South Pacific Islands Only Accessible By Boat
FIND HOTELS ON ISOLATED SOUTH PACIFIC ISLANDS
Shown below are some of the South Pacific islands which are only accessible by boat.
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COOK ISLANDS
The small islands of Manue, Nassau, Palmerston, Rakahanga, Suwarrow and Takutae situated in the Northern Islands group of the Cook Islands are all only accessible by boat. There are no regular scheduled ferry services to any of these islands, but private yachts are able to access them and local tour company, www.pacific-expeditions.com, provides eco- tours to some of them.
Private boat trips to Manue Island, which is a protected conservation area and Suwarrow Atoll, which is the site of the Cook Islands' only National Park, are available from local travel agents based in Raratonga.
Journeys from Raratonga to the Northern Islands group take around four days.
Image - Anchorage Atoll - Courtesy of Suwarrow, wikimedia commons.
FIJI
Most of Fiji's islands are served by way of an airport or small airstrip, but there are a few smaller islands which are only accessible by small, private boat. These are the islands of Molokini, Manu, Navadra and Tokoriki. For inter- island connections to these and other inaccessible island resorts of Fiji please visit - www.ssc.com.fj.
For inter- island ferry services and sailing timetables between Fiji's larger islands of Viti Levu, Vanua Levu, Koro and Taveuni, please visit - www.consortshipping.com.fj.
Fiji's two main airports are both located on the island of Viti Levu. Nausori International Airport at Suva accepts flights from Auckland in New Zealand and Port Vila in Vanuatu and Nadi International Airport at Nadi accepts international flights from all over the Pacific region.
Image - Waya Island in Fiji's Yasawa Island Group - Courtesy of Doron, wikimedia commons.
GALAPAGOS ISLANDS
The Galapagos Islands are made up of thirteen main islands, five of which are inhabited. Although there are airports on the islands of San Cristobal and Baltra, the islands of Floreana, Isabella and Santa Cruz are only accessible by boat.
The inter- island ferry service is operated by the government run company, Ingala, who use the services of the passenger ferry Ingala II.
The Ingala II departs from the main pier at Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz Island every day at two PM for the island of San Cristobal, a journey of about four hours. The return trip from San Cristobal to Santa Cruz is daily at six thirty every morning.
Crossings from Santa Cruz Island to Isabella Island are daily at two PM. The return journey leaves Isabella Island every day at six AM.
Crossings from Isabella Island to Floreana Island operate on one Friday every month.
Tickets can be purchased from the Ingala ticket office located at Puerto Ayora between nine AM and eleven AM every day.
Schedules and timetables can be checked by visiting the tourist information office, known as CAPTUR, also situated in Puerto Ayora.
There are also several private water taxis, pictured above, and local boat tour companies operating out of each of the ports located on all five inhabited islands.
Daily flights from the cities of Santiago and Guayaquil in Chile fly to airports located on both San Cristobal Island and Baltra Island.
Image - Water taxis at Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz Island - Courtesy of A. Flores - Lopez, wikimedia commons.
PITCAIRN ISLAND
The tiny Pacific island of Pitcairn is renowned for having been populated by HMS Bounty mutineer Fletcher Christian and his crew in 1767, where the island's Bounty Bay, pictured above, was their first landfall.
Pitcairn is situated 298 miles from it’s nearest neighbour, Mangareva Island in the Gambier Islands in French Polynesia, and is only accessible by a boat journey of thirty two hours. The ship makes the journey about four times a year and is met by longboats as it anchors offshore, as there is no safe harbour on the island for shipping of any size.
The vessel which serves the island is the government chartered passenger ship the Claymore II. You can find the island shipping timetable for the Claymore II by visiting - www.visitpitcairn.pn/claymore2.
Access to Mangareva Island, which is served by a small airport at Totegegie, can be taken by way of a two and a half hour flight from Fa’aa International Airport on the Pacific Island of Tahiti in French Polynesia, where flights from Sydney in Australia, Auckland in New Zealand, Los Angeles in California or Paris in France, can all be taken.
Image courtesy of MakeMake, wikimedia commons.
TOKELAU
The New Zealand territory of Tokelau is only accessible by way of the vessels the MV Tokelau, pictured above, the PB Matua. the MV Lady Naomi and the Saint Theresa, all of which make just one crossing a month from the neighbouring island of Samoa. There are no safe harbours on any of Tokelau's three atolls, so small motor boats meet the ships which anchor offshore.
The journey time from Samoa's capital city, Apia, to Tokelau's largest settlement on the atoll of Fakaofo, takes around thirty six hours. There are no scheduled passages made by the MV Tokealau, so visitors will only be able to make the journey if they happen to be in Samoa when the boat is going out, but there are scheduled sailings by the other above vessels. For sailing timetables for these vessels, which visit all three of Tokelau's atolls,Fakaofo, Nukunonu and Atafu visit - www.tokelau.org.nz/BoatSchedule.
Inter-island travel between each of Tokelau's three atolls is done by way of small motor boats or dinghies.
Access to the island of Samoa however is not quite so problematic, as the 2,924 km long journey can be taken from Auckland International Airport in New Zealand by way of a three hour and forty six minute flight.
Image courtesy of Cloud Surfer, wikimedia commons.
TONGA
The tiny island of Nomuka, situated in the Ha'apai Islands, with a population of five hundred people, is the only inhabited Tongan island which is only accessible by boat.
The island is served by weekly crossings from Queen Salote's Wharf in Nuku'alofa on the island of Tongapatu and from Pangai Harbour on Lifuka Island in the Ha'apai Islands. The journey is generally made by the vessels MV Olovaha or the MV Otumotuanga'ofa.
Journey time from Queen Salote's Wharf, Nuku'alofa, which leaves every Monday evening at six, to Pangai Harbour on Lifuka Island is around ten and a half hours and the journey time from Lifuka Island to Nomuka Island is around five hours.
The Church of Tonga's vessel the MV Siu Pele leaves Queen Salote's Wharf, Nuku'alofa every Monday morning at nine bound for Pangai Harbour on Lifuka Island, and calls at Nomuka Island on the way. The return journey back to either Lifuka Island or Tongapatu Island is on the following Wednesday.
Image - Mariners Cave, Vava'u - Courtesy of msdstefan, wikimedia commons.
TUVALU
Of Tuvalu's three main reef islands and six atolls only the atoll of Fongafale has an airport, therefore the government run two inter-island shipping services which are served by the passenger ferry Manu Folau and the cargo vessel Nivaga II, which passengers can also use, to access the other islands and atolls from it's docks at Funafuti.
These vessels visit Tuvalu's outer islands once every three to four weeks, with journey times to the atolls situated north of Fongafale Atoll taking around seven days and journey times to the atolls south of Fongafale Atoll taking around four days.
Shipping schedules, prices and ticket sales are all available from the government run, marine services office, which is situated at the Port of Funafuti.
Image - Funafuti, Fongafale - Courtesy of MrLins, wikimedia commons.
