Post #572173 by Club Nouméa on Sun, Jan 16, 2011 4:36 AM

For me, many a sedentary moon had passed in Wanganui and the urge to venture back out into the wide world and travel grew ever stronger with the passing of the days. But where to go? As a well-travelled man of the world, I had already had my fill of the usual exotic destinations. Lounging with lemurs in a tropical rainforest, the hubble-bubble of Egyptian hookah cafés, running with the bulls in Pamplona, or the thrill of surviving in a Turkish prison no longer held the appeal they once did in years gone by.

I needed a different sort of travel experience, something that would take me back to my cultural roots as an inhabitant of a remote corner of Polynesia. Yes, I needed to find the source of... Tiki culture.

According to the oracle...

it all started in a land called Cali-for-nia.

I needed to go there, but I had to be properly equipped:

The journey would be an arduous one - California was a land of bears...

and the tribes of Cali were renowned for their savagery:

In addition to which, their paramount leader was a fierce warrior chieftain:

It was said that the people of that strange land were vehement in their beliefs, and that they worshipped a confusing array of pagan idols, none of whom should be idly mocked:

I thought I was ready, but would I really be equal to the rigours required of a California Tiki Tour?

Stay tuned...

CN