The second Tongan island we visited was Vavau. The port city of Neiafu (population 6,000) was only reachable by taking a 20-minute boat ride from the ship's tender.

As in most South Pacific ports, local dancers and singers greet the visitors upon arrival. The local Utukalongalu market was next door to the pier offering local fruits, vegetables and handicrafts.

Since someone was still in need of rest to kick a mysterious bug, I opted to do a local van tour with four others to see the area around Neiafu. The key sights were St. Joseph's Catholic Cathedral, a landmark for Tongans, and Mount Talau National Park. Climbing the Mount Talau to the top is treacherous and possibly a death trap but the views are great.

The driver went past residential houses, dogs, chickens and pigs either in yards or roaming on the streets. The surrounding terrain is mainly agricultural with small kava, vanilla bean, taro, pineapple, and yam farms. Coconuts and breadfruit grow everywhere.

We also stopped at Pouono Park, where a monument reminded of the historical importance of the first landing place of Christianity into Tonga and where in 1839, the 1st King of Tonga gave Tonga to God for protection, instead of giving it to colonial power. For Tongans, this park is of great historical significance.

The island is an active yachting hangout. Moorings has a sailboat charter base located in the area. Sailboats are anchored in the bay and there is even a boatyard to store vessels on the hard.

Fun facts: weddings are only held on Tuesdays and Thursdays for good luck; you can bury your deceased loved ones in the garden; 11 to 12 cruise ships visit annually.

We entered the Kingdom of Tonga, the only country in the region that was never colonized - - making them unique in the South Pacific. Consisting of 176 islands, Tonga has a history dating back over 3,000 years, and the monarchy has been in place for about 1,000 years. Today, Tonga still has a monarchy and the King has the final say in all matters in tbe country. Tonga was given the nickname "the friendly islands" after Captain James Cook arrived here in 1776.

In the 19th century missionaries arrived, converting the majority of the islanders to Christianity. This zeal to convert the natives during this period was tbe norm throughout the South Pacific with strong inroads made by the Mormons and the Catholic church. The strong bond to Christianity still holds true today. Sunday is strictly a day of worship with church choirs and hymns being an integral part of the culture. Sunday is a day of rest and it's enshrined in Tongan law that it is illegal to work. There are no international or domestic flights, shops are closed, the streets are empty, sports are prohibited, and most Tongans are going to church, feasting and sleeping

Our first port of call in Tonga was the capital where a large part of Tonga's population lives. This walkable city has a friendly feeling, an interesting market and a surprising amount of international influence.

We did not explore very much since someone was quite "peak-ed" that day and needed to rest.

Interesting Tonga factoid: Around the island you'll see neatly tarmacked roads emblazoned with 'China Aid' signs and hear people talking about the 'Japan road'. They're referring to the sources of international funding used to construct these thoroughfares. China and Japan seem locked in a battle to see who can inject more money into Tonga's economy by financing civic projects: roads, schools, hospitals, police stations, community health centers. Why? The international largesse is most welcome and Tonga is deeply indebted, but some cynical locals suggest that what China wants in return is to establish a naval base here, and that Japan is angling towards recommencing whaling in Tongan waters.

Aneityum is the southernmost inhabited island in Vanuatu, but it's tiny Mystery Island just offshore - - with its grass airstrip (built during WWII to serve as a refueling station), white sand beaches, marine reserve and secluded bungalows provide offer a variety of beach activities. Garden paths criss-cross the island, and snorkelling is fantastic off the end of the airstrip (the island is a marine sanctuary).

Legend has it that in the 1850s, "blackbirders" kidnapped men from nearby islands and brought them here before sending them to work by force in Queensland's sugar cane fields.

Also Aneityum people believe Mystery Island is the home of ghosts, so no one will live there. It's a favorite stopover with cruise ships, when locals will come over for the day on canoes from the village of Tanna and set up market stalls offering clothing, necklaces, and handicrafts. Local women offer massage and hair braiding and men play music and grill lobsters. Snorkeling gear is available for rental. Diving, snorkeling and fishing tours are available on small boats.

At other times you'll probably have this island with crystal-clear waters and unspoiled beaches all to yourself - - no people, no electricity, no running water, no Internet, or phone service.

Walking around the island took us about 45 minutes. The island depicts a basic way of life that exists in only a few places in the world today.

Port Vila is the capital of Vanua where the majority of commerce and tourism gake place.

Vanuatu’s culture and customs vary widely, yet there are common themes, particularly the obligation to pay for all services rendered and the finality of anything labelled tabu, which means ‘sacred’ as well as ‘forbidden’. If a part of a traditional ceremony, a section of beach, a cave, anywhere at all, is tabu, it must be respected.

