MARQUESAS ISLANDS
 

 NUKU HIVA,

The population on Nuku Hiva is 2500 with 3 major towns.   The entire Marquesas island population is around 8000 people so this is the major island of the Marquesas.

Taihoe

When you arrive in the Bay of Taiohae it is like civilization again after the tiny ports of the previous Marquesas Islands.  The Bay has houses and buildings all around although well scattered.  It is a picture post card bay.  The tender ride in is fairly short.  A nice pier where the people greet the ladies with the traditional flower lei and the men with beads.  A group is singing on the dock and all the little children are lined up for the adventure of the day. Smiling and waving.  The wooden handicrafts are again on display. They were more expensive here by the way the best values were in Fatu Hiva in Omoa although smaller selection or in Ua Huka on the tour of tiny town Hane where you visit two different stores.

From the pier it is a short 15-minute walk along the waterfront to the main town of Nuku Hiva.  When we were walking the waterfront there were boys on their horses on the beach front, small children playing it was really very delightful. The main attraction is the Notre Dame Cathedral. This is truly a surprisingly modern and very attractive complex. As you walk up it looks like a castle entrance with turrets on each side. Once inside the courtyard you see a statue straight ahead on the hill, smaller buildings with beautiful  wood carvings and then the major Cathedral. This is a LARGE church, with a wood ceiling and wooden sculptures are on all the walls. It is open air and exotic flowers all over the place. The pulpit is an incredible carved piece of wood.  This is surprising in the workmanship and the size.  We were there on a Sunday and saw the service with the ladies all dressed up in long dresses with straw hats covered with flowers singing hymns. It was quite a sight.

The main tour here is to see the Taipivai Valley.  Extremely lush and tropical the drive offers breathtaking views along the way.  This is of course where the famous writer Herman Melville hid out in the 1800’s and wrote the novel Typee. 

Also the road to the airport through the interior of the island offers similar spectacular views. This island is very diverse with lush tropical vegetation, high mountain type vegetation with pines trees and on the other side very barren rock like areas. Truly a beautiful island.

Helicopter Flightseeing is also available. I did not do this but those that did said it was breathtaking and I am sure it was.

The Pearl Lodge offers a wonderful view of the bay and is a nice place to have a cool drink and soak in the beauty of the bay.  They told me about a guide named Jon Peirre who is supposed to be truly excellent.  He is a local, speaks excellent English and knows the history of the Marquesas and can impart his knowledge well and has a great personality.  You can arrange for him and there are also two other guides they recommend by emailing the hotel prior to arrival and making arrangements. The email address is rose.corser@mail.pf   She runs the hotel and arranges a lot of tours. She is an American.  The full day tours are about $120 a person and half days probably around $80. This is about the same price as the ship but you do have the opportunity to control your own destiny and return when you want etc.

 FATU HIVA 

 Two towns of Omoa and Hanavave

As you approach the island of Fatu Hiva what hits you is the wild nature of the lush green mountains rising out of the beautiful blue water.  The morning light hits the jagged peaks and valleys with incredible shadows and you realize you are experiencing something very special. It is extremely lush.  The waves really crash against the mountains

There are no arranged tours here the towns are very small and the idea here is to visit the villages and see how the people in the Marquesas live today.  The ship simply takes you ashore and you wander the small towns

Omoa

Landing at Omoa is a “trick”.  We hit a very calm and sunny day with very little wind or movement in the water. We boarded zodiacs six people at a time.  The ride over was calm but you can also see the surf breaking against the mountains with spray going high in the air.  Arriving at the docks we realize that this is quite a “landing”.  There are rock steps coming down to the water with a piece of carpet to make it less slippery.  However the swells make the zodiac go up and down quite significantly.  However with the help of the staff everyone got off one at a time quite safely.

You can walk or ride in the back of a pick up truck into the town.  The walk is about 20 minutes and some is uphill.   As we approached the town we heard the singing and children of the village were lining the street dancing and singing  welcoming us.  They were absolutely adorable. In the tiny town square there was an area where they were selling  their handicrafts, a post office a town hall and a telephone booth.  Around this main town square are tiny houses with incredible flowers everywhere.  Walking further down the path you come to a house that houses some artifacts, beautiful wood bowls and spears.  It is lush, green with little smiling children and dogs everywhere. It is like stepping back in time to a truly simple lifestyle.  The children gave a concert and you could sense they were excited to have us visiting. Everyone you encounter says “ Bon jour” it was a very nice experience.

The church was really beautiful inside. Gorgeous ceiling in natural woods and a carved altar (Polynesian style of course).

It was warm and there were a few mosquitoes but with mosquito repellant we did not get a single bite.

