Paradise on the edge of the world: It’s a 30-hour journey to these remote islands in French Polynesia – but with spectacular scenery and no crowds, it’s worth it

The Land Rover gearbox grinds painfully. Our driver William is the first to bump the poor animal as we descend the incredibly steep path.

On its summit, a moss-covered waterspout, or teeke, watches over the settlement of Nuku Hiva and its bay far below.

Here, in 1842, the 21-year-old American writer Herman Melville jumped overboard and found himself surrounded by Polynesian cannibals. Such was his naive charm and zest for life that he jumped out of the frying pan and fell into the arms of the dreaded Taipi tribe.

He spent a wonderful few weeks in her embrace, then built his bestseller Typee on that experience before detailing one of the main characters in Moby Dick about the “noble savages” of Nuku Hiva.

Edge of the World: A stunning aerial view of Taiohae Bay

I’m in the middle of the South Pacific – in the Marquesas Islands, part of French Polynesia. Midway between San Francisco and New Zealand, Nuku Hiva is the largest of these.

They first fly to Tahiti (10,000 miles from London) and then board a three-hour flight for another 1,000 miles. It takes 30 hours door to door, but what’s 30 hours in the grand scheme of things when you’re not halfway to paradise, but actually knocking on the door?

We walk across an island of dizzying basalt stacks jutting out of the sea, past 1,000-foot (300-meter) waterfalls cascading into gorges.

Local children in the Marquesas Islands, which are located in the middle of the South Pacific Ocean

It takes 30 hours door to door to get from the UK to Nuku Hiva

We pass white Robinson Crusoe beaches alongside black sand beaches. “First came the French missionaries. The whaling boats came later and brought alcohol, guns and syphilis,” says William with practiced ease. “The alcohol was right.”

We drove just past the island prison which has room for three. It’s the only building we’ve seen since we left the airport an hour ago.

I ask if there is much crime and William says “none”. So, someone just locked up? “Yes,” he said. “It’s a drunk tank too.”

We pass emerald green forests, gorges and valleys until we reach the bay on the other side. This is where the 3,000-strong colony of Nuku Hiva is located. This is a French overseas territory where cannibals converted to Catholicism in the late 19th century – good news for future tourism, not to mention the island’s gastronomy.

We check in at Keikahanui Pearl Lodge with sea view bungalows, infinity pool, cocktail bar and typical Gallic restaurant. Apart from this well-run luxury hotel, there is nothing reminiscent of luxury on the island. It is a place for hiking, horse riding, diving and breathtaking scenery.

Driving around the island, Mark sees 1,000-foot waterfalls cascading into canyons and white Robinson Crusoe beaches

In 1842, the 21-year-old American writer Herman Melville – famous for his later writing of Moby Dick – spent several “wonderful” weeks with the natives of Nuku Hiva.

Mark checks into Keikahanui Pearl Lodge, a luxury island hotel with ocean-view bungalows and an infinity pool (above)

Pictured is Fatu Hiva, the southernmost island in the archipelago. Mark notes that the painter Paul Gauguin spent some time in the islands

The Vaipo Falls on Nuku Hiva with a drop of 350 meters. Image courtesy of Creative Commons

It’s easy to see why Robert Louis Stevenson and Jack London followed in Melville’s footsteps, and why the painter Paul Gauguin and the Belgian singer Jacques Brel also came to the Marquesas.

The local men all greet each other with fists and the Shaka sign “Hang Loose” borrowed from Hawaiian surfing culture. The latter consists of straightening the thumb and pinky while keeping the three middle fingers curled and rotating the hand for emphasis.

There was definitely a lot of chilling and shaking. The heavily tattooed and heavily built men look like hangout pros who never do or visibly do anything. But if it’s 35°C and fairly humid, go easy until the hour of sunset.

The Aranui 5 sails over the crescent moon bay of Taiohae. This is the cargo ship that delivers Heineken, toothpaste and bras to the six inhabited Marquesas Islands.

It is also a luxury vessel and will carry 230 passengers on its 14-day tour from Tahiti. The no-bike cargo foredeck hides the pool, bar, restaurant and corridors from the teak-clad cabins.

I go to inspect and enjoy a cold beer under a fan in the bar with a Parisian banker and her husband before William arrives to take us on a sightseeing tour.

The coast is deeply indented by bays and the deep blue bays glisten under the lingering sun. But soon we find ourselves in a shady pavilion, where we scramble on foot over difficult terrain to reach a 500-year-old banyan tree.

Nuku Hiva is the largest of the Marquesas Islands – above it are rock formations on the smaller island of ‘Ua Pou

The island of ‘Ua Huka is also located in the archipelago. During his visit, Mark spies on the only freighter that supplies the six inhabited Marquesas Islands with Heineken, toothpaste and bras.

In Melville’s day, the hundreds of interconnected tree trunks were filled with human skulls and bones. The dead were dried in the wind and then stripped of their flesh before their skeletons were disposed of in the higher branches. Below is a 20 foot dungeon where prisoners were kept between the smaller human bones in a gruesome ossuary. There’s an immersive atmosphere (and more than a hint of sulphur), so we’re happy to head to a beachside restaurant next to the cathedral.

I attend a colorful and delicious-sounding Sunday Mass before eating an excellent chicken curry prepared by a bustle of eloquent women in an open kitchen.

Nuku Hiva translates to “land of the people” and it is still true. It is a socially mobile patriarchy in which someone of low standing can always rise through their strength, courage and leadership. We return to the hotel past the soothing, rustling sound of gravity sucking waves back across the sand, punctuated by the occasional jingle of goat bells.

It’s a communal society, and if you fancy a kid for dinner (the four-legged variety), grab one, because free-roaming herds roam everywhere. The Marxist principle that property is theft is comfortably widespread.

I look at a laminated menu floating on my back in the infinity pool, a second floating martini on the table. Sometimes the simplest things bring the greatest joy.

The coast of ‘Ua Huka. Novelists Robert Louis Stevenson and Jack London are among those who explored the Marquesas Islands

A 15-day trip to Moorea, Bora Bora and the Marquesas Islands costs from £6,540 per person with Turquoise Holidays. Above is ‘Ua Huka