Countries visited: New Zealand, Australia, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, American Samoa, French Polynesia, Cook Islands, Chile (Easter Island), United States (Hawaii)

The Happy Isles of Oceania: Paddling the Pacific is travelogue written by veteran travel writer Paul Theroux. At over 500 pages long, The Happy Isles of Oceania stands out as one of Theroux’s longest journeys in career of many epic adventures. This time round however, the journey is unique as the writer spends most of his time paddling around the islands of the pacific in a collapsible canoe.

The book is split up into four parts: Meganesia, Melanesia Polynesia and Paradise. Each part follows on consecutively from the previous part as Theroux begins in New Zealand, passing through Australia and Papua New Guinea before making his way across several of the pacific islands before reaching Easter Island and ending in Hawaii.

The length of The Happy Isles of Oceania isn’t the books only unique feature as it was written during a difficult time in the writer’s personal life. This gave the book a different tone to that of his other travelogues and no doubt would have influenced some of his observations. Despite this, the book is still classic Theroux, honest, funny and never afraid to ask the tough questions.

The Happy Isles of Oceania is still one of, if not, the best examples of an Oceanian travelogue, even over 30 years after it was first published. As always, the reader is treated to Theroux’s matter-of-fact writing style that covers the people and places he visits in way few other travel writers can. The book is unique among the writer’s long career, a longer than normal journey and perhaps his most personal.