We left Melbourne on an Emirates flight to Auckland NZ at 8 am. We did not realise how exhausted we were from stress and strain from family and business issues that we have needed to finalise in the last two weeks before we left.
New Zealand to Papeete is a 5 and a half hour flight on Air Tahiti. We arrived about 10 pm the day before we left, and stayed at the Intercontinental hotel near the airport. We left very early the next morning for the Marquesas Islands.
At the airport MB bought a book.
" A guide to navigation in French Polynesia", which is a great summary of the group of Islands that makes up this nation. The Islands of Polynesia are emerged underwater volcanoes which erupted from the 'North South Dorsal'. that extends to the northwest according to the drifting movement of the ocean floor,called 'Plate Tectonics'.
The maritime space of the nation cover 5.5 million square kilometers. The combined land surface of 118 Islands in only four thousand square kilometers, a mere speck of dust in the immense ocean.
There are five archipelago's ( Atolls, and high Islands), comprised of the windward islands and the leeward islands. These are the Marquesas, Tuoamotu's, the Gambier, Society-Tahiti and Australas Islands.
The climate is tropical and humid. There are two seasons wet and dry. We are here at the end of the wet season. The temperature is generally 28 degrees celsius. The wind is constant from the east at 20 knots.
Cyclones are relatively scarce here and the Marquesas, rare.
JB and Mick