I read on the wikipedia page that they game from Raiatea and the Marquesas Islands. How would it be possible for any civilization at that time to make such a huge jump to an island they didn't have the verified location of?
hi! you may be interested in these earlier posts
How did the original Native Hawaiians find Hawaii in the first place?
How did ancient seafaring peoples of Melanesia find remote islands like Easter Island, yet miss the Americas? - re Polynesians