An atoll with a land area of one square mile, Palmerston is the only true atoll in the southern Cook group. It consists of six sandy motu (islets) scattered around a coral reef and surrounding a lagoon about seven miles across. When Captain Cook landed on Palmerston on June 16, 1777, the island was then uninhabited. Cook named the island in honor of the First Lord of the Admiralty, Lord Palmerston. Tradition has it that an ancient name for the island was Avarau, meaning "two hundred harbors." In 1863 a ship's carpenter and barrelmaker (cooper) named William Masters arrived from Manuae with two Polynesian wives and annexed the island. He shortly added a third wife and from this harem he propagated a large family and settled in firmly as virtual king and autocrat of the community until his death in 1899. Palmerston’s current population of 50 is descended from him and his three Polynesian wives. Masters is said to have originated from Gloucestershire and the island’s population speak excellent English with a distinct Gloucestershire accent. William's descendants now spell their name "Marsters."
Two years after Masters’ death, disputes rose about the succession of the leader. In 1901, the British Resident at Rarotonga, Colonel W.E. Gudgeon, appointed William's eldest son, Joel, agent to the British Resident and Magistrate for the island. You’ll meet many of the Marsters families, and have an opportunity to visit with them.

The capital and only city of Samoa is where writer Robert Louis Stevenson spent the last few years of his life. Fish and copra are their major exports.

Niuatoputapu is probably the most remote destination you will ever visit. A dot in the middle of the Pacific, it’s a part of Tonga, yet closer to the border of Samoa. Niuatoputapu is as the South Pacific used to be. Its attractions are its isolation, the wonderful scenery, and the friendly people. Tongans have a reputation as the “friendliest South Sea Islanders.” You’ll have a chance to decide this for yourself when we visit a Tongan village. The 176 islands of Tonga range from high volcanic to low coral terrain and create scenic variety seldom matched elsewhere in the world. The islands are divided into four groups and bordered on the east by the deep Tongan Trench. Of volcanic origin, Niuatoputapu covers an area of seven square miles and rises to 350 feet, with a population of about 1,200. The inhabitants spoke formerly the Niuatoputapu language, but it has now been extinct for centuries and the inhabitants speak mainly Tongan. If you like, hike around the barren lava flows, or swim or snorkel in the pristine waters. Watch horses haul wet pandanus leaves from the lagoon, where they are soaked in preparation for making tapa cloth. Listen to the gorgeous singing for which Tonga is famous.

Taveuni (pronounced Tah-vee-ew-nee), the “Garden Isle” of Fiji, is rugged, wet, verdant, and pristine. It lies only 4.3 miles off the southeast coast of Vanua Levu (Fiji’s second largest Island), and is 26 miles long and averages about seven miles wide. Taveuni is an archetypically beautiful tropical island, thick with vegetation and resplendent with tropical flowers. Fortunately, the mongoose was never introduced to Taveuni, so many of the birds that have vanished on neighboring islands still thrive on the Garden Isle. Big pigeons and parrots are easy to see, and among the birds on everyone's wish list, the Azure Crowned Flycatcher. The inhabitants of Bouma Village, where waterfalls have been a major tourist attraction for many years, were offered money to log their communal land. Instead of selling their birthright, at the behest of the New Zealand Government they were offered a grant to improve the land and create a park centered on the waterfalls. You’ll see three of the Island’s finest waterfalls at Bouma National Heritage Park. In total, hundreds of waterfalls crash down around the coastline, their waters so clean it is said that in the days of the sailing ships, they would back up to the falls to refill their water tanks. With a population of around 12,000 inhabitants, Taveuni is sparsely populated. Once the home of fierce warriors, Taveuni residents still exude pride and confidence in their step.

This privately owned island was purchased by the people of Vaitupu for around $5,000 in 1947. The 300 Polynesian inhabitants have a unique culture all their own.