Historians tell us that Hawai'i was colonized by voyagers from the remote Marquesas Islands in the eastern Pacific about 1,800 years ago and from their neighbor, Tahiti, almost 1,000 years ago.

Imagine what it would take to set out on a vast ocean to an unknown land mass. What do the Marquesas and Tahitian Islands look like? Why would the inhabitants want to leave? I decided to find out firsthand, by visiting the islands.

I learned these voyagers sailed in double-hulled canoes following a chosen star in the night sky.

Vahiani Cowan, a young navigator I met in Tahiti, told me that groups of explorers left on purposeful voyages in small arcs, following the stars to find land.

Holding out his hand, he said, "Imagine one star on the tips of each of my fingers. One canoe would follow the star over my little finger, another one following the star on my ring finger and so on. If they didn't find land, they headed back home. If they found land, the crew would follow its star home. That would be the same star they would follow to return to the new-found land."

Voyagers could fix a latitude direction on these stars, thereby enabling them to find their way to a home island on the same latitude with the same star. Longitude was not necessary.

But why take the risk? There was no overpopulation problem or need for trading opportunities — but there was a need to find a place in life. Older siblings claimed inheritance of land, house and other property, and it was left to younger siblings to claim new territory.

This is how the Marquesas people found Hawai'i sometime between 300 and 400 A.D. A second wave from Tahiti found Hawai'i sometime between 1200 and 1300 A.D. According to historical accounts, the Tahitians conquered the earlier Marquesan settlers. They formed kingdoms and territories ruled by local chiefs, or ali'i. And so Hawai'i began.

MODERN JOURNEY

I traveled from Hawai'i to Tahiti in the modern age. On Hawaiian Airlines from Honolulu to Papeete, Tahiti, the flight took five hours. By canoe it would take 11 days.

After a week in Papeete, I traveled on to the Tuamotu Islands and Marquesas on the Aranui3, a passenger and freighter ship that leaves Papeete every other Saturday for two weeks of sailing.

I joined 97 passengers and freight — from cars to building supplies. Aside from a makeshift airport or private sailboat, this is the only way to see these islands.

Traveling on the Aranui3 was a unique and enjoyable ocean travel experience. We had great French cooking and wine in the dining room each lunch and dinner (breakfast is buffet). The ship arranged wonderful sightseeing tours to historical tikis, petroglyphs and museums on shore — all included in the cabin price.

We did a lot of walking and hiking — a good way to compensate for all the good food on board.

A fun part was no dressing up. Everything was in tropical, casual fashion. Anthropologist Dr. Robert Suggs gave historical tours and lectures on land and aboard the ship. Instead of big theater entertainment found on luxury liners, the Aranui3 has homegrown Tahitian music supplied by the crew.

PAPEETE, TAHITI

My search for Hawai'i's roots began just outside of Papeete at Matavai Bay, about 20 minutes away by taxi. Here, more than 300 years ago, European ships helmed by captains with now-well-known names such as Cook and Bligh landed in its protective bay, with its smooth, sandy black beach.

Remember Captain William Bligh, also known as "Breadfruit Billy," dancing with the islanders on a black sand beach in the movie "Mutiny on the Bounty"?

This is the beach! On this site now is the beautiful bungalow-style Radisson Hotel.

Walking the beach and swimming in the gentle bay with its smooth, sandy bottom is a great way to feel its past history. Instead of grass shacks, there are modern homes on the beach on the town side of the hotel. Kids play and women suntan. The hotel has a large infinity pool, which is lit at night. With Moorea in the distant background, it is a beautiful way to soak up the history and visions of tall masted ships arriving in the bay.

TUAMOTUS, MARQUESAS

The Tuamotus, meaning "dangerous waters," are 78 atolls in the Pacific Ocean on the way to the Marquesas, spread over an area the size of Europe. The Marquesas are a group of islands about 850 miles northeast of Tahiti, just below the equator.

On the first morning after leaving Papeete, we stopped at Fakarava, one of the two major atolls in the Tuamotus. Just as one would expect, there are lots of palm trees on this flat protrusion of sand out of the ocean, surrounded by clear turquoise water.

Some Aranui passengers went scuba diving in what is said to be some of the clearest water in the world; others took walks or attended a small church on the island.

I listened to the distinctive, fast-strumming Tahitian music being played on the beach by locals. They even asked me to sit in; I tried to keep up, playing my four familiar guitar chords.

The next stop was Nuku Hiva, the first of the six Marquesas Islands we would visit. The others are Tahuata, Hiva Oa, Fatu Hiva, Ua Pou and Ua Huka.

All the islands are beautiful and volcanic, often with breathtaking jutting peaks and dense with coconut palms.

The population of the Marquesas is about 8,600. Each village is home to about 200 inhabitants living a simple life and primarily selling crafts.

Village houses here typically have tin roofs. The roads are narrow, usually one or two-lane streets. Many villagers walk, but to my surprise, I also saw $60,000 SUVs drive by.

Across the wide-flung islands, I could appreciate those courageous voyagers who left their homelands and came to the Hawaiian Islands during the final period that many believe to be history's greatest sea-voyaging era.