What Can I See/Do in Papeete/Suva/Apia etc etc etc

[Fletcher]

I have been struck lately by how many people start a new thread called - What Can I Do In Suva/Papeete/Rarotonga/Samoa etc etc etc. Or What Can’t I Miss in Suva/Papeete/Rarotonga/Samoa etc etc etc. Well, this is my answer to all those threads and all those people.

 

I have been, from east to west: Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, Fiji, Wallis & Futuna, Samoa, American Samoa, Niue, Tonga, Cook Islands, French Polynesia, Pitcairn Islands, Easter Island. So I think I know the South Pacific. I love the South Pacific. It’s easily my favourite part of the world.

 

So what is there to see and do if you are on a cruise ship? The short answer is nothing except admire the view and try to absorb the prevailing wind of inertia. There are hardly any towns in the South Pacific that have any sights worth seeing - no major museums, no significant buildings, no Roman amphitheatres, no Egyptian pyramids, no St Mark’s squares, no Tower of London, no Eiffel towers, no Rodeo Drives. This is not the US or Europe, though the French still have a hold on three island groups and the British reluctantly hang on to Pitcairn.

 

There are some weird and wonderful churches in Wallis & Futuna, there is an attractive indoor market in Papeete, a reasonable museum in Suva. Papeete and Noumea have a vaguely raffish South of France cafe vibe. Port Vila is traffic choked and dusty. Honiara is a dump and occasionally violent. Apia is pleasant, especially on a Sunday when the air thrums with hymns, and there’s Robert Louis Stevenson’s reconstructed house and his tomb to see. Pago Pago’s harbour is as dramatic as Moorea but the town is ugly, Americanised and industrialised. Nuka’alofa is uniformly drab though the spruced-up Royal Palace a rather startling sight. Avarua on Rarotonga is little more than a village with a shop selling spam. Niue has nothing at all. Pitcairn has Bounty stuff galore and Easter Island has those enormous garden ornaments. Souvenirs in these parts are really limited to wood carvings (especially good in the Solomons), T-shirts and vanilla pods.

 

No one goes to the South Pacific to see the towns. It would be like visiting the USA and visiting only Rawlins, say, in Wyoming (a place I have been to, by the way). Actually I quite like some of these towns because they allow you see what life in the South Pacific really is like these days. Kick around Port Vila for a day or two and you do get a sense of that languid pace. Sip a coffee on the waterfront at Papeete or Noumea and just watch the world go by - everyone’s in a rush to do nothing, it seems. France bankrolls these places so everyone’s a civil servant, living on Euros and fleecing hapless tourists.

 

The problem is that many people who post on this forum are Americans who apparently must occupy themselves for every minute of every day because the days at sea are so dreadfully boring. You must simply get into your minds that these towns are little backwaters and that the reason you are there, driven nuts by the lack of things to do, is because the big cruise ships have dropped you off for the day. And those days at sea are also partly the reason you are there - just absorb the incredible size and space of watery nothingness.

 

The South Pacific is only about scenery, water, sand and coral. Traditional culture exists on the remotest islands but is getting harder to find as people migrate to the towns. The landscapes are fabulous wherever you are, but at their very finest in French Polynesia, and there can be wonderful beaches - but those in the South Pacific are generally not in the same powdery league as the best in the Caribbean and SE-Asia. There are some wonderful small and terribly remote communities to visit, especially in Tonga and the Solomons, and those can only really be accessed by small cruise ships such as the Orion, the Paul Gauguin ship and one or two others. Snorkelling can be world class and is obviously at its best far from tourist enclaves like Bora Bora. Snorkel over the reefs at Ducie Island or the Morovo Lagoon and you are a world away from anything you can see off your overwater bungalow.

 

In short, if you want to actively see the sights, wander through some characterful towns, have a heady cultural experience, eat brilliant food, then go elsewhere. That is not what the South Pacific is all about.

[Cruzer Two]

Excellent post. I agree with your comments about cruising in the South Pacific. In some ways, the same can be said about cruising in the Caribbean.

 

Ron

[flamomo]

Great post, Fletcher, though I personally disagree with you about one point.

Sea days are NEVER boring, unless you allow them to be.

To me, port days in this lovely part of the world are the frosting on the cake.

[Jeff in Torrance]

Well said, Fletcher.

 

Of the Pacific Islands mentioned, I've personally only been to Tutuila (Pago Pago), American Samoa, as I used to work for Star-Kist. My suggestion there is to merely ride the aiga (eye-inga) buses from one end of the island to the other, and visit the local outdoor market.

 

By bus

The island of Tutuila has good public transportation (frequent, but unscheduled) via “aiga” or “family” buses. For 50 cents to a dollar you can be taken around Pago Pago Harbor, and to the more remote parts of the island. Buses originate and terminate at the market in Fagatogo, the village next to Pago Pago. The roads are generally too narrow and the traffic too busy for bicycles.

