Dusty finished his cigarette, hopped into the cockpit and fired up his De Havilland DHC2 Beaver seaplane.
"If anybody needs to smoke on the flight you have to go out on the wing to do it and watch the movie, and the only one we've got is Gone With The Wind," he joked, and then was drowned out by the deafening roar from the engine.
We left Fiji's Nadi airport and skimmed the azure waves and sparkling emerald reefs of the Mamanuca Islands. We swooped low over a boatload of divers preparing to explore some of the cleanest and richest reefs in the world.
"It is my dream," Dusty yelled over his shoulder, "to get a big old Mallard seaplane and start flying tourists between Tonga, Fiji and Samoa. But then I am 64 and a little crazy."
This former Canadian elk farmer, and occasional country and western crooner might be delightfully eccentric but his grand plan is no crazier than that dreamed up by Tasman Empire Airways Limited (TEAL) in the 1950s. The company began flying seaplanes between Auckland and French Polynesia, splashing down for sojourns in Fiji, Western Samoa and the Cook Islands.
They called this unashamedly luxurious south Pacific adventure the Coral Route, and it swiftly became a favourite jaunt of the well heeled. Gary Cooper flew it, so did Cary Grant, John Wayne, Graham Greene and Noel Coward. Some Coral Routers were once grounded, or beached to be more accurate, due to technical problems on a remote atoll in the Cooks called Aitutaki. They were forced to loiter for several days on a deserted beach with little to do but beach comb, swim, and enjoy French claret and New Zealand brie by candlelight. It doesn't quite compare to 24 hours on a seat in Gatwick waiting for air traffic controllers to call off their strike.
More than 50 years later travellers in this distant neck of the woods can recreate the magic of the Coral Route with a mix of terrestrial and marine flights to the three most fascinating island groups - Fiji, Samoa and the Cooks. In Fiji, Dusty's aerial adventures are by far the most thrilling and the perfect pick-me-up after being sardined in a jumbo for 22 hours from London.
He banked the Beaver around the pinnacle of Monuriki Island where Tom Hanks filmed Castaway. We peered down on iridescent water, so clear we could make out one or two bigger fish cruising the coral reef drop-offs.
Two islands further north he came in low, buzzing the Tokoriki Island Resort to alert the welcome party (ice-cold cocktails, floral leis and a ukulele quartet), and landed softly between honeymooners snorkelling hand-in-hand through the shallows.
Fiji
Fiji is the most developed island nation in the south Pacific and provides for all manner of budgets from backpacker beach bures to five-star honeymoon splendour.
The most popular areas for holidaymakers are the Mamanuca and Yasawa islands off the west coast, and the south coast of the main island, Viti Levu.
Short internal flights will get you to the far less developed second island of Vanua Levu, or further still to the outer island of Taveuni or the Lau Group.
If someone offers you a bowl of kava, sit cross-legged, clap once, take the bowl and down it in one. It looks and tastes like dirty washing-up water but has a fabulous (and sometimes strong) narcotic effect, numbing not just the tongue but also most of the fears and worries in your brain. The second bowl is even better and after that cancel all appointments for the rest of the day and drift on the kava tide.
Despite its popularity Fiji still has lots of deserted beaches and exquisite coral reefs pretty much everywhere. Dusty the seaplane pilot flies to a number of idyllic resorts (Pacific Island Seaplanes, + 679 672 5644; fax + 670 672 5641; email pacisair@connect.com.fj; fijiseaplane.com, fares on application).
Among the best are: Tokoriki Island Resort, Mamanuca Islands - four-star, perfect for couples, all stand-alone beachside bures with A/C, good British-run dive shop, some of the best snorkelling in Fiji. + 679 672 5926; fax + 679 672 5928; email tokoriki@connect.com.fj; tokoriki.com. Bures from about US$340 per night (full board meal plan from about US$52 per person per day).
Yasawa Island Resort, Yasawa Islands - award-winning five-star luxury with an all-in rate including local New Zealand blue cheeses and lobster on-tap 24 hours a day. Large private A/C bures on the beach, private picnics available on desert islands, world-class diving. The Australian owner, a viticulturist called Garth Downey, has established one of the finest wine cellars in the south Pacific. + 679 666 3364 or + 679 672 2266 (in UK 01934 518766); email yasawa@connect.com.fj; yasawa.com. All-in rates from US$922.50 per bure per night. Return transfers with Dusty US$393 pp.
Jean-Michel Cousteau Resort, Vanua Levu - superb top-end resort with all-in rate, charming beachside bures, and a strong sustainable tourism history. The resort works hand-in-hand with the local villagers to protect the reefs as well as sustaining their traditions and culture. The locals work and sing at the resort, run a kids' club for younger guests, take biological and botanical tours, tell local legends, and produce excellent food. The diving is world-class. + 670 885 0188; fijiresort.com. All-in rates from US$450 per bure per night.
Independent Samoa
When the old TEAL seaplanes came in to land, islanders lit floating oil drums to illuminate the watery runway. Visitors now jet in to Faleolo airport and tour guide Steve Brown (or Stevie Wonder as the locals know him) runs them across those same waters, in his boat, to stay in a traditional Manono village.
