The Aranui 3 (Aranui means 'The Great Highway' in Maori language) is a purpose-built part-passenger, part-freighter ship, that sails the South Seas regularly between Tahiti and the Marquesas. islands,

 

The sailing dates, the days of leaving and docking back in Tahiti are as follows.  The ship is scheduled to sail at 10.30am and dock back at 9,.30am (timings subject to change):

 

SAILINGS FOR 2011

 

23 APRIL-06 MAY                                      27 AUGUST-09 SEPTEMBER

 

14 MAY-27 MAY                                         17 SEPTEMBER-30 SEPTEMBER

 

02 JUNE-17 JUNE                                     08 OCTOBER-21 OCTOBER

 

25 JUNE-08 JULY                                      29 OCTOBER-11 NOVEMBER

 

16 JULY-29 JULY                                      19 NOVEMBER-02 DECEMBER

 

06 AUGUST-19 AUGUST                          09 DECEMBER-23 DECEMBER

 

 

SAILINGS FOR 2012

 

 

04 FEBRUARY-17 FEBRUARY                 21 JULY-03 AUGUST

 

25 FEBRUARY-09 MARCH                       11 AUGUST-24 AUGUST

 

17 MARCH-30 MARCH                              01 SEPTEMBER-14SEPTEMBER

 

07 APRIL-20 APRIL                                   22 SEPTEMBER-05 OCTOBER

 

28 APRIL-11 MAY                                      13 OCTOBEER-26 OCTOBER

                                

19 MAY-01 JUNE                                       03 NOVEMBER-16 NOVEMBER

                                   

09 JUNE-22 JUNE                                     24 NOVEMBER-07 DECEMBER

                                  

30 JUNE-13 JULY                                     15 DECEMBER-28                                   

                                                          

 

 

Specially built in 2000-2002, the ship is 386ft long and 58ft wide and is a lifeline for many of the Marquesas, delivering essential supplies to the islands and exporting produce back to the main port in Tahiti, for shipping all over the world.  Whilst doing this vital service, the ship sails to some of the most beautiful and interesting islands in the region.  To take advantage of this, the Aranui 3 can also carry around 160-200 cruise passengers to visit these lovely islands. 

 

The passenger section is at the rear of the ship, with the freight holds, cranes and equipment at the front half.  Accommodations aboard are surprisingly spacious and well appointed, but don't expect the luxury of a large cruise liner.  There are 3 grades of cabin, Standard, Deluxe and Suites.  All are outside cabins with portholes or picture windows, and some with balconies.  There is also a C class cabin, but this is much like a multi-bunkbed dormitory, and unless you are feeling very adventurous, we do not recommend this class of travel.

 

The 63 Standard cabins are located on the main deck, A deck and B deck along with a video lounge, reception area, conference room and doctor's office.  There is also a lift and stairwell to all decks.  The Standard cabins offer 2 single beds with storage underneath, ensuite facilities with shower, air conditioning, bedside cupboard, wardrobe, chest of drawers, desk and chair and a single porthole window.

 

The larger Deluxe cabins and Suites are located on the Sun deck and Star deck, the top 2 passenger decks.

 

The 12 Deluxe Cabins offer 1 Queen bed with under-bed storage, ensuite bathroom with bath and shower, desk and chair, chest of drawers, small sofa and sitting area, wardrobe, large window, air conditioning and some cabins may also have a small balcony.  Deluxe cabins 1, 2, 3, and 4 are located on the sides of the top Star Deck and have a small balcony, cabins 5 and 6 are also on the Star Deck on the front of the bulkhead, and the other 6 Deluxe cabins are located on the Sun Deck and run down the sides to the back of the bulkhead.    

