Wallis and Futuna (French Colony in the Pacific)

We are back! For a while now, but ehh… it took some time to unpack, find a new home, new jobs, move to another country, celebrate the wedding… the list is long.

I would also admit that, at least for me, it has been a hard bump to fall from the warm Pacific islands to a rainy and cold winter in Europe. There are people like Adriano, who can get their backpack and go the jungle one day, and the morning after grab a computer and get to the office as if nothing had ever happened. There are others, like me, who get shocked and nostalgic, and just cannot open the pandora box of all the photos and beautiful memories for a while. First things go first, we are back to normal, we left Rome, we moved and settled in London, working, summer is coming, people around start dreaming about their annual holidays; and for me, it is time to, finally, download photos from all those memory cards.

So what did we do last year?

When was it?

From July to December 2018. The trip lasted almost 6 months.

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Tuvaluan cargo boat. We travelled by it across 6 outer islands

20 countries visited, including 66 islands, 70 flights taken (shockingly a lot, but there were many short flights between the islands), 20 days sleeping on boats and some (not many) bus tours.

The route

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From Rome to Uzbekistan, via South East Asia slowly towards Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and then lots of Pacific islands/countries hopping till Hawaii. Hawaii was the last bit of travel that was planned beforehand: at the moment of departure, we didn’t know yet how we would have come back to Europe from there. During some of the very few “dead days” of travel, when we had nothing to do and a decent internet connection (very few of such days did occur, I am afraid), we got the chance to extend our plans, little by little, stretching it with a short visit of the USA, and a two-weeks “relax holiday” in Mexico, with a final return flight Cancun – Bruxelles – Rome.

Technically, we went around the world, but actually most of our time has been focused in the Pacific region.

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The longest time spent in a single country / territory has been in French Polynesia (one month exploring Society, Marquesas and Austral island groups, for a total of 14 islands); followed by a bit less than one month in Indonesia (23 islands), and by three weeks in Tuvalu (7 islands). Then come, with roughly two weeks each, Mexico, Kiribati and Papua New Guinea.

Complete list of countries visited

French Polynesia, Marquesas islands group, Nuku Hiva island

In order: Uzbekistan, Thailand, Cambodia, Singapore, Indonesia, East Timor, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Fiji, Wallis and Futuna (a French Colony), Tuvalu, Samoa, New Zealand, French Polynesia (Society, Marquesas and Austral island groups), Tonga, Kiribati, the USA (only Hawaii and San Diego), Mexico. Plus, a short stopover in Belgium on the way back, though we could not get out of the airport because we did not have enough warm clothes to survive the European winter.

We have touched some very remote places. The most difficult to reach were surely Rapa Iti (the Southernmost island of French Polynesia, belonging to the Austral group) and the Outer Line Islands (part of Kiribati); worth a mention are also the “legendary” Tuvaluan Outer Islands (which turned out to be quite easier than we expected), the interior of the jungle of Aru (Indonesia), the tribes in the interior of the Sepik River (Papua New Guinea), and the island of Futuna (the French colony of Wallis & Futuna), that is ranked amongst the most isolated and badly connected places in the world where you can find an airport.

Highlights

Papua New Guinea, Sepik River tribe

I cannot answer the popular question of which country has been my favourite, but here are some thoughts:

• Most beautiful tropical islands – French Polynesia, Tuvalu
• The best modern city – Singapore
• The best architecture and city sightseeing – Uzbekistan
• The best snorkelling – Indonesia
• The biggest WOW and the wildest – Papua New Guinea
• The most original and untouched in the Pacific – Kiribati
• Convenient, easy to do (from Europe), I would recommend to everybody – Uzbekistan
• The place I would like to live – Honolulu (Hawaii).
• Biggest disappointment – Bali, New Zealand, Fiji, Hawaii (I think that some rich places, that tend to promote themselves too much, are likely to set too high expectations in me. I would like to live in Hawaii because it is convenient and nice, but as for tourism, there are way more interesting places in the Pacific)
• The place I would like to get back and explore more – Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands. Though, the place I would really go back today, if I could, is French Polynesia. I think that we have explored it enough, but it stole my heart.

Adventures

The only domestic plane serving the Line Islands, Kiribati

In Indonesia, one day we were hosted by a King; in Samoa we went for a huge ancient pyramid abandoned and covered by the jungle (how can you hide such thing?!); we saw paradise birds; my birthday lasted 48 hours this year; a hotel in Indonesia had a crocodile in the yard, and in Solomon Islands we were bathing with sharks nearby (it is absolutely normal and considered not to be dangerous, it depends on type of sharks). These six months have been packed with wonderful experiences, with warmth and love, with funny and sometimes a bit challenging adventures.