Vanuatu’s population is almost entirely ni-Vanuatu (Melanesian, although some islands have a strong Polynesian heritage), with most people living in rural areas, in villages of fewer than 50 people. There is a drift into towns, particularly Port Vila, in search of work. Ownership of ancestral land, sea and reefs, and everything that comes from them, is fundamental to ni-Vanuatu life. It is held by ni-Van for the future, but land disputes abound. Visitors should always carry some local curency with you as one never knows when you’ll have to pay a fee for swimming, fishing, or looking at or walking on a property. We ran into this issue and it is non-negotiable.

The centre of village life is the nakamal, a men’s clubhouse and clan meeting place, where men meet to discuss village and national issues. A traditional nakamal is always strictly tabu to women. Women, too, have a meeting house, where they produce goods for sale. Women spend many hours in the family garden and watching over the husband’s pigs, while men tend their cash crops, fish, hunt, build boats, carve artefacts and discuss village matters. While the women prepare the evening meal, the men talk in the nakamal and drink kava.

The ship docked at a pier about 1.5 miles from the center of Port Vila. As we left the gated port area, there was a mele as the local taxi drivers were aggressively jostling for the tourist business. We pushed through the crowd on our 45-minute walk to town.

Aside from the ship's passengers, we did not see any tourists. As we wound our way through the local crafts market located next to a seaside park, we found the Nambawan Cafe with open-air seating where we settled down for an espresso drink and try out their Wi-Fi. With other passengers trying to do the same thing, the network was too jammed to enable uploading.

In most of the Melanesian (Tonga, Samoa, Fiji, New Caledonia) parts of the South Pacific, you'll have to pay landowners to visit many island beaches, caves, hot springs and blue holes.

Vanuatu is often called the 'Land of Smiles' – it was named the 'world's happiest place' in a 2006 Happy Planet Index poll but both Debbe and did not find it that way in Luganville and Port Vila. As the country is situated along the Ring of Fire, it is also one of the world's most dangerous places for natural disasters – cyclones, earthquakes, volcanic activity and drought.

After the Fiji Islands, we landed in Luganville, Vanuatu. The country of Vanuatu consists of 83 islands, the largest of which is Espiritu Santo, the island on which Luganville is located. The islands became pivotal in the sandalwood trade in the early 19th century, later attracting missionaries seeking to convert the natives.

The French and the English co-ruled the islands for a period, and the Americans came along during World War II to set up operations in Luganville - - establishing the largest base in the South Pacific outside of Hawaii. More than 100,000 troops were stationed here during the height of operations. Author James Michener wrote the Tales of the South Pacific while stationed there, published in 1947, later to become a Broadway musical and movie. When the military eventually left, they abandoned much of the equipment in the ocean in the area of Million Dollar Beach where they can be seen rusting at low tide.
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Vanuatu eventually became independent by 1980. Today, Luganville has a population of about 13,000, making it the second largest city in the Vanuatu chain. Much of the local economy is based on coconut plantations and tourism (mainly Ausralians). Many of the shops in Luganville are owned by investors from China which is a cause for some friction with the locals.
Along a road which parallels the ocean, Debbe and I walked about a mile from the ship's dock to town. We went to the Natanagora Cafe for espresso and Internet which dubs itself as the oldest cafe in Luganville.. Throughout most of the South Pacific, satellite-based Internet service is very poor -- simple tasts work but uploading to a website, such as a blog, is problematic.

Overall, we found Luganville to be struggling and, apart from the outlook across the channel to Aore island, it's not a particularly attractive town. Finally, Vanuatu is a place where one's status in life is determined by the number pigs one has. The chief of the village usually has the largest number of ligs.
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With a population of 53,000, Fiji’s second-largest city derives its name from a battle cry that means ‘spear-hit’. The story goes that when an argument erupted between two local chiefs, one cried out the words 'Lau toka!' as he killed the other by spearing him through the chest. Anthropologists believe that Fiji's original inhabitants came from Southeast Asia via the Malay penninsula mre than 3,500 years ago.

Lautoka’s recent history is entwined with the fortunes of sugar. The mill here has been operating since 1903 having been built by the Colonial Sugar Refining Company of Australia. During the cutting season, sugar trains run along the main street. In September, the city crowns a Sugar Queen at the annual Sugar Festival.

Debbe wanted to see orchids so we opted take a local bus to the Garden of the Sleeping Giants - - about 40 minutes out of Lautoka. Founded by Raymond Burr in 1977 to house his own orchids, the Garden now displays Fiji's largest orchid collection.

