I'm enjoying this thread as I hope to get to Tahiti one day.

Regarding your last question about getting from BOB to MOZ or reverse, as far as I get it, coordinating inter-island flights with flights to and from other countries has the tendency to eat up most of a day. This is partly due to the low frequency of both, and partially because they involve different operators who don't seem keen on coordinating their schedules.

Just a thought - if you're going from BOS to Australia, have you considered going the other way and stopping in the Maldives?