bulwer's petrels were seen, all nesters on the adjacent archipelago. At mid-morning Giovanna Fasanelli regaled us with a presentation, Sharks: Magnificent and Misunderstood. The broad diversity of the world's sharks is imperiled by the shark fin trade, which is devastating shark populations across all oceans. After a short break, we listened to Jonathan Rossouw discuss Biodiversity and the Bucket List, Polynesia. After lunch, we dropped anchor off Hatiheu Bay, and crossed to shore in our Zodiacs. After a short ride in the local pickup trucks, or walk- ing, we were at the notable archaeological site, Hikoku'a Tohua, rich in Polynesian history. The extensive courtyards were restored and well maintained, and made a perfect venue for dance performances, with a photogenic backdrop of petroglyphs, handsome forest, and towering volcanic ridges. The birders were delighted to find the four endemic birds so quickly, including the Nuka Hiva pigeon. In a massive banyan tree a white-tailed tropicbird was nesting, and most of us were able to watch its comings and goings. About 100 people live in the small village near the shore, where we stopped in a local restaurant for fresh papaya and a swim before returning to the ship. At dusk we pulled anchor and made way towards the southern group of islands in the Marquesas. Saturday, October 4 Hiva Oa Island The birders left for shore early, discovered a large assemblage of manta rays, and continued on for six miles to the distant island of Tahuata, eventually finding an endemic reed warbler and endangered kingfisher. Most of the rest of us boarded Zodiacs to look for manta rays—we found between 50 and 100 of the massive beasts, flapping and gliding, seemingly flying in looping groups, sieving copepods and other plankton. Those with snorkels and masks had an exhilarating swim in the middle of the mantas' circular foraging routes, with occasional minor collisions where a manta wingtip would lightly brush up against one of us. A little later in the morning we landed at Atuona Village and proceeded to the Calvary Cemetery, where we saw two notable graves. One marked the burial of Paul Gauguin, the famous painter of tropical Pacific scenes and people. The other belonged to the much-loved Belgian singer Jacques Brel. Ornamental plantings among the tombs included bleeding heart or bag flower, and pigeon berry or golden dewdrop. Subsequently we spent a little time in the village, at the museum and courtyards devoted to the memory of Gauguin and Brel. A few of us visited the fireman's fundraiser, before returning to the landing and our ship for lunch. In the afternoon, we repositioned from the southwest to the northeast coast of Hiva Oa, the second largest island of the Marquesas. We boated into the village of Puamau. Four-wheel drive trucks took us from the town to the immense stone tikis at I'ipona Me'ae. Some of us walked back along the road, and took a swim before returning to the ship; a few scuba divers also explored the coast. Some delectable plants were seen growing around the sites, including starfruit, cacao, Tahitian apple, and breadfruit, as well as the perfume plant, ylang-ylang. Back on board we attended the evening recap, highlighted by Giovanna's remarkable video footage of the feeding manta rays. Sunday, October 5 Fatu Hiva Fatu Hiva translates as "Bay of the Virgins." We disembarked early to take advantage of the cooler morning hours, and went hiking on this sparsely settled side of the island. Some of us climbed to a waterfall for a swim, others sought viewpoints a little lower on the ridges above the bay, and some explored the little town, where there was a church service. For those who wished, Marquesan tattoo artists were available. Some wooden carvings, tapa cloths, and other handicrafts were for sale, and we gathered for a dance performance which re-enacted the flight of the tropicbirds that grace the sea. The snorkelers and divers also managed to get wet in the bay, finding flashy endemic Marquesan butterflyfish. The birders were unable to locate any of the critically endangered monarchs that make their last home on the island, but the cliffs, volcanic spires, streams, and vistas left us all appreciating this valley, one of the world's prettiest natural harbors. Aiming due south, our ship made its way towards the Tuamotu Islands. We gathered on the top deck for a group photo before lunch. After a movie we heard Edmundo discuss Polynesian Navigation and the Tuamotus Islands. Recap and dinner followed, before we enjoyed a clear evening and brilliant moonlight. Monday, October 6 Puka Puka, Tuamotu Islands Puka Puka atoll is six by three kilometers, elliptical, and has an entrance in its reef on the northern side, where the main town of Te One Mahina is located, with a population of 200. Its inhabitants speak Pukapukan, a Tuamotan language that is most related to Marquesan. Historically, in the northeastern part of the Tuamotus, their trade was primarily with the Marquesas Islands to the north, while in other parts of the vast chain of atolls, the Tuamotan language reflects contact with other, much nearer large islands like Tahiti. Nowadays the residents rely on copra for their living, which is picked up by barge twice a month. We arrived at Puka Puka during breakfast, and sent the divers out. They reported several sea turtles, gray reef sharks, and a Napoleon wrasse, among many other fish. The snorkelers were entertained by flame angelfish, yellow hawkfish, and skittish mimic surgeonfish, who were colored just like a lemonpeel angelfish. In town we quickly organized a tour of the island's main road, church, and central lagoon by Le Truck, which made four laps of the perimeter. The cerulean waters of the lagoon provided excellent swimming, as well as tasty oysters, which we were served back at the landing, expertly shucked. A few of the oysters had small yellow pearls. In addition to oysters, we were also served breadfruit, coconut, and pastry. Nearby, the beachcombers found the prickly capsules of ironwood, and small sea slugs. Back on board for lunch, we watched a movie and heard Peter Harrison speak on Tropical Seabirds. After dinner we had a moonlit night and steady trade winds. Tuesday, October 7 Puka Rua Puka Rua is a large atoll, with a narrow entrance near the north end of the elliptical fringing reef.