We had a good trip around Hiva Oa with the crew of Ladybug and Zulu. We were collected at 8am and taken to an archaeological site on the west of the island. Then it was a long drive to the NE where we visited Puamau. The drive was lovely, the roads wound around the bays and across the mountains with spectacular views. The Tikki at Puamau are supposed to be the biggest outside of Easter Island. After seeing the site we had a lovely lunch cooked by locals in the village. We tried breadfruit and incredibly sweet pink cooked bananas along with prawns cooked in coconut. We had lots of stops during the day to pick fruit and got back to the boat early evening having had a lovely day.
We left Hiva Oa the following day and sailed to Fatu Hiva. It is a short sail but into the wind. We also had a number of squalls which slowed us down. Fortunately the wind was east which meant we could sail and we reached the island fairly early. The Bay of Virgins (Hanavave) in Fatu Hiva is very pretty with steep cliffs and a deep valley. The cliffs look as if they have been carved into faces but it is just erosion. The wind funnelled down the valley meaning the wind would go from nothing to 30 knots very quickly. One boat dragged its anchor and had to re-set it multiple times to get a good holding.
While we were in Fatu Hiva it was Mike's birthday. During the day we hiked to a lovely waterfall with Chris and Rani from Ladybug. The road wound up the valley before we headed into the bush and had to scramble over rocks. It was worth it though. The waterfall dropped about 300 feet into a pool and we all had a swim in the cool clear water. After a beer, we headed back down the valley and went scrumping for bananas! The locals were very friendly and we went into a house where they do bone and wood carving. It was pretty but expensive so we didn't buy anything.
In the evening Chris and Rani from Ladybug plus Karen and Jim from Sockdolager came over to our boat and we had a cheese and wine party. Sockdolager had just arrived from Mexico, they have a 24ft boat and the trip had taken them 37 days!
After a few days rest, we left Fatu Hiva and sailed to Tahuata, another of the islands in the Marquesas. We anchored in Hana Moe Noa, a bay with golden sand and lovely clear water. This is the first time we have been able to see the anchor since reaching the Marquesas. The first day we went ashore to explore but got attacked by bugs, one of which stung Mike's leg so we retreated back to the boat! We spent a few days snorkelling around the rocks and swam with Manta rays. We could see them feeding so got in the water near them. They were very curious of us and swam very close, it was amazing as they were about 6-8ft across. The last day we took advantage of the clear water to clean the side of the boat. Most of the barnacles had dropped off but the side was covered in algae. We also cleaned the propeller and plates under the boat. We were creating a big food source so were soon surrounded by fish. This was OK until the resident 8 foot shark showed up at which point we stopped cleaning and got out of the water!
The sail to Nuku Hiva was 80 miles so we left at 3am after having a sleep. The first part of the sail was good but by mid morning the wind had dropped. We needed to make 5 knots an hour to arrive in daylight and this was looking unlikely so we decided to head to Ua Pou a closer island. Unfortunately, the wind direction made that a very uncomfortable and slow sail so after a few hours we decided to change course again and head to Nuku Hiva. We used the engine to ensure we arrived in daylight which we nearly did. We headed into a bay called Controlleur Bay which is on the SE corner of the Island. It is a big open bay and we reached the entrance at sunset. As we got close to the entrance we caught 2 fish, one got off the line and we lost our lure to the second one. So far since we have been in the Marquesas we have lost more lures and line than we have caught fish!
Once again it was a very pretty bay with a very lush fertile valley. The local people were very friendly and we met a few of them through other boats who had been in the anchorage for months. The village had organised a dance and get together for the visiting cruise ship and we were all invited to go and watch. There was local food including coconut water to drink from green nuts and the adults and children did traditional Polynesian dancing.
We had a walk though the village which has a vegetable growing area and there were Mangoes and bananas everywhere. There was also a Tikki site (the old pre Christian religious sites) which we also walked to. We brought cauliflower and beans from the market garden which we chose and they picked for us. The ultimate in fresh vegeteables.
The following day the bay became uncomfortable as a large swell was rolling in. It was not possible to go ashore and all the boats had to move out into deeper water. We decided to leave along with 2 other boats, Ladybug and Knotty Lady. Ladybug is a Canadian boat but Rani is originally from Walsall. She has been cooking us some wonderful meals including amazing curries. Knotty Lady is Australian though Nicky is from Scotland. We keep meeting up with the same boats as we are all visiting the same places which is nice and very sociable. Knotty Lady have been keeping us supplied with Bananas as they had too many although we did give them a banana cake recipe which they have tried and like!
We all arrived in Anahoe bay on the NE corner of Nuku Hiva at the same time. It is fairly sheltered and quiet so we are hoping to top up the varnish on our toe rail before it all disappears. So far we have done some of the preparation missing out on a hike with the other 2 boats. While we were working we noticed another boat in the anchorage having problems lifting his anchor. We went over to offer assistance and discovered he had tangled rope around his propeller while trying to free the anchor. Mike used 2 tanks of air and spent the rest of the day diving to getting the rope from around the shaft. Then this morning we untangled the anchor from the coral. Mike dived on it, I snorkelled above to pass directions to people on the bow and between us we got the anchor up.
As a thank you we had drinks on aboard the boat we had helped along with another French couple who are on their third circumnavigation and have been sailing for 40 years. It was a very pleasant evening but it is a pity we do not speak more French which would have made it easier even though they all spoke good English. It would also be nice to be able to talk to the locals more. Rani speaks good French so it is always nice to go places with Ladybug!
We hope to spend a few more days here and complete the painting before heading to Daniels Bay and then to the capital Taiohae to refuel before heading to the Tuamotus.
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