Voyage through the Marquesas Islands With Dr. Sidsel Millerstrom
May 12 - 29, 2010
The Marquesas Islands are characterized by breathtaking jagged peaks, deep narrow valleys, and high cliffs falling abruptly into the ocean below. Perennial rivers, streams, waterfalls and intermittent seasonal streams slice through the lush vegetation on the windward part of the island. This verdant tropical forest contrasts starkly with the arid “desert” area on the 
leeward side. Numerous prehistoric cultural remains such as tribal ceremonial complexes (tohua), sacred places (me’ae), house platforms (paepae), stone sculptures (tiki), bread-fruit storage pits (ua ma) and petroglyphs are located in most valleys. Many of the archaeological remains are found much like they were left by their owners hundreds of years ago. Exploring these relics from the past and examining the exotic Marquesan forest make this a dream trip for prehistory and nature enthusiasts alike.
Since the Marquesas Islands were first discovered by Admiral Mañdana in 1595, the traditional way to explore the archipelago was always by water. Join Far Horizons Archaeological and Cultural Trips for a 17 day journey that includes two weeks aboard the Aranui III - a passenger-cargo ship - exploring these lush islands. The trip will begin and end on Tahiti, considered by some to be paradise on earth, home to captivating loveliness and welcoming people.
Itinerary(B) breakfast, (L) lunch, (D) dinner
Day 1: Depart Los Angeles on our international flight to Papeete, Tahiti.
Day 2: Upon arrival to Papeete, transfer to the 5-star Intercontinental Tahiti Resort, our home for the next two nights. Located on the lagoon side of Tahiti Nui, the hotel is surrounded by 30 acres of tropical gardens, with spectacular views across to the soaring peaks of Tahiti's sister Island, Moorea. The day is free to rest and enjoy the hotel facilities. Lunch and dinner are on our own. (B)
Day 3: As we circle the island of Tahiti Nui, visit the James Norman Hall, a memorial museum built as an exact replica of the original home of the writer most well known for his novel, Mutiny on the Bounty. Hall’s gramophone, antique furniture, nostalgic family photos, favorite paintings and personal effects decorate this charming house. After a quick stop at Point Venus, named by Captain Cook when he took the readings and observatory study of the transit of Venus in 1769, we continue to a magnificent colonial residence originally built by the English writer Robert Keibel. The home is now privately-owned by a fellow Englishman, Roger Gowen, who, with his gracious wife, will welcome us for a private guided visit. Then it's on to Restaurant Gauguin for a delightful buffet lunch complete with local delicacies and a dazzling view of the azurelagoon with Tahiti Iti in the distance. Our afternoon excursion takes us to the nearby Paul Gauguin Museum housing documents, photographs, letters, furniture and 
householdobjects, and many reproductions of this artist’s most well known paintings. In Paea, Marae Arahurahu, an ancient temple, is our first step into learning about the ancestral customs of the South Pacific. Restored in 1954 by Dr. Sinoto of the Bishop Museum in Honolulu, this marae belonged to the supreme chief and was reportedly used for human sacrifices. It is a perfect example of the open-air sanctuaries where early Polynesians worshiped their gods. As we continue along the west coast of the island, our last stop will be at the Museum of Tahiti and Her Islands. Ranking as one of the best in the South Pacific, the museum is devoted to the history of the Polynesian people and the migration path that led them to discover these islands. Dinner is on our own to enjoy one of the hotel’s many fine restaurants or to venture into downtown Papeete to experience local delicacies. (B/L)
Day 4: After breakfast, transfer to our home for the next fourteen days, the Aranui III - a cargo-passenger ship that voyages to the Marquesas once a month. We will enjoy the Aranui's facilities - swimming pool, video room, lounge, boutique, etc. - as we travel throughout these remote islands. Each evening while onboard our study leader will give talks on the Marquesas, its archaeology and present-day culture. Our journey begins! (B/L/D)
