Moku Island

Moku Island is a tropical island featured in Shipwrecked.

Moku Island is an uninhabited tropical island located in the South Pacific Ocean. It has numerous caves and mountains, as well as a large volcano called Mount Moku, which recently began an explosive eruption. The weather surrounding the island is highly unpredictable and features many storms, which are hazardous to boats, earning the island its nickname of "Shipwrecked Island". The island is rarely visited.

History

Moku Island was formerly inhabited, with at least one village still surviving preserved in the jungle. The date the island was abandoned is unknown, but based on the decay in the surviving village buildings, it is likely to have been at least several decades prior to the present day. Surviving buildings include a Tailor's shop and an older temple-like structure. The island was abandoned due to the difficulty in obtaining supplies, with so many ships being destroyed on approach to the island.

Scientific experiments

At some point, Dr. Halani Hale led a group of researchers including other scientists, guards, Tak Yakone and smugglers, to the island to conduct research into tropical diseases, setting them up in a state of the art laboratory. The group cruelly captured animals and tortured them by injecting them with various tropical diseases, such as malaria or the West Nile virus, initially by the use of syringe guns, and then attempting to develop cures for them.

Although Dr. Hale and her team succeeded in developing cures, the chemicals used to create the cures caused severe environmental damage, such as bright green runoff. Furthermore, because her cure cannot be converted to an airborne form, she aerosolized the viruses to spread infection across the entire island, infecting the animal population and severely reducing the diversity of fauna, causing highly unusual mutations in flora.

Geography

The terrain is rugged, featuring caves, mountains and at least one volcano, with numerous sharp rocks on the approaches to the island. Some parts of the island have dense vegetation with forest and jungle biomes. Water appears to be abundant, with several waterfalls, a mountain lake and cave pools.

Climate

Given its tropical location, the island has a hot and humid climate. The weather is unpredictable, showers and storms often developing with little to no warning.

Geology

Volcanism

Mount Moku, the island's highest peak and major volcano, has recently awoken from a long period of dormancy, accelerated by the hazardous chemicals Dr. Hale has spread around the island. A large earthquake struck the island, causing some cliffs to fall into the ocean, followed by the boiling of the waterfalls as magma neared the surface, before the volcano explosively erupted, sending volcanic bombs and fireballs across the island.

Flora

The island has numerous unusual and rare species of flora, including mutated Heliconia, Red Torch Ginger, Ohia Lehua and Tiare. Noted specimens include those of the Boraginaceae, Hibiscus storckii, and Parmotrema robustum species. There is also edible fruit, such as dragon fruit, known locally as pitaya, and coconuts. Some of these species have flowers that have adapted to grow underwater.

The island's Red Torch Ginger has mutated unusually, and in doing so, has sucked all the nutrients out of the areas in which it grows, leaving surrounding trees and plants dead. The cause for this is due to Dr. Hale's experiments resulting in severe damage to the ecosystem.

Fauna

Land

There are numerous species on Moku Island, including panthers, spiders, rabbits and boars.

Sea

The coastline surrounding the island is also teeming with life, including sea turtles, tuna, pufferfish (Tetraodontidae), jellyfish and Linckia laevigata, otherwise known as the blue sea star.

Hazards

"Few make it to Moku Island without getting smashed to bits and that's without a storm."

—Captain

The island is extremely hazardous to visit, even for experienced scientists and guides, with a variety of dangers. There are numerous large and sharp rocks on the approach to the island which pose a danger to boats. Storms are frequent, and can destroy boats moored on the island, for example Captain's boat "Kona Winds". This can leave visitors stranded. The fauna of the island are also dangerous, including spiders and panthers, who will attack those who venture into their territory. The coastal fauna also pose dangers, such as jellyfish stings and the highly toxic spikes of the pufferfish. There are also numerous geographical hazards, including an active volcano, caves which can quickly flood with water, mudslides and steep mountain peaks.

The island is also sometimes targeted by smugglers, who carry weaponry such as guns, who will fire at any scientists on the island. Dr. Hale has also released airborne viruses onto the island, such as malaria and the West Nile virus. Tak Yakone also set up a series of traps across the island.