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Awash with romantic appeal and beguilingly remote, the South Sea Islands are the stuff of dreams. To visit is to taste the grand days of travel in the company of Kipling and Conrad, Melville and Maugham. Sadly, the incursions of the modern world have transformed many South Pacific islands beyond all recognition, but in a fistful of places the magic and romance remain.
Ovalau With its pleasant though generic resorts, Fiji's main island of Viti Levu is attractive in an unexciting sort of way, but nearby Ovalau is a different story. Huddled below steep bluffs, the main town of Levuka is a place of clapboard and corrugated-iron buildings and is a delightful throwback to a more leisurely era. Apart from the Toyota pick-ups, the main street appears the same as it was a century ago. Spend some time on Ovalau and even yaqona (kava), the thin brown sludge that passes for Fiji's national drink, becomes palatable. For a wonderful slice of old Pacific life stay at the Royal Hotel, dating from the 1850s ([email protected]; tel: 679 3440024; fax 679 3440174).
Yasawas Also located off Viti Levu is a string of narrow islands known as the Yasawas. This archipelago is an unspoiled spot where Fijians live in traditional villages near sublime, white beaches lapped by turquoise lagoons. For those who prefer the five-star version of paradise, there are the superb (and superbly priced) resorts of Turtle Island (www.turtlefiji.com) and Yasawa Island Resort (www.yasawaislandresort.com).
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Rarotonga Across the International Date Line are the sporadic Cook Islands, whose lovely main rock is Rarotonga. Somehow it manages to cram dazzling white sands, cobalt-blue lagoons and jagged, jungle-thick peaks into an area 10 kilometres long by six wide. Walk, snorkel, dive or just allow yourself to be lulled by the almost cliched perfection of this tiny island and its disarmingly friendly people. The best accommodation is at the Rarotongan Beach Resort (www.rarotongan.co.ck), all palm trees, talcum-powder beaches and sparkling waters.
Bora Bora (pictured) Bora Bora, 230km northwest of Tahiti in French Polynesia, has often been called the world's most beautiful island, and not without reason. At times, it seems Bora Bora is too stunning for its own good. The word is out and many visitors are now flying in to experience the magic, twin volcanic peaks towering
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over an exquisite turquoise lagoon. If your budget per-mits, sleep above the sea in a bungalow on stilts at Amanresorts' exquisite Hotel Bora Bora (www.amanresorts.com).
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