Mitimotu

Overview
Somewhere in tropical French Polynesia lies the paradisaical island of Mitimotu. The closest major settlement is Tahiti, three hours away by plane, three weeks by ship.

Mitimotu is covered by jungle and surrounded by azure ocean, the surf breaking on miles and miles of white sandy beaches. There are numerous cliffs and gorges interspersed through the jungle and along shoreline, with a spine of mountains running along the length of the island. The tallest is the long dormant Turaku volcano, which towers over the island, letting its tendrils of smoke reach towards the stars.

The only town on Mitimotu is referred to simply as the Ville. It has one hotel, a short-wave radio station, a floatplane harbor, and a smattering of small local businesses. It serves as a supply station for rerouted French ships as well as an exporter of pearls. As a French colony, the official language is French, the currency is the Franc, and it follows French law. The island is officially ruled from the colonial capital on Tahiti, with the indigenous Queen Lanaluakalani functions as something between a local governor and landlord of the island. Her family owns the Royal Palace, a lavish colonial mansion a few miles from the Ville. The French Colonial presence is limited to one colonial gendarme and his Polynesian corporal.

The indigenous population is Polynesian, split between two tribes. The largest is the Ahoako, living mostly in the area around the Ville. They are the most modernized of the local peoples, relying on fishing, pearl diving, and farming for sustenance. Most of the Ahoako are French-speaking Catholics. The other tribe, the cannibalistic Mau Mau, lives in the interior of the island and are rarely seen outside the jungle.

There are currently maybe three dozen non-natives on Mitimotu, most of these Westerners, but there are a few of Chinese and as well as a Japanese adventuring journalist living there.

Hotel Paradis
The only hotel on the island is a two-storey 19th century colonial building on the Rue de Jules Ferry (the only real street in the Ville, 550 metres long and facing the beach). It is owned by Mme. Archer, an aristocratic widow who has sunk the remains of her dwindling fortune into the property. The hotel itself is surprisingly nice although more tan a little faded; silver and mahogany are polished but the tablecloths have been worn thin from washing, the rooms are clean but the roof leaks. The menu is mostly continental, with elements of local cuisine and fruits. Perhaps its the biggest asset is the extremely well stocked bar.

Mme. Archer sees every guest as a potential opportunity, her hope being that these newfangled flying boats will open up the island to American and European tourists. All she needs, or so her reasoning goes, is for word to spread and Mitimotu will become a destination for wealthy tourists seeking paradise.

Jungle
Any journey into the jungle is fraught with danger. There are giant carnivorous lizards, ferocious baboons, poisonous snakes, quicksand, and treacherous terrain. And of course, cannibals (covered in own section).

Mau Mau village
Hidden deep in the jungle, at the foot of the volcano, accessible only by foot, the treetop village of the Mau Mau has never been visited by white people. Unless they were brought for dinner. The Mau Mau is a warlike and territorial hunter-gatherer society who believes that by eating their enemies, they consume their spirit. The warriors will fight with spears, shark-tooth clubs, and bows. Often carrying shields into combat. Their arrows are sometimes coated with the red viper poison.

Transportation
Travel around the island can be done by boat, plane, foot, or even, to some extent, by car.

There is a small steam-powered ship, the Kana Princess, that connects the various smaller communities along the shore and does supply runs to the nearby islands. The Kana Princess can be chartered for private adventures. Apart from this, there is Makao’s water taxi. Makao has an engine-powered boat that can take up to eight passengers and though much faster than the Kana Princess, it is not capable of prolonged ocean travel.

Adventurers who do not themselves have a plane can charter the Tahiti-based Wild Goose, a Grumman Goose floatplane. It is owned and piloted by Archie Sterling, a Chicago born veteran of the Spanish Civil War with a tendency towards drink, and his mechanic, Poe, a foulmouthed farm-girl from Idaho.

As for cars, there are only 17.5 kilometers of road on the island, not counting the tracks through the jungle This road, the Rue de Jules Ferry connects the Ville to the three tribal villages along the coast. Queen Lanaluakalani owns a 1934 Packard Twelve Sport Coupe and is fond of racing it along the coastal road. Capitaine Reynaud owns a 1935 Peugeot 401. The other cars on the island are a handful of Citroën C6’s converted to trucks as well as the Taxi, as minibus-configured C6. These are owned by native merchants and farmers.

The island is big enough that it would take two weeks to cross on foot through the jungle.