Island Hopping: On the Coral Route through the South Seas

Hollywood stars and other empires were flying in the fifties with flying boats over the South Sea islands. This coral route has long been set. Photographer Michael Martin follows her from island to island.

The dream destination "South Sea" is as old as tourism. In the 1950s wealthy passengers realized him on the so-called coral route: From Auckland, empires, actors and other celebrities flew from 1951 with luxuriously equipped flying boats over the Fiji and Cook Islands to Tahiti. One year later, the stopovers Samoa and Tonga were added.

The bulbous "Solvent" flying boats comfortably accommodated up to 45 passengers and twelve crew members and flew the 5000 miles in 50 hours. Landed and launched on the turquoise waters of the respective lagoons - and the small seaplanes flew so deep that the corals were clearly visible in the water.

I want to follow the "Coral Route" through the South Pacific with my wife Elly for four weeks. After the last of the "Solvents" has long been in the museum at the Museum of Transport and Technology in Auckland, we fly with a modern Airbus in a few hours flight from Auckland to Nadi on Viti Levu, the largest of the 330 Fiji Islands . Every morning, the Yasawa Express, a speedboat that connects the most beautiful Yasawa Islands to each other, starts from there.

We spend a week on a different island every night, with accommodations ranging from simple thatched huts to modern resorts. The highlight is snorkeling with manta rays patrolling Nanuya Balavu Island on the seabed. In front of the island of Nacula I dive for the first time in my life with equipment, accompanied by a diving instructor. The half-hour dive gives me an idea of ​​why many of the most beautiful dive sites in the world are located in the South Pacific.

Surrounded by humpback whales

Continue to Vava'u, an island world north of the Kingdom of Tonga . Unforgettable was the death of King Taufa'ahau Tupou IV, who died in 2006 and weighs more than 200 kilograms. His invitation to emigrate to Tonga was followed by many Europeans.

Michael Martin

One of them is the Austrian Joe, whom we meet at the quay wall on the first evening. The long hair has turned gray in the three decades on Tonga. He still finds enough work as a painter and plasterer and was only once at home to his brother's wedding. Today no freaks come to Tonga, but Chinese businessmen, who control more and more parts of the economy. Australia and China are fighting for economic and military spheres of influence in the South Pacific.

On a sunny morning we participate in a whale watching tour. Again and again we see humpback whales in the distance, but as soon as we get closer, they have already moved on. Only on the way back we are lucky. Three humpback whales circle the boat for half an hour. We go into the water and follow through our diving goggles the elegant movements of the colossi. Another diving experience awaits us in the Swallows Cave, where the afternoon sun penetrates into the grotto and shimmers swarms of small fish in the crystal clear water.

Flight to the southern Ha'apai Islands , which are covered by coconut palms and surrounded by coral reefs. We move into quarters on the northern tip of the island of Foa and are no longer surprised by the $ 100 that would be due for a simple straw hut without sanitary facilities. The next destination is the tiny Cook Islands , which belong to New Zealand. About Rarotonga it goes to Aitutaki, for many the most beautiful lagoon in the world.

Threatened by climate change

Under sailors it is common ground that the French Polynesian islands offer the most beautiful beaches and lagoons of the entire South Pacific. We fly to Papeete in Tahiti , the capital of the French overseas department. With a rental car we follow the bay-rich coasts of the two islands Tahiti Nui and Tahiti Iti. The most spectacular scenery we experience at Teahupoo Beach on the southwest coast of Tahiti Iti: Deeply cut valleys lead from the coast into the rugged, densely vegetated volcanic landscape.

With a relatively cheap Air Pass from the local airline Air Tahiti, we arrive at Tikehau, a tiny atoll belonging to the Tuamotu Archipelago . Atolls are ring-shaped coral reefs that enclose a lagoon. They were created according to a still valid theory of Charles Darwin around today often sunken volcanic islands around. The coral reef forms a fringe of often extremely narrow islands called motus.

The Frenchman Jean Louis Depierre picks us up at the tiny airfield with his rickety BMW and drives us to his nearby property. He shows us the simple room, then the passionate chef goes to the kitchen and sizzles a multi-course meal for his six guests. "Pensions" are the name of such accommodations in Polynesia, and large hotels are the absolute exception.

Michael Martin

There is not much to see on Tikehau. To monotonous are the land areas of the atolls, the barren soil is usually only coconut trees flourish. The sea is full of fish. But tourism offers better earning potential than fishing, especially as fish markets are far away. Chinese fleets do not threaten the rich fish stocks in French Polynesia, as the French navy effectively controls territorial waters. However, many parts of the South Pacific are now considered overfished due to the many illegal fishing fleets.

Like the other 300 Pacific atolls, Tikehau stands just one to two meters out of the water and is thus directly threatened by climate change. The IPCC (IPCC) assumes a sea-level rise of 82 centimeters by the turn of the century in the worst case scenario.

Jumping dolphins as a companion

Since ferry connections between the islands are scarce, a ten-minute flight brings us to Rangiroa. With a small boat it goes across the second largest ring atoll in the world. The destination is the lagoon Bleu, which as part of the large ring in turn represents the remainder of a smaller volcano. I let my photo drone rise and marvel at the abstract beauty, which only shows the bird's eye view.

After a boat trip to the Île aux Récifs, the captain steers the small boat into the natural canal between the two Motus Avaturo and Tiputa. In the heavy current dozens of dolphins frolic, playfully in front of and next to our boat jump from the water.

It is one of those experiences that make the South Seas 57 years after the setting of the Coral Route to a dream destination.