Day 5: Our first stop is Fakarava, the largest atoll in the Tuamotus and where many of the famous Tahitian cultured pearls are farmed. The lagoon, the second largest after Rangiroa, is rich with life below and above the surface and a prime example of nature at its finest. So pure is the environment here that the island is being considered for classification as a UNESCO nature reserve for the preservation of rare species. The morning will be spent on shore with time to swim and snorkel in the azure sea and watch the colorful ballet of tropical lagoon fish. Lunch will be served onboard while we head for the islands of the Marquesas. (B/L/D)
Day 6: As we sail closer to our destination, there will be time to relax with a book on one of the sun decks, swim in the small pool, or enjoy the vistas over the immense South Pacific. Balmy evenings offer opportunities to enjoy a sunset, chat with our authority on Marquesan culture and archaeology, and enjoy conversations on the upstairs deck-bar with our fellow adventurers from around the world. The spirited Polynesian crew treat us like welcomed guests and proudly introduce us to their rich culture. Almost every night, they sing and strum hypnotic Polynesian rhythms on their ukuleles. (B/L/D)
Day 7: As the Aranui approaches the stunning bay and the soaring cliffs behind Hakahau Village, the dramatic geological differences between the coral-ringed Tuamotus and the Marquesas becomes dramatically apparent. Here, as in most of the Marquesas, the cliffs are partial craters of geologically young, but long extinct volcanoes, now covered with verdant vegetation. Villagers come out to greet us as our ship docks. As the crew unloads supplies - anything from cement, sugar, and kitchen sinks to copra (dried coconut meat) – we will explore the tiny town of Hakahau with its catholic church built of beach boulders and local wood. The pulpit is hand carved out of a single piece of ironwood and is said to depict the prow of God's ship plowing through the stormy waves of purgatory. We will have the opportunity to meet talented woodcarvers and hike up a hill for a breathtaking view of the distant cloud-covered mountains. After a specially-arranged dance performance, walk to Rosalie's Restaurant to taste our first Marquesan lunch: breadfruit, a Marquesan staple, along with curried goat, barbecued rock lobster, poisson cru (raw fish marinated in lime juice and soaked in coconut milk), taro, and sweet red bananas. In the afternoon, we will venture to Hakahetau Bay, where a little imagination and careful inspection of the passing rocks will reveal a multitude of faces. (B/L/D)
Day 8: Today we voyage into Taoihae's spectacular bay, a giant volcanic amphitheater dominated by towering cliffs streaked with waterfalls. As the Aranui unloads, we will explore this tiny administrative capital of the Marquesas. In 1842, the 23-year-old sailor, Herman Melville (1819-1891) and a buddy, Richard "Toby" Greene, deserted a whaling ship in Taiohae Bay and escaped across the rugged mountains to Taipi Valley where they lived for a few weeks among the powerful Taipi tribe. In his autobiographical first novel, Typee, Melville described his capture and idyllic sojourn among the hospitable cannibals. By jeep, we will follow part of their escape route along steep, winding mountain roads through Taipi Village and onwards to the beautiful sea-walled village of Hatiheu, known for its numerous rock art sites and archaeological architecture. The driving force behind this prosperous village is its beloved mayor - Yvonne Katupa. Proud of her Marquesan heritage, Yvonne has enthusiastically promoted scientific projects in the valley since 1984. A small museum is in the making at the City Hall. When not attending to her administrative duties, Yvonne cooks and serves scrumptious meals at her restaurant, or she can be found behind the counter in the village store. We will have lunch at Yvonne's Restaurant, Chez Yvonne, where the specialty is pig baked in an underground oven. After lunch, we will follow rainforest trails to ancient Marquesan ceremonial plazas to see a cornucopia of fascinating petroglyphs. Almost 3,000 individual stone carvings have been found in this valley, and the remains of five tohua, or raised ceremonial plazas, are still standing. We will visit Tohua Hikokua, dating back to about 1250 AD and restored in the late 1980s. First discovered in 1957, the tohua consists of a long rectangular lawn surrounded by stone-paved terraces and stone platforms and was where the original islanders assembled for feasts, dance celebrations, and religious observances. Today it features old and new sculptures, including three that were placed into the wall of the sacrificial platform. We walk further inland to view two more tohua. Tohua Kamuihei consists of layers of moss-covered stone platforms, an open lawn, petroglyph boulders, and the forest giants in whose awesome tangle of aerial roots were found scores of human skulls and long bones. Tohua Tahakia lies in the shade of magnificent banyon trees, once considered sacred by the local population. (B/L/D)
