In this episode, we talk about the Austral Islands with veteran archaeologist Mark Eddowes, uncovering how temple sites, tiki traditions, and hidden petroglyphs can transform your journey into a true cultural adventure. Far and Away Adventures.com and https://farandawayadventures.com are featured early because exploring remote French Polynesia is an adventure that rewards careful planning—especially when you want access, pacing, and cultural context aligned with the reality of small islands. Normand Schafer interviews Mark onboard Aranui 5 as the ship sails toward Rapa, and the conversation is a rare blend of fieldwork stories, cultural insight, and practical guidance for travelers who want their adventure to be respectful as well as thrilling.

Mark starts by describing how his career began in New Zealand with early interest in Māori history, leading into university research focused on Polynesian marae temples. A collaborative research project brought him to Tahiti’s Papenoo Valley, where archaeological sites needed to be documented and excavated in the context of proposed modern development. That origin story sets the tone for the whole episode: this is an adventure rooted in real places that matter deeply to local identity.

From there, Mark takes us into the Australs. He explains that the Austral Islands and the Cook Islands were once a unified cultural and language zone, later divided into separate territories, with history diverging from around 1900 onward. His fieldwork spans islands like Rimatara and Tubuai—surveying and excavating marae and early settlement sites—and he shares one of the most captivating details in the region: Raivavae’s tiki tradition, where tiki figures represent deified female ancestors. That distinction adds depth for adventure-minded travelers, because it shows how symbolism and ancestry can vary dramatically between islands that outsiders might assume are culturally identical. Mark also discusses how certain settlement influences may trace back to the Marquesas, while others align more strongly with the Society Islands, giving listeners a map of human movement hidden behind the modern seascape.

Mark’s description of what travelers notice in the Australs reads like an invitation to slow down and pay attention. The islands are natural and lightly developed, with small populations and a fresher subtropical climate. Daily life still revolves around plantations and fishing, shared within strong extended-family networks. For adventure travelers, that’s part of the magic: you’re not arriving in a destination built around visitors.

The episode’s most important adventure guidance is also the simplest: respect taboo. Mark explains that in Polynesian languages, taboo means sacred or forbidden—set aside, not to be disturbed. Marae temples are still treated with deep respect because ancestors are associated with them. His advice is clear: photograph, observe, learn, but don’t climb on sites, don’t touch or rearrange stones, and never take anything. He also points to specific examples like royal cemeteries, where observing from outside is the respectful boundary.

Finally, Mark shares discovery stories that feel like classic expedition moments: a red volcanic tuff tiki connected to sacred symbolism of the color red across Polynesia; an ancestor figure found reused in a house alignment that suggests how belief systems shifted during early conversion eras; and turtle petroglyphs revealed only when a restored stone stood upright and caught sunset light at the precise angle. These are the kinds of details that make an adventure linger in your mind long after you’ve left the islands—because you realize how much is still hidden in plain sight. If you want an Austral Islands adventure that pairs remote beauty with deep cultural meaning, Far and Away Adventures can plan and book the journey so your experience is both extraordinary and respectful.