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.

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.

## 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.

## References

Mitimotu is a fictional South-Pacific island and serves as a stand-in for the location of numerous Adventure Fiction locations. The name *Mitimotu,* as well as several of its inhabitants, is borrowed from the setting of Season 9 of the Archer animated TV-series.