Thomas Booth has 4 audiobooks on Listento.it, narrated by 4 narrators. The most-rated is The Solomon Islands.
The Islands of the South Pacific
Summary
Tahiti is one of the Society Islands which, with the Gambiers, the Tuamotus, the Australs, and the Marquesas, make up French Polynesia. This archipelago spread out over several million square miles of the south central Pacific is a mixture of high volcanic islands and low coral atolls. Moorea is the second-most popular destination in French Polynesia and with good reason. The most dramatic way to see Moorea is by hiking. The footpaths among the Marae of Opunohu are excellent, but the best walk is the trek from Vaiare west across to Pao Pao at the bottom of Cook's Bay. It's a longish trek, but the abundant flora are delightful and the views magnificent. Bora Bora - you can see it like a stage drop in the distance from Raiatea - is 160 miles from Tahiti. The pearl of all islands, it has a beauty borne of lagoon, reef, and green mountains. Bora Bora is the scene of paddling, peddling, snorkeling, walking, climbing, dancing, drinking and eating well. In the Marquesas, Nuku Hiva Island with a population of 1,800 is the administrative center for these 12 islands. Nuku Hiva, like most of the others, is majestically mountainous and beautiful. Growing and export of oranges is the main activity. Hiva Oa, according to Robert Louis Stevenson, was the loveliest and most ominous spot on earth. The Cook Islands, named after the British Captain who seems to have been everywhere in the Pacific, are scattered like tiny jewels over a large stretch of sea between Tahiti and Samoa. Tonga too has many attractions – the king's palace, the beaches, lagoons, flying foxes, blowholes, ruins, exquisite outer islands, and convenient transport. There's good food, perhaps the best in the Pacific, and the weather is cooler than many other Pacific islands. All the detail you will need about these Pacific islands is in the guide - the hotels, restaurants, what to see and do, how to get around, the history and the culture.
©2013 Hunter Publishing (P)2014 Hunter Publishing
Fiji
Summary
Each time I see a new place, I privately play the game of, "Would I be happy living here permanently?" My reactions for Fiji, mostly happy ones, aren't based entirely on Fiji's miles of white beaches, her rattling palms, the variety of her villages, or the dramatic hill country. I can find these things in dozens of Pacific destinations and, as much as I love most of them, none are choices for my declining years. Fiji has the required qualities - among them, space, and lots of it. Viti Levu, the big island where Suva and Nadi are, has 4,000 square miles. Vanua Levu, the next island in size, has 2,000 square miles. And then there are the smaller ones: Ovalau, Taveuni, Koro, Kandavu, Bau, the Lau group - and hundreds of other tiny dots of land. The people, 700,000 of them, are varied too. There are native Fijians, Polynesians, Indians, Chinese, and a fair sprinkling of expatriate Australians, New Zealanders, English, and Americans. Some of them like me require a city, perhaps not to live in, but at least available. Suva is such a place. It's small, in places it's tatty and hodge-podge, but it fits my specifications. When you're hungry, the best Indian and Chinese food in the Pacific is available. Mexican, Indonesian, and Italian food can be found too, or you can dine in splendor at a wide range of stylish restaurants. When you're thirsty, you can drink in an English or Australian pub, and when you feel poorly, good medical and dental care is available. For housing, something like $75,000 will provide you with a nice home in Suva, or you can live in the country-club environment of Pacific Harbor, 35 miles away. The University of the Pacific provides cultural resources if you want them and, because Fiji is such a Pacific crossroads, flights leave daily for Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii, Europe, and the Far East. This is the most comprehensive guide to these islands. Where to stay, where to eat, how to get around, what to see and do. All of the practical information you need is spelled out in detail. And hundreds of color photos bring the islands alive!
©2013 Hunter Publishing (P)2014 Hunter Publishing
Micronesia: The Marshall Islands
Summary
The Marshall Islands, named after a British sea captain who explored the group in 1788, are scattered like flung necklaces over about 750,000 square miles of Pacific Ocean. Positioned 2,200 miles southwest of Hawaii, they occupy an area between four and 20 degrees north of the equator. The islands are aligned in two groups. Those to the west are the Ralik Chain; to the east, they're in the Ratak Chain. Altogether they total 34 islands and 850 sea-washed reefs. All the islands are coral, but five of them without lagoons are referred to as coral islands. The other 29 have associated lagoons and are true atolls. Twenty-three of these islands are inhabited, with a total population of 43,335. The land adds up to a mere 70-square miles, but the lagoon areas come to an impressive 4,000 square miles. Majuro Atoll with a population of 19,664 is the capital. Pack a lunch, hire a car, and do the 30-mile drive to Laura - the longest stretch of paved road in Micronesia. Laura is a lovely palm-flanked island with no urban congestion. Visitors get a taste of the outer islands here, and the beach is nearly perfect. If you don't bring a lunch, note that in the environs there are several roadside stands that sell baskets of freshly cooked food, fried chicken and reef fish, some jukuk (rice balls made with coconut,) some breadfruit if it's in season, and a few husked drinking coconuts. Count on paying $15 for a basket - enough food for three or four people. The dozens of other islands are described in detail, with information on the hotels, the restaurants, how to get there, what to see and do, and even the nightlife.
©2013 Hunter Publishing, Inc. (P)2015 Hunter Publishing, Inc.
The Solomon Islands
Summary
Nature is excessive, lovely, and ominous in the Solomons and the Melanesians who live there, often blond or redheaded, are the blackest of all people. Before World War II such names as Guadalcanal, Savo, Munda were rarely heard. Guadalcanal, over 100 miles long by 30 miles wide, is the largest island. Then in descending order there's Malaita, San Cristobal, Choiseul, New Georgia, and Santa Ysabel. All of them are mountainous, covered with rain forest, and laced with rivers. The remaining hundreds of islands range from substantial, to mere dots of coral. Today even the most remote islands have usable airstrips that date back to WW II. This is the real Melanesia, and for "do it yourself travel" there are plenty of inter island boats, adequate housing, gentle people, and beauty. And, thanks to World War II, you can get nearly everywhere by air. Two hundred fifty thousand Solomon Islanders live on the six main islands and associated clusters that slant across the Coral Sea for 900 miles. Ninety-four percent of them are black Melanesians, but a small fraction are Micronesian, Chinese, a few are European, and curiously some are Polynesian. This guide to the Solomons, written by an author who has seen them all and has been there dozens of times, is loaded with inside information and details on the places to stay and eat, plus what to see and do.
©2013 Hunter Publishing, Inc. (P)2014 Hunter Publishing, Inc.