In August 1768, under the command of then-Lieutenant James Cook, HMS Endeavour and her crew set sail for Tahiti to observe the transit of Venus - before opening sealed orders for a secret assignment.

I first encountered Tupaia while researching Captain Samuel Wallis and the European discovery of Tahiti, and the subsequent voyages of James Cook and William Bligh,' Anne explains. 'In both Wallis's ...

a peninsula on the northern tip of Tahiti marked by a white six-storey lighthouse. Traditions and old techniques Point Venus got its name from James Cook, who set up camp here to watch the 1769 ...