We left Auckland, New Zealand finally entering the Pacific Ocean to continue our journey across the South Seas. Up until then we were in the Tasmen Sea. That sea was named after Abel Tasmen who sailed these waters in the 1600’s.
On the ship you look back on your day and wonder how it can pass so quickly. There were quite a few enrichment lectures about the areas we were traveling in, and dance and exercise classes, old movies out on the deck in the morning and evening movies under the stars. And, of course, there was trivia twice a day. In between that there was time for reading, going to the gym or doing nothing. And one must never forget eating—a main ingredient of shipboard life.
One night the entertainment was two people doing music with a violin and piano but they were modern songs and it was another enjoyable show. There was also a country show with lots of singing and dancing and a comedy vocalist show. She was from England and I did not always get the “inside” jokes but she was a very good singer. There was also a famous vocalist from New Zealand named Chris Powley and a comedian/vocalist Jo Little. I thought she was terrific, especially her singing and wished she had a CD for sale. However the quality of the shows was about to change.
There were also morning port talks of the places we would stop at. First up Pago Pago (pronounced Pango Pango) and Samoa.
Our first stop since New Zealand…welcome to Nuku’Alofa. There are over 170 islands in this monarchy in the South Pacific. The country is Tonga and we stopped at their capital city. This is pure Polynesian and is the only country in the South Seas never colonized by the Europeans. It is also the only country with its own monarchy.
The people who live there believe the first settlers came around 3000 BC so humans have been in this area over 4000 years. The monarchy has been around 1000 years. The present population is 115,000 and mostly Polynesian although some Chinese settled here from Hong Kong. However the two groups just tolerate each other.
Abel Tasmen visited in the 1600s and Captain Cook in 1777. He named the archipelagos, “The Friendly Islands.” Even Captain Bligh, with the crew that remained loyal to him after the mutiny, stopped here.
Tonga became a constitutional monarchy in 1875. Several missionaries came here and this is a very Christian area with several beautiful churches. No one works on Sundays. They go to Church and sing and praise God. The hotels are allowed to stay open but no stores or restaurants. If anyone is caught working on Sunday they will be given three years of hard labor.
This nation was a protectorate of Great Britain from 1900-1970 but even then remained a sovereign nation, which is unique in the South Pacific. The island we visited is the largest at 18 miles long and 9 miles wide at its widest point.
There is a beautiful white painted Royal Palace that was built in New Zealand and then reassembled when it was brought here. You can take pictures from behind the fence. It is also a very conservative country and the people believe in dressing very modestly.
Besides the Royal Palace we also saw the Royal Tombs, Ha’amonga. We then stopped where Captain Cook landed in 1777. Our next stop was the Trilithon, a large stone arch (called the Stonehedge of the South Pacific) which served as an astronomical calendar. It has been around since 1200 A.D.
The island is also famous for the blowholes (called chief’s whistles). They are about eight miles out of town and go on for about three miles along the shore. It is the largest collection of blowholes in the world.
After visiting the island we had an amazing day the next day. We repeated the day! It is called an extra day. At 11:00 a.m. we crossed the International Date Line. This is an imaginary line that runs North to South that designates the beginning of a new calendar day. We all know about the different time zones in the world. However at the Date line +12 hours and -12 hours meet bringing about a 24 hour time change. When you cross the line heading west a day is subtracted. That is why on our flight to Sydney we left on Thursday but arrived on Saturday, losing Friday. Going east, a day is added so we are reliving yesterday again. A lady at dinner last night had her birthday but they brought a cake that said 68 & 69. She was having a two day birthday.
It is amazing we are in the middle of the Pacific Ocean but the outside temperature is high 80’s with very calm seas. Usually I expect cooler temperatures on the water but not in this area.
Next stop Pago Pago (pronounced Pango Pango). This island is part of America Samoa. This is a very lush island. There is a mountain named Mt. Pioa but everyone calls it “the Rainmaker”. Clouds come frequently to the summit and consistently shower the slopes with rain although we did not experience this.
There are coral reefs offshore and rainforests and waterfalls on the steep mountain sides. When we landed we were 2300 miles from New Zealand and 1600 miles from Hawaii. These islands have been inhabited since 800 B.C. but no Europeans glimpsed them until 1722.
Even today there are only two planes that land each week—5 hours from Hawaii—at a cost of $1500. And they get only about 5 cruise ships a year so the tourist industry is not thriving. The main reason people visit this island is because of the U.S. National Park; the only U.S. National Park south of the equator.
There are two main islands: the Independent Kingdom of Samoa and American Samoa. We docked on the American island which has a population around 65,000 with 9,000 living in Pago Pago.
In 1899 the U.S. Navy was granted complete control of the harbor to be used as a coaling station after an agreement was signed. In 1951 Truman shifted control to the Department of the Interior and the island was practically forgotten. Today it is a non incorporated territory under U.S. sovereignty with a territorial Governor.
During WWII the island was used as a coaling station for the naval ships but only one time did a Japanese ship shell the island. All the shells fell into the water except one which destroyed a business owned by the only Japanese family living on the island!
All the villages are quaint with a “fale”. They are guesthouses that resemble gazebos that are used for entertaining guests. If you do visit there are a couple of small hotels or you can rent a room in a Samoan home.
Taking a city tour we stopped at the National Park Visitor Center. The park is free to go into and the U.S. government leases the land from nine villages that live within the park. The villagers retain ownership of the land as well as farming and fishing rights but since it’s a National Park that helps to preserve the area as a natural treasure.
There was a tsunami that came through a few years ago that devastated much of the lower parts of the island. They have slowly been trying to get back on their feet but this place is so remote it is difficult to get here.
The U.S. Government gave $75 million with a promise of another $25 million to build a Starkist Tuna processing plant to help the local economy. But the plant closed down after less than a year and put 800 people out of work; another devastating blow to the economy.
I asked the guide why the plant closed down and he said there are so many rules and regulations about fishing that the locals have to take their boats farther and farther out to sea to catch the tuna and this makes it very hard for the fisherman.
Everyone went on top and watched as we sailed away. It was a little sad. I liked this island but I knew I would never be back. The waters are full of whales and porpoises and we all watched for them. However even though there are three pods in the area we never saw a single whale.
That evening we moved our clocks up one more hour. We are getting closer to US time. We are now only 4 times zones from the Midwest.
After Samoa we had more sea days ahead but the ship had made a two part DVD on the voyages of Captain Cook. I found it extremely interesting since he was traveling around in the late 1770’s here in the South Pacific but also did a lot of exploring around Alaska. That man sure got around especially considering the conditions he was traveling!
Next up: Our cruise continues
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