Day 9: Hiva Oa is the second largest island in the Marquesas and was populated by migrating Polynesians since 150 BC. Today we will have time to explore Atuona, the second largest village in Marquesas. This is where Paul Gauguin lived the last few years of his life and did some of his best work. We will visit the colonial store where Gauguin shopped and go into a replica of the impressionist's infamous "House of Pleasure." A short walk up a hill to the cemetery gives us sweeping views of the harbor and the sea beyond. Beneath a huge frangipani tree is a tombstone with the simple words: Paul Gauguin 1903. Nearby is the grave of another famous European who also was seduced by Hiva Oa: Belgian singer-composer Jacques Brel, who died in 1978. Enjoy another lavish Marquesan lunch at Hoa Nui Restaurant. Another stop is Puamau, a village on the rugged northeast coast of Hiva Oa, noted for its lush gardens and for its valley where the largest collection of ceremonial tiki, or ancient ancestral sacred figures, can be found anywhere on the Marquesas. (B/L/D)
Day 10: Fatu Hiva is the most lush and remote island of the Marquesas and is the center of Marquesan crafts. As we walk through the village ofOmoa, we may see women hammering mulberry, banyan or breadfruit bark on logs. It's then dried and painted with 
ancient Marquesan designs to create the famous tapa cloth. Fatu Hivais also well known for its hand-painted pareus (sarongs) and monoi, a perfumed coconut oil scented with tiare blossoms and sandalwood. Skilled woodcarvers will invite us into their home-studios to watch them work. A colonial-style house surrounded by a beautiful garden holds a small but interesting Marquesan museum with a collection of traditional local objects carved in stone and wood. In the afternoon, the Aranui voyages to the other inhabited village of Hanavave, located on the Bay of the Virgins. During our walk, we will gaze at the majestic basalt peaks that shadow the lagoon. Rock curtains surround the bay, which Catholic missionaries said resembled veiled virgins. The adventurous may choose to make the long hike from Omoa to Hanavave with unforgettable views of towering cliffs and majestic waterfalls. (B/L/D)
Day 11: Voyage on to Puamau, a wide amphitheater-like valley located on the northeastern part of Hiva Oa Island. Puamau Valley contains over twenty tiki, most located at Me’ae I'i Pona - the largest and one of the most dramatic sacred spaces in Marquesas. At almost eight feet tall, the imposing Tiki Takai’i dominates the site. Then it's on to Hanaiapa, in one of Hiva Oa’s northern bays, where we will walk through the charming village. (B/L/D)
Day 12: This morning we anchor in Tahuata's lovely Hanamoenoa Bay. On this leaf-shaped island, the air is thick with the fragrant scent of tiare, frangipani and replete with Polynesian history. In 1595, Spanish explorers landed in the tiny village of Vaitahu and opened fire on a crowd of curious islanders, killing about 200 people. Originally named Madre de Dios by Alvaro Mandaña de Neyra, the first European navigator to visit Polynesia, Capitan James Cook renamed this place Resolution Bay in 1774. When the first missionaries arrived in 1797, the generous local chief Iotete left his wife with William Crook and John Harris with instruction that they treat her as their own wife. Harris was so horrified that he spent the night on the beach sitting on his trunk waiting for the missionary ship to remove him from the island. Tahuata is also the site of the first French settlement in the Marquesas built in 1842. The beautiful Catholic church was built by the Vatican, and is decorated with traditional Marquesan carvings. We will picnic in the Valley of Hapatoni followed by free time to swim, explore, beachcomb, or simply relax and enjoy this tropical paradise. (B/L/D)
Day 13: Today we anchor in Vaipaee's Invisible Bay and begin our excursion to the Museum of Marquesan Artifacts and Crafts, built for the village by its mayor. Continue by 4-wheel-drive vehicle to the extensive botanical garden created by the same mayor. In Hane Valley, visit Me’ae Meaiaute, where three imposing tiki of red volcanic tuff still guard this sacred site. While walking through the forest, we might observe the nearly extinct Marquesan parrot, Vini ultramarina. Visit the village of Hokatu, widely known for its skilled contemporary stone and wood carvers. This evening, we partake of a festive Marquesan dinner ashore with traditional music and dancing. (B/L/D)