Wedding

Well, talking about the highlights of this trip, I cannot avoid mentioning our personal biggest event – the dreamed of but not planned, fantastic wedding in Teraina, Kiribati. Even my mom asked where that island was. The locals in Teraina told us that we were the first tourists ever to step on their island. We stayed in Teraina for a week and arranged a big party for the whole island, with a mix of western and (mostly) local wedding traditions.

Our wedding in Teraina, Kiribati

How we organised the whole trip

Self-made. Adriano was our travel agency. He booked all the flights and drew a route map. 90% of the trip was planned in advance. Little spaces were left empty, only for those situations in which we had to look for things on the spot, because from Europe it was not clear what type of transport was available, or what guesthouses existed. Not everything can be found online! Our original plan covered all up to Hawaii. The USA and Mexico part was added on the spot, but those are easy countries to travel around.

Six months with a carry-on luggage size

To travel light was one the important decision. A route with so many flights along the way made us clear to go with hand luggage only. In the beginning, we were limited to 7 kg per person (Air Asia, that we had to use three times until Bali, had strict rules for hand luggage), later we filled our 40l backpacks up to 10-12 kg and we boarded them as hand luggage. It was challenging, but doable. It saved us a lot of time and nerves at airports.

If I can give a piece of personal advice – an investment in a good quality backpack which opens like a suitcase was the best decision I have made for this trip. Having access to all your stuff and not having to pull all your stuff through one hole on the top makes a huge difference.

The cost

Just because so many people asked me how much does it cost to make such a long trip. Great things require significant sacrifice. I would say that this trip cost us Rome. Meaning hell a lot, and also the heart. Literally, after the fantastic trip, we have left a “dolce vita” in Rome and chased better-paid jobs in London. Once I have listed what potentially could kick me out of beautiful Italy (What it is like living in Rome), and well, it happened.

In general, for those on a budget, we recommend South America and Asia. It is double maybe even three times cheaper (correction by Adriano: move more to the “10-times-cheaper” side). The Pacific Ocean region is expensive to travel and requires a lot of time (especially if you want to reach remote islands without airports).
Distances are enormous, tourism is low, and therefore flights are extremely expensive. After considerable efforts to keep our budget under control, the average was about 3000 EUR/ month per person. It was mainly the costs of flights & boats. We were very savvy about everything else. We never slept in tents but neither luxurious hotels, we did not starve, though I remember three days eating sandwiches in Bora Bora (one of the most expensive spots during our trip).

Planning and booking in advance is a must in this region. Oceania is probably the most expensive region and one of the most difficult to organise (when you seek to reach not touristic spots).

Was it worth it?

Absolutely! Every penny and every sacrifice. Especially looking back, it seems like another life lived, and another planet seen. The Pacific is magnificent. While the world is becoming so very busy in tourism, the Pacific remains to this time very isolated, very little explored, untouched, original, unique by its lifestyle and nature. And, because of geographical and physical factors that cannot be changed even by technology, a lot of the Pacific will never join tourism and modernity.

Talking about the adventure itself, to leave everything and go for the long trip, I would definitely do it again. I don’t feel us coming back very different to what we were before, no chakras opened or new meaning of life discovered, but it was without any doubt, time of a lifetime and enormous boost to individual and couple’s happiness.

Tonga

For the inspiration

There are more books and movies about the Pacific, but there is something very special about this Norwegian explorer Thor Heyerdahl and his book ‘Aku-Aku‘. Adriano, myself, and many travellers in the Pacific, even authors of the other books about this region often mention having got the fewer for the Pacific after reading Thor Heyerdahl’s books. You do not have to have any particular interest in Easter Island, Pacific, history or geography. Though the author is writing about his real exploration trips, his style is so very simple and engaging, it is easy and fast to read like it was a fiction adventure book. I trust that you will love it. Just be informed, that there might be a side effect, resulting in purchasing your next flights to the Pacific. This is what happened to us.

(Note by Adriano: most of Heyerdahl’s theories about the prehistory of Polynesia turned out to be wrong, but this doesn’t affect the charm and readability of his books, nor the fact that his theories were not at all “lunatic”, they were actually very likely for the knowledge of Polynesia people had at that time; especially, the fact that he was wrong doesn’t change the immense beneficial effect his work had on the study of Polynesian prehistory, that before his intervention was overly underestimated and understudied)

Thor Heyerdahl, Aku-Aku the Secret of Easter Island

One more of his engaging books:

Thor Heyerdahl, Kon-Tiki