Manono is untouched and a magical slice of true Samoan life, akin to what Robert Louis Stevenson found when he first visited the islands that would become his home.
With a nighttime offshore breeze visitors can smell the "wild lime and vanilla ... and woods and mountains" whose vivid scents, Stevenson claimed, "renewed my blood".
Travellers from Fiji to Samoa cross the international dateline into yesterday, shift from Melanesia to Polynesia, and drop down gear to a less developed and at times catatonic way of life. Samoa can never beat other island groups for beaches but it cleans up on the culture front.
Visitors sleep in small wooden fales on stilts over the waves with trade winds for air conditioning, eat local fish and taro, walk through forests to spot the red flashes of cardinal honeyeaters, and join villagers in church for mighty Polynesian singing and sermons from a hellfire preacher.
Word of warning regarding village stays on Savaii and Upolu: if you balk at sharing your open fale with flies, cockroaches, chickens and children, dealing with primitive sanitation, and having your promised audience with a chief cancelled because he has gone walkabout or is fast asleep, then settle for lunch only and bed down instead in one of the following:
Sinalei Reef Resort, Upolu - four-star beach resort with excellent food (especially the sashimi, grilled mahi-mahi, and roast pork), good fales (beachside ones are best), beautiful grounds (including small golf course), and friendly staff. A recent refurbishment has made the Sinalei by far the best accommodation in Samoa. + 685 25191 or 30919; fax + 685 20285; email reservations@sinalei.ws; sinalei.com. Bures from US$220 per night (half board - lunch and dinner - US$35 extra per person per day).
Vavau Beach Fales, Upolu - up-market budget fales on the sand under coconut palms with fridges, cafe (great fish soup), good swimming and kayaking in the lagoon, and boasts the most visually stunning beach in Samoa. Email vavau@vavau.ws. Fales from about US$52 per night (sleeps five). Meals about US$4-8.
Steve Brown from Ecotour Samoa and Green Turtle Tours tailor-makes fully-guided or part-guided tours to suit budget and interests, including main and outer islands, village-stays, naturalist trekking and aquatic adventures. He knows the islands better than anyone and is the only fully web-based operator in Samoa. Email info@ecotoursamoa.com; ecotoursamoa.com, greenturtleholidays.com and visitsamoa.ws. Prices on application.
Cook Islands
The Cooks cover a vast area of ocean yet only the odd speck of land is above sea level. From the main island of Rarotonga take the hour's flight north on tiny Air Rarotonga to the tranquil and postcard-perfect atoll of Aitutaki.
Days are spent snorkelling coral ridges in the lagoon, diving or fishing the outer reefs, kayaking with a picnic hamper to deserted sandbars, and very little else.
Aitutaki islanders boast they are the most attractive in the south Pacific and the claim is not without merit as will be confirmed by any Coral Routers lucky enough to catch a beach fire dance.
On rare occasions visitors take the lagoon cruiser from the Pearl Beach Resort to the uninhabited islet of Akaiami.
It leaves at sunset, shortly after which a line of torches can be seen along the shoreline. The steady beat of drums calls forth grass-skirted girls who twitch and grind in mesmeric synchronicity. The men perform a welcome dance more like a terrifying war "haka", screaming and wheeling flaming sticks above their heads.
As dramatically as they arrived, the dancers disappear, extinguishing their torches and melting into the warm night with giggles and whoops of delight.
The performance is at the jetty where the TEAL seaplanes used to moor. There is a new lodge there now, Akaiami Lodge, built from local timber with brass fittings to reflect the original design of the TEAL terminal.
The lodge has unobstructed views of the lagoon, two bedrooms, large living area, solar power, kitchen, hot water showers, double kayak for lagoon pottering. No TV, video or radio. Sleeps four or more. coralroute.com. US$381 per couple per night (including all transfers on Aitutaki). Additional guests US$32 pp per night.
Pearl Beach Resort - five-star luxury with over-water bungalows, lagoon at your feet, host of activities, friendly staff. + 682 31201; pearlbeachresorts.com. (click on map). Bungalows from US$378 per night (full board meals US$70 extra pp per day).
Way to go
Air New Zealand (0800 028 4149, airnewzealand.co.uk) flies from London to Fiji via Los Angeles and has good regional services between the Coral Route islands. Some require transiting through Auckland. Ask about a special Coral Route pass or equivalent. Air Pacific flies from Los Angeles to Fiji and direct between Fiji and Samoa, and has daily services to Australia. Air Rarotonga is the only airline servicing Aitutaki.
South Pacific travel specialists include Tailor Made Travel (0845 456 8050; tailor-made.co.uk), ITC Classics (01244 355527, itcclassics.co.uk), Abercrombie and Kent Private Travel (0845 070 0620, abercrombiekent.co.uk), Austravel (0870 166 2070, austravel.com).
· All prices quoted are rack rates - cheaper deals may be possible through travel agents or booking online.