Day 14: The Aranui sails to and docks in Nuku Hiva at Taiohae this morning. We may take Le Truck back to the town center and spend free time there. At noon, the ship will sail to Ua Pou, returning to the first stop in the Marquesas, Hakahau, for a last chance to buy Marquesan crafts. (B/L/D)
Day 15: After our very full days exploring the islands, we can now relax onboard the ship, read, and contemplate our memorable experiences as we sail toward Rangiroa. (B/L/D)
Day 16: Lovely Rangiroa is the largest atoll in French Polynesia, and one of the largest in the world. An atoll is a coral island that encircles a lagoon, and there are 77 atolls in the Tuamotu Archipelago. Until a century ago Rangiroa was principally a hideout for pirates and landfall for cyclones; now, with its spectacular beauty, the island is one of the world’s most prized vacation destinations. Rangiroa’s main produce used to be black pearls – now it is wine! Rangiroa Vineyard was created by French wine enthusiast Dominique Auroy in 1992 by shipping in the appropriate type of soil from Tahiti and vines from France and Italy. Our final lunch will be a sumptuous picnic on a lovely sandy beach with time to swim and snorkel in the lagoon's translucent water. (B/L/D)
Day 17: After docking in Papeete’s harbor, return to the Intercontinental Tahiti Resort where we will have day-use rooms. The area that now constitutes Papeete was first settled by the British missionary William Crook of the London Missionary Society in 1818. Queen Pōmare IV moved her court to Papeete and made it her capital in the late 1820s, and the town grew into a major regional shipping and transportation center. Enjoy a historical tour of this Polynesian capital in the afternoon, including a stop at the Robert Wan Pearl Museum. This is the only museum in the world dedicated solely to pearls and displays different specimens from the designer’s personal collection. The final stop will be at the daily market, located downtown just one block from the waterfront. Return to the hotel to freshen up and enjoy dinner on our own before an evening transfer to the airport for our flight back to Los Angeles. (B)
Day 18: Arrive in Los Angeles.
Trip LeaderSidsel Millerström received her PhD from the University of California, Berkeley in Polynesian archaeology. She is a specialist on archaeological art and architecture in the Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia. Since 1984, she has worked on all six presently inhabited islands during which she discovered and recorded numerous tikis, carvings of human figures, and more that 7,000 ancient petroglyphs. She has also worked on excavations on Easter Island, Fiji, and Tahiti. Dr. Millerström's work has appeared in various scholarly and popular journals.
May 12 – 29, 2010
$10,495.00 (per person, double occupancy) includes roundtrip airfare from Los Angeles; accommodations in standard cabins aboard the Aranui; all hotels on Tahiti; guides and entry fees; ground transportation on Tahiti; and meals as noted in itinerary.
Single Supplement: $2,595.00. Should a roommate be requested and one not be available, the single supplement must be charged.
Single Supplement explained: The Aranui III charges 50% of their room rates for the single supplement. Far Horizons does not make additional profit on the single supplement. The price charged merely reflects the real cost to us.
Cost Does Not Include: The separate $150.00 donation check; passport or visa fees; airport or departure taxes; beverages or food not included on regular menus; bottled water while onboard the Aranui III; laundry; excess baggage charges; personal tips; gratuities to guides and drivers; gratuities to shipboard personnel; alcoholic drinks; telephone and fax charges; or other items of a personal nature.
Donation Checks: The cost of this trip does not include the separate donation check for $150.00 (per person) to ‘The Easter Island Foundation’. As a tour company that benefits from the cultural and natural riches of our destinations, we have a policy of donating to the scientific and cultural projects and museums we visit. This has created a bond between Far Horizons and the academic and local communities that has helped us establish an extensive list of lecturers and contacts in each of our destinations. The Easter Island Foundation is an institute for studies about the island world of Polynesia. The donation is required as part of your registration for the trip and is non-refundable.