 

The 10 Suites are spacious and all but the 2 front centre Suites H & J have a private balcony.  They offer 1 Queen bed with underbed storage, an ensuite bathroom with bath and shower, chest of drawers, small sofa and sitting area, desk and chair, refrigerator, large picture window and air conditioning.  Suites E and F, on the top Star Deck, and K and G on the Sun Deck, are slightly larger as they are located on the corner front of the bulkhead, Suites A and D are on the back corner, Suites C and B are centre back of the bulkhead and Suites H and J are front centre without the balconies.

 

The Boat Deck has a small library, the main lounge and bar, a coffee shop, the small shop, the pool and promenade. The Restaurant Deck houses the main restaurant, several crew only area and 3 large C class cabins.  The Restaurant serves breakfast, lunch and dinner each day when you are onboard and offers a varied selection of menu, with a French/Polynesian feel.  Meals are informal and served family-style, usually everyone at the same time, unless the ship is totally full, when they may have two seatings. 

 

There is also a smaller lounge and bar, a video/entertainment room, reception area, fitness room with ocean view, and facilities for fishing, snorkeling, scuba diving and cultural activities such as palm leaf hat weaving, pareo wearing lessons and informational and cultural lectures and talks.   

 

The Aranui 3 offers a 14-day/13-night, 800-mile cruise, stopping off at 8 different islands, with 2 stops at Ua Poa, Nuku Hiva and Hiva Oa.  Each cruise is the same itinerary, as this is governed by the schedule required by port restrictions, and for the freight delivery and pick-up.  Some islands offer a stop of a few hours and others can be a whole day.  The full itinerary is laid out below:

