Travels in the South Pacific

Flying Around 8 Countries of the Pacific

Jason Smart has visited over 150 countries and Travels in the South Pacific is his fourteenth travel book. In his latest fast-paced travelogue, Jason Smart flies between the islands of the South Pacific, visiting Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Fiji, Tonga, New Zealand, Samoa and East Timor. In Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea's edgy capital, he learns about the betel-nut chewing raskol gangs who plague the city and then meets a village chief armed with a machete. In Honiara, the Solomon Islands capital, he discovers why many of the locals have curious blonde hair before trying possibly the worst pizza in the world. Moving on to Vanuatu, he avoids giant centipedes but discovers a cyclone is heading his way. Managing to keep one step ahead of the storm, he flies to Fiji where he sips on kava, finds out about cannibals and even finds time to walk around an entire tropical island. In Nuku'alofa, Tonga's small capital, he observes the island's famous fishing pigs, listens to heavenly church singing and hears that Tonga abounds with ladyboys. After a brief stopover in Auckland, New Zealand, he jets off to Samoa where he visits the former residence of Robert Louis Stevenson. His final stop, not quite in the South Pacific, is East Timor where he climbs 500 steps to see Christ as he digests the sad history behind this small nation. Visit his website www.theredquest.com for more information.

The interesting observations

Nice descriptions of tourist visits to several South Pacific countries plus factual background for each place.