The Pacific Islands cover an almost unimaginable area of ocean, scattered across thousands of kilometres between Asia, Australia and the Americas. Yet these islands have never been as isolated as they can appear on a modern map. For thousands of years, Pacific peoples travelled between them in ocean-going canoes, navigating by the stars, winds, waves and wildlife, creating extraordinary networks of trade, culture and settlement.
My travels across the Pacific have taken me to islands very different in landscape, history and culture. I have explored Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, Wallis and Futuna, Cook Islands and Tahiti as well as more remote islands and communities reached aboard small expedition ships. Along the way I have paddled tropical coastlines, snorkelled coral reefs, explored volcanic landscapes, visited traditional villages and markets, and discovered archaeological sites revealing the remarkable achievements of Polynesian navigators.
These blogs bring together those journeys, combining my own experiences with the wildlife, landscapes, people, culture and history of the islands. Above all, they explore one of the things I find most fascinating about the Pacific: the ocean does not simply separate these islands – it connects them.