• Day 1. Departure from Papeete dock at 10:30am
• Day 2. Fakarava, the first stop, is the largest atoll in the Tuamotus. There is snorkeling and scuba diving for people of all levels. You can swim and snorkel in the lagoon and watch the colourful tropical lagoon fish. The entire morning will be spent on shore. Lunch will be served on board while we set sail for the Marquesas.
• Day 3. Today is spent at sea, so you can relax with a book on one of the sun decks, swim in the small pool or enjoy the immense South Pacific. Balmy evenings mean reading or catching a movie in lounge/library, chatting with an authority on Marquesan culture or archaeology, or socializing on the upstairs deck/bar with your fellow adventurers.  The friendly Polynesian crew treat you like welcomed guests and proudly introduce you to their rich culture, almost every night singing Polynesian songs on their ukuleles. 
• Day 4. This morning, from your windows or the deck, you'll see the soaring mountain spires of Ua Pou. Whenever the Aranui stops, villagers greet it. As the crew unloads supplies - from cements to sugar - and loads sacks of copra (dried coconut meat), you'll explore the tiny town of Hakahau with its church with a hand-carved wooden dais. You can meet some talented woodcarvers and hike up a hill for a breathtaking view of the distant cloud-covered mountains. At Rosalie's Restaurant, you'll taste your first Marquesan lunch: breadfruit, a marquesan staple, along with curried goat, barbecued rock lobster, poisson cru (raw fish marinated in lime juice and soaked in coconut milk ), taro and sweet red bananas.
• Day 5. We sail on to Nuku Hiva and into Taiohae's spectacular bay; a giant volcanic amphitheater dominated by towering cliffs streaked with waterfalls.  As the Aranui unloads, you can explore Taiohae, the tiny Administrative capital of the Marquesas. Taiohae Bay is where 23-year-old sailor, Herman Melville and a buddy jumped a whaling ship in 1842, stayed around the islands, and 10 years later wrote the famous novel, Moby Dick. We follow their escape route by 4WD jeep along steep, winding dirt mountain roads to the village of Hatiheu to visit an archeological site. We'll have lunch at Yvonne's Restaurant, one of the best restaurants in the Marquesas, where the specialty is pig baked in an underground oven. You'll meet the owner-chef, Yvonne, who also happens to be the town's energetic mayor. After lunch, we will travel to the valley of Taipivai. The area is dotted with stone tiki gods and sacred ritual sites (me'ae) and immense stone platforms (paepae) where the Taipi built their houses. Enigmatic petroglyphs of birds, sacred turtles and fish are carved on huge boulders. The Aranui's whaleboats will sail down the river to return you to the Aranui 3, which has sailed round the island from Taiohae to Taipivai, and is anchored in the bay.
• Day 6. Today the ship arrives at Hiva Oa. You will have plenty of time to explore Atuona, the second largest village in Marquesas. This is where Paul Gauguin lived and did some of his best work. You can visit the colonial store where Gauguin shopped and go into a replica of the Impressionist's infamous "House of Pleasure." As you walk up the hill to the cemetery, you'll have sweeping views of the harbor. Beneath a huge frangipani tree is a tombstone with the simple words: Paul Gauguin 1903. Nearby is the grave of another famous European who also was seduced by Hiva Oa: Belgian singer-composer Jacques Brel, who died in 1978. You'll also enjoy another lavish Marquesan lunch at Hoa Nui Restaurant, before returning back to the ship later in the day.
• Day 7. Fatu Hiva is the most lush and remote island of the Marquesas. It's also a center of Marquesan crafts. As our guides lead you through the village of Omoa, you'll see women hammering mulberry, banyan or breadfruit bark on logs. They dry it and then paint ancient Marquesan designs on their famous tapa cloth. Fatu Hiva is also well-known for its hand-painted pareus (sarongs) and monoi, a perfumed coconut oil scented with tiare blossoms and sandalwood. Skilled woodcarvers will invite you into their home/studios to show off their wares.  Most of the time, Aranui 3 Passengers are the only outside visitors to this remote island, bar the odd private yacht sailing by!
• Day 8. Today it's back to the other side of Hiva Oa island.  You'll travel by foot or by 4WD jeep to the most important archeological sites for tikis (ancient, human-like religious sculptures) other than Easter Island. Our trained guides will show you these mysterious jungle ruins of Puamau and tell the stories of these haunting statues of an ancient civilization.  Along the way, there is plenty to see and some amazing photo opportunities.
• Day 9. The ship will anchor at the small island of Tahuata today and on this leaf-shaped island, the air is thick with fragrant scent of tiare, frangipani and history. Tahuata is the site of the first French settlement in the Marquesas in 1842. The huge church built by the Vatican, is decorated with beautiful Marquesan carvings. We'll picnic in the Valley of Hapatoni and swim and snorkel at a nearby beach, before returning to the ship for dinner.
• Day 10. Today is a stop at the smallest island of the trip, at Ua Huka.  We'll visit a museum with exquisite replicas of Marquesan art. Some Aranui passengers will explore the island by four-wheel drive; others will ride the Marquesan horses. For three hours, we will explore the mountain landscape with heart-stopping views of the Pacific. The wild horses (brought from Chile in 1856) thrive here, outnumbering the islands 476 residents. We'll have a Marquesan lunch at local restaurant and have plenty of time to visit studios of woodcarvers. We'll visit the arboretum and the garden of fruits and flower. Back on the Aranui, it's Polynesian night with dancing and buffet dinner on the decks.
• Day 11. The Aranui will dock back in Nuku Hiva at Taiohae in the morning. You may take the Le Truck back to the town center and spend free time there. At noon, the ship will sail again to Ua Pou, returning to our first stop in the Marquesas, Hakahau. This is your last chance to buy Marquesan crafts.
• Day 12.  At sea.  Time to relax, catch up with your book, your tan or swop photos and talk about your amazing trip with the other passengers.
• Day 13. On lovely Rangiroa, the largest atoll in the world, you'll picnic on coral beach. Aranui passengers can swim and snorkel in a translucent lagoon. Excellent snorkeling and scuba diving are available for people of all levels. Rangiroa is an underwater jewel box with stunning colors of corals and clouds of tropical fishes. You'll have the opportunity to purchase black pearls from local black pearl farms and learn about the pearl farming.
• Day 14. Arrive back in Papeete around 9.30am.

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