Tahiti connection

Historians tell us that Hawaii was colonized by voyagers from the remote Marquesas Islands in the eastern Pacific about 1,700 years ago and later by Tahitians approximately 800 years ago. Imagine what it would take to set out on a vast ocean to perhaps discover an unknown land mass. Would you would have gotten into a double-hulled canoe with some friends and pushed off from, say, Waikiki not knowing where you were going?

Celestial navigation was not yet developed. Instead, voyagers would follow a star, any star, then track it in reverse and return if they did not find land. This would be repeated until land was found. Hawaii was discovered this way by the Marquesans.

But why take the risk? Historians say there was not an overpopulation problem or a trade route opportunity. There was, however, a need to find new land because of the family hierarchy system where the older son automatically became chief. A younger son could gain this status only by settling a new island territory. This was the generally considered impetus behind the greatest voyaging in the world: across the Pacific starting in Taiwan and ending in Hawaii.

Thus, according to historical accounts, the Marquesans made the discovery of Hawaii first between A.D. 300 and 400 followed by the Tahitians between A.D. 1200 and 1300. So Hawaii began as kingdoms and territories ruled by local chiefs or alii. Again, what is remarkable is that the voyage by canoe with 45 or so brave souls took 11 to 15 days, and they didn’t know whether land would be found on their first expedition. It is now a five-hour flight in the comfort of Hawaiian Airlines. Most important, the plane has a steady captain who knows where he is going.

To imagine the shores from which the Tahitians set off for unknown land requires a firsthand travel experience. I spent a month in Tahiti last year.

Everything resplendent you have heard about Tahiti is true. Posters cannot do it justice. The Polynesians have been greeting visitors for years with their broad smiles and open arms. Tahiti is known for its turquoise, white-sand lagoons and swaying palm trees. Words such as "escape," "exoticism" and "romance" bring unique dreams of these islands.

Hawaiian Airlines is the only carrier flying from Hawaii to Tahiti’s main airport in Papeete. Round-trip flights are scheduled on Saturdays.

In Papeete I stayed in the beachfront Intercontinental Tahiti Resort & Spa, just 15 minutes from the airport. After a week of sunshine, sightseeing, eating and pool lounging, I was ready to board the Paul Gauguin cruise ship. We visited numerous beaches from which ancient voyagers could have set off for the unknown: Moorea, Huahine, Bora Bora and Taha’a in the Society Islands; and Aitutake and Rarotonga in the Cook Islands.

When I returned to Papeete from the cruise, I stayed in town for another few days at the modern Hotel Tahiti Nui. This gave me plenty of time to walk around the town amid its friendly people. Don’t miss Les Roulettes (lunch wagons) in a park along the oceanfront. The old marketplace is a must-see as well.

HUAHINE, SOCIETY ISLANDS

Huahine is considered the most "sensual" of all the islands. Why? The island is the epitome of what we have come to expect of tranquil Polynesia: white-sand beaches and desert coral islets together with lush hills on the luminous blue lagoons. It is an island of charm and archaeological wealth where daily life unfolds with a slow rhythm.

Huahine also has the historical significance of being a former whaling port for ships going north and south during May and June. It was first settled in the 1830s and was the center of Polynesian culture at the time.

Now you will find it the home of some unusual creatures — not people, but Tahitian eels. Unlike other eels, their fins are on their sides similar to "ears." Their eyes are blue. Legend has it that these eels crawled across the mountains from their pool in Arue to marry a beautiful maiden because they were lonely. Tourists are told the eels are supposedly "gentle, harmless and interested only in sacred mackerel from sacred cans that can be purchased at any sacred market on the island." Perhaps the early "sacred canoes" were launched from here to discover our Hawaii.

COOK ISLANDS, AITUTAKI AND RAROTONGA

The Cook Islands are part of New Zealand and were named after Capt. James Cook, who was the first European to discover one of the southern Cook Islands. Today the islands are independent but respect the traditional British and Polynesian way of life and customs. By the way, the "Polynesian ukulele" (which is different from the traditional ukulele but tuned the same) was introduced in the Cook Islands in 1990. It plays like a banjo — fast and high-pitch. I could hear this distinctive Polynesian instrument everywhere there was music in Tahiti.

Aitutaki escaped missionary and Western influences in the 1800s. Here is old Polynesia. The island is surrounded by flat, elongated islets making a necklace reef for the island’s large lagoon.

The island has one small hill surrounded by coconut groves and banana plantations. The water is warm by Hawaii standards and crystal-clear turquoise, which is ideal for snorkeling, swimming and sailing. Like all the islands I visited, the lagoon in Aitutaki was great for watching new sea creatures and plant life indigenous to this part of the world.

Rarotonga means "down" for "raro" and "south" for "tonga." I learned it got its name because a famous Tahitian navigator named Iro was asked where he was going as he pushed his canoe off a Tahitian beach: "I am going down to the south (looking for new land)."

This is the largest of the Cook Islands and is their only high and mountainous island. It has high peaks and jagged steep valleys, white sandy beaches, turquoise water and a long reef making its beautiful lagoon.

Some archaeologists have estimated that Rarotonga may have been inhabited as long as 5,000 years ago. Its current population is about 18,000, with another 37,000 of its people living in New Zealand and Australia. The Rarotongans have a close connection to the Maori of New Zealand.

BORA BORA, SOCIETY ISLANDS

Made from the eroded cone of an extinct and extensive volcano, Bora Bora is a wide barrier reef with an astonishingly beautiful lagoon. There is one mountain named Otemanu (meaning sea of birds), on the eastern part of the island, which can be seen from every spot on the island. Islanders say it seems to visibly change depending upon climatic conditions.

The people in Bora Bora seem to know they live in a special place. Note the happy smiles.

Although Bora Bora is remote, it has some of the most luxurious and expensive hotels in the world, including some with thatched bungalows built out over the water where a cup of coffee can cost $25.

TAHA’A, SOCIETY ISLANDS

Taha’a is called the "vanilla island" because of its numerous plantations of what they call "black gold." Otherwise, Taha’a is a very quiet island without much activity. The main tourist attraction might be visiting the string of atolls (motus) along the northern reef ridge. Here there is a perfect calm to enjoy.

MOOREA, FRENCH POLYNESIA

I first visited Moorea in 1974. There are some new hotels on the island which have replaced the wonderful, long-gone Club Med. Fortunately, not much has changed: the natural beauty of lush greenery, jagged peaks and, yes, crystal-clear waters of turquoise and white-sand lagoons. A visit to an atoll (motu) is fun and easy.

Moorea’s reef extends from a half-mile to three-quarters of a mile off shore. Small villages are spread out along the coast. Cook’s Bay and Opunohu Bay, where we moored, are old craters taken over by the sea. Now they slash into the verdant island.

Moorea is just a short hop by plane or ferry from Papeete, which makes it an easy outer-island visit.

Tahiti remains a dream vacation and a must for Hawaii resident to visit the roots of our colonization. The Bishop Museum recently opened Pacific Hall as a tribute to sailing and the sailing vessel as an important symbol of ocean exploration and migration across the Pacific.

I did not find the exact beaches from which brave men and women set out in double-hulled canoes. But I couldn’t help imagining that what they might have expected to find could have been any more beautiful than where they left.