Hail an aiga bus with a wave of your hand. Many Samoans carry a quarter or two in their ears for bus fare as the wraparound skirts (lavalava) don't have pockets. When you want off, tap the window a few times and the bus will stop and pay the driver by tossing your fare (a quarter up to a dollar depending on the route and distance traveled) onto the dashboard on your way out.

 

 

You can't go wrong, either, by drinking a few Vialima beers from Samoa. http://www.fostersgroup.com/brands/vailima.aspx

[staylor]

I plan on being in the crystal clear water for 14 days....sometimes with a mask on......sometimes not. That's all I need! :)

[debshomespun]

Very well said! The sights in the South Pacific are very stunning! The over water

bungalows are amazing (the scenery, although I've not had the priviledge of staying

in one). I want to get back to the South Pacific and enjoy the absolutely beautiful

scenery in every direction!

[Skai]

I have been struck lately by how many people start a new thread called - What Can I Do In Suva/Papeete/Rarotonga/Samoa etc etc etc. Or What Can’t I Miss in Suva/Papeete/Rarotonga/Samoa etc etc etc. Well, this is my answer to all those threads and all those people.

 

I have been, from east to west: Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, Fiji, Wallis & Futuna, Samoa, American Samoa, Niue, Tonga, Cook Islands, French Polynesia, Pitcairn Islands, Easter Island. So I think I know the South Pacific. I love the South Pacific. It’s easily my favourite part of the world.

 

So what is there to see and do if you are on a cruise ship? The short answer is nothing except admire the view and try to absorb the prevailing wind of inertia. There are hardly any towns in the South Pacific that have any sights worth seeing - no major museums, no significant buildings, no Roman amphitheatres, no Egyptian pyramids, no St Mark’s squares, no Tower of London, no Eiffel towers, no Rodeo Drives. This is not the US or Europe, though the French still have a hold on three island groups and the British reluctantly hang on to Pitcairn.

 

There are some weird and wonderful churches in Wallis & Futuna, there is an attractive indoor market in Papeete, a reasonable museum in Suva. Papeete and Noumea have a vaguely raffish South of France cafe vibe. Port Vila is traffic choked and dusty. Honiara is a dump and occasionally violent. Apia is pleasant, especially on a Sunday when the air thrums with hymns, and there’s Robert Louis Stevenson’s reconstructed house and his tomb to see. Pago Pago’s harbour is as dramatic as Moorea but the town is ugly, Americanised and industrialised. Nuka’alofa is uniformly drab though the spruced-up Royal Palace a rather startling sight. Avarua on Rarotonga is little more than a village with a shop selling spam. Niue has nothing at all. Pitcairn has Bounty stuff galore and Easter Island has those enormous garden ornaments. Souvenirs in these parts are really limited to wood carvings (especially good in the Solomons), T-shirts and vanilla pods.

 

No one goes to the South Pacific to see the towns. It would be like visiting the USA and visiting only Rawlins, say, in Wyoming (a place I have been to, by the way). Actually I quite like some of these towns because they allow you see what life in the South Pacific really is like these days. Kick around Port Vila for a day or two and you do get a sense of that languid pace. Sip a coffee on the waterfront at Papeete or Noumea and just watch the world go by - everyone’s in a rush to do nothing, it seems. France bankrolls these places so everyone’s a civil servant, living on Euros and fleecing hapless tourists.

 

The problem is that many people who post on this forum are Americans who apparently must occupy themselves for every minute of every day because the days at sea are so dreadfully boring. You must simply get into your minds that these towns are little backwaters and that the reason you are there, driven nuts by the lack of things to do, is because the big cruise ships have dropped you off for the day. And those days at sea are also partly the reason you are there - just absorb the incredible size and space of watery nothingness.

 

The South Pacific is only about scenery, water, sand and coral. Traditional culture exists on the remotest islands but is getting harder to find as people migrate to the towns. The landscapes are fabulous wherever you are, but at their very finest in French Polynesia, and there can be wonderful beaches - but those in the South Pacific are generally not in the same powdery league as the best in the Caribbean and SE-Asia. There are some wonderful small and terribly remote communities to visit, especially in Tonga and the Solomons, and those can only really be accessed by small cruise ships such as the Orion, the Paul Gauguin ship and one or two others. Snorkelling can be world class and is obviously at its best far from tourist enclaves like Bora Bora. Snorkel over the reefs at Ducie Island or the Morovo Lagoon and you are a world away from anything you can see off your overwater bungalow.

 

In short, if you want to actively see the sights, wander through some characterful towns, have a heady cultural experience, eat brilliant food, then go elsewhere. That is not what the South Pacific is all about.

 

Thanks. It's always appreciated to read various points of perspective(albeit snooty British ones or otherwise).

 

However, I do choose to respectfully disagree concerning your blatantly condescending assertions concerning Americans (labeled as problematic) and their apparent insatiable need to search for activities to do while on vacation. Perhaps some might not just be content to sit drinking tea and crumpets while just staring at the scenery.