Sail to Hanavave

The one hour sail to Hanavave offers spectacular views of jagged peaks, lush valleys with all types of vegetation.  A picture could not do it justice.  Be sure to be up on deck to get the full impact of this beautiful island.  Arriving in the bay at Hanavave is one of the most picturesque sights I have ever seen. Lush mountains all around with palm trees going  far up the high cliffs.  A few sail boats anchored in the harbor and one house surrounded by very tall palm trees. There is also a jagged rock that looks like a man’s face looking down on to what appears to be a female face looking back.  It is so clear you would think it was carved but it is completely natural.

Hanavave

Landing at Hanvave is much easier than Omoa.  There is a dock so they can use the tenders.  There is even less at Hanavave than there is at Omoa.  You walk past canoes and all the children who are very excited at the “tourists”.  After walking past the homes you get into a vegetated area with small bridges over creeks.  A horse is in one of the creek beds and it a perfect kodak moment.  It is only about a one mile walk.  This is a smaller village with more canoes and outriggers around and the houses are much smaller.  Everything is very tidy and lots and lots of flowers. You really do feel special to see a unique and unspoiled environment such as this.

HIVA OA – ATUONA
 

The town is home to the final resting place of Paul Gauguin.  You can visit the grave and also the new cultural center in the middle of town.  This center has copies of many of Gauguin’s paintings and is also a center for visiting artists.  The house Paul Gauguin lived in called the “:House of Pleasure” has been restored and is in the grounds of the cultural center.

There is a lot of swell that occurs in this bay so tendering in can take some time and they must be careful when loading the tender.  The tender drops you on shore and then “Le Truck” will take you into town.  The town has some stores, a few souvenirs

ATUONA TO TAAOA

This is the primary shore excursion offered by the ship.  It takes you through town to a dirt road that goes over the mountain into another valley.  There are spectacular views from the road.  The drive is through a very lush valley and it is really quite interesting. The vehicles were four wheel drive with air conditioning.  The road leads through lush jungle and you visit an area of an old Marquesian house and the guide explains how they used to live.  Upon arrival at the main archeological site you walk up the hill to see this fascinating location. The walk is not hard for someone with normal walking ability but may be steep for those who have some difficulty walking over uneven surfaces.  The walk  progress up the mountain in short spurts so it is not over tiring and not difficult at all. As the guide explains the customs and rituals of the Marquesian tribes the remaining ruins are still intact enough to make it easy to help you picture the scene described. You continue up the hill to an area that was very sacred and where the remains of a tiki 4ft by 5 ft stands.  Although a lot of the carving is now gone the eyes and some markings of the tiki are still intact.  It is not as hot here as it is in the town due to the trees and the canpopy of shade.  There are mosquitoes so it is important to wear mosquito repellant. No one received any mosquito bites so with the repellant you will be fine.

After leaving the sacred site you travel to a small rock church that has been reconstructed and then down onto the beach.  The beach is lovely and we could see the Paul Gauguin in the bay.

They will drop you in town or take you back to the ship.  It was a good tour I was glad that we did it.

UA HUKA, VIAPAEE

 This port entails a long and rough tender ride into the town.  It takes about 20 minutes.  Once there the port does have some shelter to make disembarking the tender easier.

There is nothing at the port and a long walk uphill to get to the main attractions. A couple of people did find someone willing to drive them around on the dock but this is not easy to do.

The key attractions are the Museum of Viapaee and the Arboretum.  Two tours were offered, one focusing on these two attractions and then a longer one (only $10 more) that took you all around the island. The part I enjoyed the most was the driving of the island so I would definitely opt for the longer tour.

The Arboretum has been the project of the Mayor of Ua Huka and he has been planting trees and plants from all over the world.  He has varieties of over 6000 plants and has rare and exotic fruit trees that we all tasted while on the tour.   He also has one of the rare “blue parakeets”.  The only problem was there were mosquitoes so it is important that you have good protection when visiting the Arboretum. For non-plant enthusiasts this was a little long in the heat for those that love plants it was not long enough.

The Museum is small and does not take long to visit.  A nice spot with a bathroom break.

On the long drive, (most of the 4 wheel drive trucks were air-conditioned) you see a lot of the island including a bay that Mark, the lecturer, actually excavated for 18 months and found many items.  It is breathtaking view standing on the hill looking down on this exquisite small bay. You also pass the one runway airport, very small and carry on to the township of Hanes.  There are just a few buildings at the first stop with nice clean restrooms.  Local artists show their work here. My husband purchased a tiki here, the prices were excellent.  You can walk down to the waterfront and we saw two small boys playing with little wooden boats.  Simple pleasures it is quite refreshing. They were all smiles and very curious about us.  Then you carry on down to the main town.  Small houses, lots of flowers and yet another shop with wooden and craft items.  I think they have to stop at both shops  - even in this tiny village I am sure that politics are present.  If you are not a shopper you can enjoy the little town and the ocean.

RANGIROA

 Rangiroa is an atoll in the Tuamotu Islands.

Sailing through the pass is really neat. Dolphins were playing around the ship and the land was very close on each side.

This port is primarily for the divers as there are some great dives here. Particularly the drift dive where the tide carries you through the pass into the lagoon.

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