Suite Upgrades: The Aranui III offers deluxe cabins and suites that are larger than standard rooms and feature additional amenities with picture windows (please see the attached floor and cabin plan sheets). The cost for each upgrade, as well as the single supplement cost, is listed below. Upgrades will only be made upon request and are subject to availability.
A deposit of $500.00 along with a separate check for $150.00 made out to the Easter Island Foundation is required along with your completed registration form. Final payment is due 75 days before departure. Upon receipt of your deposit and completed registration form, you will be sent a reading list and a tour bulletin containing travel information. Prior to the trip, we will send links to various websites of pertinent interest to the trip. Click here to download our Registration Form.
Cancellations received in writing at least 75 days before departure will receive a refund less a $250.00 administrative fee. Cancellations received less than 75 days before the departure date will not receive a refund. If for any reason you are unable to complete the trip, Far Horizons will not reimburse any fees. Registrants are strongly advised to buy travel insurance that includes trip cancellation.
If you do not fly on the group flight, you are responsible for all flight arrangements and transportation (including airport transfers) to join the group. If Far Horizons must change the trip dates or cancel the trip for any reason, Far Horizons is not responsible for any air ticket you may have purchased. If you issue your own international flight, please send the complete schedule as soon as you have it.
Changes in our itinerary, accommodations, and transportation schedules may occur. A good book to read as well as a flexible attitude and a sense of humor are essential.
The private tours of archaeological sites and talks by specialists are scheduled in advance and include a donation to each. Specialists working at these sites are excited about showing their work to interested enthusiasts. However, please be aware that there may be times when the director or a member of the staff may not be onsite when our groups arrive due to other commitments, or that the date or time of our visit to their project must be changed.
The 386-foot Aranui III is a passenger-carrying cargo ship. The Marquesas’ six inhabited islands are so remote that the Aranui III is their lifeline to the outside world, bringing supplies and picking up copra, dried coconut, and noni fruit. Due to the nature of the voyage, participants are kindly asked to consider that the Aranui III, while comfortable, clean and charming, is not a luxurious cruise vessel.
The spirited Polynesian crew treat us like welcomed guests and proudly introduce us to their rich culture. Almost every night, they sing and strum hypnotic Polynesian rhythms on their ukuleles. Balmy evenings offer opportunities to enjoy a sunset, chat with our authority on Marquesan culture and archaeology, and enjoy conversations on the upstairs deck-bar with our fellow adventurers from around the world.
The vessel makes 15 stops during its voyage and travelers will have plenty of time to explore the islands. Little has changed in these untouched islands, which have few roads or cars, and visitors (though very rare) are very welcome. Visits ashore are limited to the time required by cargo operators and port restrictions. Port time may range from just a few hours to a day or more. While shore excursions may be available at some ports of call, the Aranui III and Far Horizons do not own, operate or exercise any control of shore excursions arranged at any port of call. The schedule as outlined in the brochure is subject to change due to weather, cargo loads and other conditions that may alter the itinerary. Please be flexible to these changes.
Meals aboard the Aranui III are served in an informal, family-style setting in the dining facilities. Special consideration for medical prescribed diets must be requested at the time of booking or not less than three weeks in advance of the sailing date. Room service is not available except in the event of an illness. Dry cleaning is not available, but there are self-service washing machines and dryers onboard. Laundry detergent is not provided and can be purchased from the ships’ boutique.
The Aranui III does not have handicap facilities. Thus, passengers must be physically fit and be able to negotiate the stairs on board. If any person has or is suffering from a serious ailment or condition, they should seek the advice and consent of their personal physician prior to embarking the vessel. The Aranui III and Far Horizons reserves the right to refuse passage to anyone in such a state of health or physical condition as to be unfit to travel or whose condition, for whatever reason, might be dangerous to the individual or other passengers.
Limited to 18 Participants