 

I presume that you perhaps have determined and ultimately decided what the South Pacific represents for you. Understand that all may not equally share your personal view.

 

Oh and btw...I believe that the word is spelled "favorite";)...

[Sea42]

The problem is that many people who post on this forum are Americans who apparently must occupy themselves for every minute of every day because the days at sea are so dreadfully boring.

Obviously, the problem is people from England have no manners:rolleyes:

OK seriously most people on CC try not to belittle people based on their nationalities or for any other reason for that matter. Generalizations like that will make some disregard your opinions. You seem to have traveedl to this area extensively and your insights would be quite helpful to others if you could share them in a not quite so condescending manner!

[psyfi]

Really--I take offense! as a Canadian who also enjoys actually doing things and seeing the islands and experiencing the culture when I travel. How dare you leave Canadians out of your sterotype! Perhaps it needs more research.... :D

 

For the record, I like my port days to be half-busy, half whatever suits me that day. And on my sea days I might take a class if there is something that interests me or I might sit in a lounge chair and read a book for hours on end. The key is to know what good things I might want to do if I choose, that way I can be best educated about my decisions, be it to take a tour or not. There is much fantasitic scenery but somethimes you need to go somewhere in order to get the best shots, and it is useful to know where if you like photography. And I'll be spending as much time as possible underwater :)

 

having not yet been to any of the places on your list, I can't help with the OP question but I do hope you have a wonderful time doing whatever you enjoy!

[LocoLoco1]

Yessiree....the Europeans have certainly screwed up the South Pacific. Paul Theroux's 'The Happy Isles of Oceania' describes it best. (But he paddled across it in a kayak). I like the South Pacific for my own reasons.

Locomotiveman

[bazzaw]

We have just completed a 28 day cruise from Sydney to Tahiti - via Tonga, Fiji, New Caledonia. I am now "in love" ! :)

 

You can read my trip report (including photos) here

 

Barry

[Jujuju2]

Hahahahaha, Skai and Sea42. You saved me the trouble. And thanks for throwing in with we supercilious, frenetic, and frivilous airhead Yanks, psyfi. I am sure you are every bit as worthy of disdain as we are. :)

 

Obviously the OP has never visited with the famous Patrick of Bora Bora, nor had lunch on his family's private island. It is paradise found, and Patrick is its best ambassador.

 

Laughs aside, there are more than a few nuggets of truth in OP's opine, and it doesn't hurt to air some peevish positions from time to time.

[Emdee]

jujuju2 well said.

 

The OP hasnt been in the blue lagoon of Fakarava where Ato has spearfished your lunch only 5 minutes before or the absolutely gorgeous lagoon of Aitutaki where the 'frenetic' north americans are walking from sand bar to sand bar as they have to DO something with their time while others are lazing in the water staring as the fish swim by.

 

Sea days ... OMG we are shamelessly caught up listening to anthropologist/archeologist Mark Eddowes talking about the human migration into the south pacific or the real truth about Mutiny on the Bounty or the cultural traditions of the Polynesians. No we do not enjoy the introduction to french impressionism at all and we try to appear smarter than our cousins across the pond as we listen to Jean Michel Cousteau's dissertations on the state of the oceans.

 

And sometimes shallow North Americans that we are we enjoy the silliness of a country fair including pieing the chefs.

[Trend]

I did not read anywhere that the question was is there any museums or galleries to see, I just read what is there to do? That can mean, swimming in a clear lagoon, climbing a hill to see a breathtaking view, climbing a fresh water fall area, meeting local families and so on. It is all how you look at the global human life and world around you.

[Islandattorney]

Not to be a grump, but if this is how the OP describes his favorite place in the world, I can only wonder about the reviews he would give other regions.

[Tikiintahiti]

That is the way I like to go to the South Pacific.

 

Going on my 18th trip to the South Pacific. We typically try and see a new little island that we have not seen before mixed in with islands we have been to many times, sort of like visiting an old friend.

 

I'll be the first to admit that my plan it to visit an island before it becomes a tourist destination. Aitutaki is a prime example. First time we went there we saw young kids running around half naked with chickens under thier arms, didn't know if the chicken was for dinner or a pet. Now we go and the kids have cell phones and designer beach clothes. We still enjoy it but we feel blessed that we found it before it became 'known'.

 

If we are not on a cruise ship we find ourselves going out a bit further to find that piece of paradise that is still off the beaten trek. Yup, the perfect timing is when the tiny little island has it's first botique hotel that has A/C .......... yup all American :)

[Fletcher]

Not to be a grump, but if this is how the OP describes his favorite place in the world, I can only wonder about the reviews he would give other regions.

 

I'm sorry Mr Attorney . . .I think you have slightly misunderstood my little piece, its tendency towards irony and its journalese shorthand . . . I am a professional writer, by the way and get paid for expressing opinions! But I think my enthusiasm for the Spacific comes through clearly enough.