The South Pacific: Aukena, Gambier Islands, French Polynesia – A walk amongst the undergrowth

Following our visit to Mangareva we had time on our hands, so after lunch our captain directed the ship to another small island nearby. In truth, this was all timetabled and well-planned – unscheduled stops are not allowed by the marine authorities and appropriately so. 

Aukena is about five miles from Mangareva, and even nearer to that previously-mentioned Totegegie island which houses the airport. This was to be a short visit with none of the welcome celebrations. Today it is a private island (with a short hop to the airport), but access is given to the few tourists that manage to get to the Gambier Islands. It is approximately one mile long and about a fifth of a mile wide. 

Aukena has just a few residents now, but that has not always been so. Archaeological excavations, coupled with oral traditions, indicate the island was inhabited at least in the 14th century. By 1550 it had a district chief, Honu-a-Keroiti. It has also been recorded that the small island became a place where deposed leaders fled in exile. It was the first to house a Catholic church in the Gambier Islands.

The area where we landed was considerably overgrown, just as one might expect an uninhabited island to be. Seeds take root just where they fall, and weaving our way under, over and around the natural vegetation of the forest just added to the experience. Paths didn’t exist in this area and if they once did they were now densely covered. Amongst the many plants were the Pandanus tree with its visible roots above ground, and the flowering wild hibiscus.

Clambering through the undergrowth we came across the ruins of a two-storey seminary which was established to train boys to be priests. This is estimated to have been built in the 1850s and students were taught Greek and Latin for the priesthood. According to excavation reports the bodies of 29 missionary wrapped in white tapa (bark) cloth were discovered buried in a cave nearby.

Other ruins we saw near the seminary included an oven, a press for extracting oil from coconuts, a well and a kiln for producing coral lime which missionaries used in the construction of churches and other buildings. Still standing and in good condition is a watchtower which can be seen when approaching the island. 

As we started to retrace our steps we realised that a slightly easier route might be the shoreline. Even though we were wading knee-deep in water it gave us the opportunity to  appreciate the close-up view of the sea lapping against all the tree roots and the small fishes swimming around our legs, but it was all worthwhile for what we were able to experience.

Then it was time to move on to our next island stop, 300 miles away. 

Copyright: Words and photographs Sue Barnard 2023