The Oceanic island nation of Tapauanee consists of three islands and three atolls and are remarkable for two reasons: (1) their well-documented history, spanning back four centuries, and (2) their near-inaccessibility, for they can only be reached by small craft able to navigate the uncertain underwater rocks that link the six. The outer five — known variously as the Five Oceanmaidens, the Five Islands of Tap’au, and, more commonly, the Five Sisters — all developed distinct cultures, each from the other four, while the central island — Malainua — served as both common ground and religious safe-ground. Taken in all, the six are well worth hunting out (See more details at www.visitpolynesiatoday.com), although Malainua in particular is not without hazard and risk. If you go there, bear in mind that each island is roughly a two hour boat ride from the other, with Malainua perhaps three and half during low tide. During high tide, no captain will risk it, so timing your visit is vitally important. The history of the Sisters is long and — unfortunately — bloody. Originally populated by five refugee families that had fled the internecine wars in Old Polynesia (See “Early Tribal Warfare in the South Pacific” at condenashtravel.com), the islands were initially isolated from each other. As such, each developed its own distinct language, societal traditions, governing dynasties, and religions. While all were spawned by common heritage, the off-shoots were varied and have resulted today in a sometimes surprisingly colourful heritage. In fabrics, for example, one can find very different patterns and colour combinations as one visits each of the Sisters (See more at “New for Spring: RetroOceano!” at www.travelgear.com.), each reflective of the separate culture reflected therein. However, as the years passed, initial contact between the islands was hesitant at first. Coming from refugee backgrounds, each island was fearful that the others would try to overtake it, resulting in generations-long wars that left four of the Five Sisters virtually without any population at all, and the fifth reduced to a mere handful. It was at this point that the central island Malainua was deemed to be an island for arbitration. Having no population beyond the local flora and fauna, the Five Sisters decided to treat it as a common ground for governmental purposes and, more importantly, religious rites to ensure a peaceful co-existence between them. (See “Five Sisters: a Model for a Sustainable World Government?” at medium.com.) Within a decade, Malainua had been transformed into a central repository of learning and religious thought for the Sisters. Enormous temples were constructed alongside schools, all built with the understanding that no one from the Five Sisters could live there permanently — the island was to be shared by all. (See photos of temple ruins at www.ahundredplacesyoumustseebeforeyoudie.com) Verbal heritage, passed down from one generation to the next, tells of priests and philosophers whose way of thinking changed the Five Sisters from a land of perpetual war to a land of perpetual peace. Island families began to inter-marry, languages merged, and the result was a homogenous population with a respect for their separate pasts and a vision for the common future. While there has been some development from the outside world (See HiltonHotels.com for current rates and availability.), the Five Sisters have remained, for the most part, inaccessible — and contentedly so. (More information can be found at five_sisters.lonelyplanet.com.) There is, of course, a price to be paid, and the central religious Island of Malainua has had to bear the brunt of it. Victim of rising oceans and undersea earthquakes, the island has, over the decades, slowly receded into the water. It has been theorized that early inhabitants saw this in advance, as succeeding generations of temples and schools were built higher along the sides of the island’s only mountain, while previous ones disappeared into the water. (See “Snorkelling’s Secret Pleasure: Malainua!” at www.underwatertourist.com) All that remains now is the very top of the mountain, with one small temple. At low tide, it stands approximately six feet above the water line, but at high tide, the only signs the island exists at all are a few trees and the temple jutting out from the water. For a uniquely disorienting experience, visitors can stand on the island, up to their their knees in ocean water and no land visible in any direction. However, it is for this very reason that boat captains are hesitant to ferry tourists to Malainua, as the tides are highly unpredictable, leaving the Holy Island of the Five Sisters now a deadly and uncertain place to visit. For more information, contact fivesisterstourism.com.