The world's best-kept secret is right on our doorstep, Ian McKinnon writes.
THE BIGGEST mystery about Mystery Island is that nobody lives there. Barely a kilometre long and 200 metres wide, it sits off the bigger island of Tanna on the southern tip of Vanuatu. If you had to pick a deserted island to be stranded on for a week, this would be it.
There are golden beaches, palm trees and a coral reef with thousands of fish. The sea on this day is deep blue and calm, foaming only as it laps the sand, save for some whitecaps that break over the reef at the southern end.
The island also has legend - in the form of a grass airstrip that you'd never know was there, even standing on the beach. You can't even see it from the 11th deck of the 47,000-tonne Pacific Sun, anchored 500 metres offshore.
Hence the mystery. US troops built the runway for their air force in the 1940s as World War II raged throughout the South Pacific, and it took some time for the Japanese to figure out where all the planes were coming from.
Or so legend says. The fact is that, although you'd never spot the airstrip from the sea, Japanese reconnaissance flights would have sighted it in no time.
Legend, however, is a much better travelling companion than reality, especially in Melanesian culture, so Mystery Island it became over its native name of Inyeug.
The landing strip is kept in working order to accept two weekly light plane arrivals from Port Vila to service the locals living nearby.
But back to the original question: why doesn't anyone live here, I ask Lili as she braids my daughter's hair.
"We have our own piece of paradise," she says, pointing to a settlement on Tanna some 1500 metres away. "Besides, if we leave the island like this then the ships will come. That means shoes for our children and books for our school."
By ships, she means Pacific Sun and Pacific Princess as well as Pacific Sky for a short season - and soon Pacific Star, as it takes up year-round residence in Brisbane ahead of its maiden season this month. Lili and many of her community have come over from Tanna for the day, as they do every time a ship comes in. But unlike, say, the Caribbean - where most islands host several ships a day, leading to crass commercialism as First World affluence and Third World poverty collide head-on - Mystery Island hosts an average of three visits a month. It's just enough to give the local economy a kick along without ruining the traditional way of life.
About 2000 of Pacific Sun's passengers and crew are ferried ashore on launches on this day. It sounds a lot for a relatively small area, but with most people gathering at the southern end there are scores of secluded spots elsewhere.
Most passengers take 25 minutes or so to amble around the island before browsing the stalls set up by the locals selling trinkets and island gear. Women and girls line up to get their hair braided at $10 a pop. Tonight is Island Night on Pacific Sun, so there's a roaring trade for sarongs, grass skirts and floral shirts.
Shopping is a pleasure. It's not in the Melanesian nature to haggle, so prices are cheap but inflexible. If you don't want to buy it doesn't matter, they are just as happy to talk.
It's the same story in each of the ever-expanding, and otherwise remote, destinations of the P&O South Pacific cruise itineraries - beautiful beaches and warm people.
The most practical way to take in a handful of these destinations - and by far the cheapest - is aboard Pacific Sun, which services the region year-round out of Sydney. It has excellent dining, classy entertainment and a kids' program that would be hard to top on any ship in the world, catering from two-year-olds to teens.
IT'S 9pm and five hours since the ship departed Mystery Island. Passengers have had a five-course dinner, although you can order less if you like. Mercifully, the emphasis is on fine dining from a large menu and sane portions rather than quantity. For the evening meal only, the children have eaten earlier before going off to the kids' programs so parents and friends can spend time together.
It's a great formula. One couple with three young children explain how they're lucky to get the chance to dance together once a year. Here, they've been on the floor every night.
A six-piece rock group has just moved on deck by the main pool. The seas are calm, the moon is out, the band is rocking and the dancers in island gear fill the deck and the balconies that overlook the pool.
It's the biggest party on Pacific Sun since - let's see - the night before when she departed the Isle Of Pines, another glorious destination with its own legitimate claims to the island I'd most like to be stranded on.
Later on there's still more action in the Sports Bar or Oz Disco. Or if you don't want to party, there's a casino and seven other bars and lounges, all with different themes, such as the Speakeasy, where you can find a quiet little corner and hear a pianist play old favourites. Or just find a quiet spot on the deck, cocktail in hand, and watch in balmy comfort as the ocean eases by.
Each day at sea features up to 30 activities; from yoga and trivia quizzes to deck games, cooking demonstrations and the latest movies in your cabin. You can get all the details on P&O's excellent website at http://www.pocruises.com.au.
Pacific Sun is a fine ship that is fun for all ages. This cruise had young couples and families and small groups of singles through to seniors.
The only person not suited to this cruise would be a young single travelling alone. But with twin share being only a little more than the single supplement, it would pay to take along a friend.
With the average voyage stopping at three to five ports, it would take any number of cruises to cover all 14 of Pacific Sun's South Pacific destinations. But that's the idea. Repeat cruisers make up a big percentage of passengers.
Like Mystery Island, every port has its own story and beauty. Melanesia - the hundreds of islands that make up New Caledonia and Vanuatu - remains largely undiscovered by Europe, North America and Japan, so please don't tell the Americans about it.
The world's best-kept secret is right on our doorstep.
TRIP NOTES
· Cruises on Pacific Sun are available from $1046 per person for an eight-night cruise in a four-berth cabin.
· Suites can accommodate families of two adults and up to three children.
· All meals and entertainment are included in the price.
· For bookings and inquiries phone P&O on 132 469, or travel agents. See www.pocruises.com.au.
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