We made the trek to the gardens from Lautoka's central bus station. This required local knowledge involving, exhanging money to get Fiji dollars, getting a bus card from Vodafone (the local cell phone carrier), locating the right bus, and the place to get off. On the way to town, one mile walk from the port, we stopped at the Tanoa Waterfront Hotel and Meme, a young Fijian woman at the travel desk, wrote out detailed instructions. Taking the local bus was an adventure itself.

Once we got off the bus at the Sabeto stop, we realized there was about a mile walk on a dirt road to the entrance. A van driver oferred a ride and we gladly took it as the mid-day sun was searingly hot. Upon arrival, we were offered ice-cold tropical fruit drinks. After viewing the orchids, we strolled among an array of gardens, across lily ponds, and through a tropical jungle with an abundance of birds.

Less tban two miles in length, Dravuni Island lies in the Kadavu Island group of Fiji. About 200 friendly natives live in a small village among the island's shady palms.

The ship anchored in deep water and shuttled passengers to the island in the ship's tenders to small pier. We were not disappointed on this "beach day." Known for its pristine white sand beaches and good weather, we found Dravuni a veritable island paradise. The only thing we had be worried about is not to sit directly below the coconuts on the 30-foot palm trees. It was our favorite South Pacific island so far on our voyage.

The harbor town of Savsavu is located on the south coast of Vanua Levu Island. It is part of the 332 (110 inhabitedl group of islands which compromise Fiji. The first crystallized sugar was thought to have been manufactured there in 1862. For yachts, Savusavu is a popular port of entry into Fiji.

The port has a bustling marina and attractive waterfront. The town was originally established as a trading for products, such as sandalwood and copra (coconut meat).

Today, Savusavu is better known for a burgeoning eco-tourism industry which has spawned several luxury resorts and has an abundance of scuba diving and boating activities. The 19th century Copra Shed Marina is now home to the local yacht club and next to the main dock.

Landlubbers can visit hot springs, do waterfall hikes, trek the Waisali Forest Reserve, and visit traditional villages.

We spent the better part of the day walking along the waterfront of this small port town, visiting the local farmer's market, hot springs, marina, and local shops. Later, we trekked 1.5 miles out of town to visit a nearby boutique resort, the Radu Resort.

Western Samoa (Samoa is the modern name) is the epitome of natural beauty consisting of 10 islands with distinct environments. The two main islands have two rugged volcanic mountain peaks. The coastline is ringed with white sandy beaches. Lush, green landscpe covers most of the island with banyan trees towering above the rain forest canopy. Most of the islans of the Samoa Archipelago are fringed by coral reefs that keep the powerful force of the Pacific Ocean at bay.

Apia is located on the island of Upolu with a population of about 40,000. We decided to do a three-hour van tour ($30) with a local Samoan, Fale. Two other couples joined this trek which took us around part of the island, including a visit to Robert Luis Stevenson's home, Villa Vailima. The house is a museum and hosts events. He is buried on a hill on the property. It is interesting to note that Samoans bury their relatives on their property.

In December 1889 the Scottish author and poet Robert Louis Stevenson and his wife Fanny Osborne arrived in Apia. Stevenson had left Europe in search of relief from worsening tuberculosis. He was enchanted by Samoa, and in 1890 he paid £200 for 126 hectares of land in the hills above Apia where he constructed Villa Vailima, the biggest and most opulant home on the island.

In the 1890s, during the period of strife in Samoa between Britain, the USA and Germany, Stevenson became an activist for Samoan rights, maintaining that the people should be left to determine their own destiny in accordance with their customs. He came to be loved by the Samoans for his friendliness and his ability to entertain with stories; they affectionately referred to him as Tusitala (Teller of Tales).

On 3 December 1894 Stevenson died of a stroke at Vailima. When the Samoan chief Tu’imaleali’ifano spoke of Stevenson’s death, he echoed the sentiments of many Samoans, saying ‘Our beloved Tusitala. The stones and the earth weep.’ Two months before his death, in gratitude for his kindness, a delegation of Samoan chiefs had arranged for a hand-dug road to be made between Apia and Vailima, which they called O Le Ala O Le Alofa, the Road of the Loving Heart.

Stevenson had stipulated that he wished to be buried at the top of Mt Vaea, part of the Vailima estate. After a Christian burial service, the coffin was laid on a base of coral and volcanic pebbles and the grave lined with black stones, a practice normally reserved for Samoan royalty.

Pago Pago, American Samoa, developing...