Nuku Hiva - Island Tour

The island tour gang (plus Terry and Dena)!

Beautiful Tatiheu Bay

Taiohae Bay with Oa Pou in the background

Tikis

April 17, 2015
 
Island Tour

Our last full day in Taiohae Bay, Fri the 17th, was spent on an island tour in a van with 9 passengers. We crossed the mountains through the Taipivai valley to the SE bays , then over to the NE and Hatiheu Bay. We're not doing too well pronouncing place names when the vowels well outnumber the consonants. Herman Melville's first book, Typee, is loosely based on his time hiding out in Taipivai after "jumping ship" with another crew member.
The TV show, "Survivor " had a series filmed in the same bay in 2000. The company rented out all the accommodations available for 2 months to limit tourists. They also set up the first cell phone coverage for the island.

One part of the tour was a lesson on botany. Although the islands had only lichen and ferns when first discovered they have good soil and climate so introduced plants from many other countries have done well. We also saw many examples of introduced species that have caused more problems than help. Without distinct seasons the buds, flowers and fruit are all on the tree at the same time.

We visited a Catholic church and enjoyed their interpretations of the Christian story in their statues and other art, much of it Polynesian. Jesus and Mary are happier looking, with dark complexions and sitting on drums and holding breadfruit. The snake looks like an eel as there are no snakes here for reference.

Another big focus of the tour was the archeology sites with many similar stories to the ones heard on previous islands. We visited the largest reclaimed site in the South Pacific although the tikis were larger on Hiva Oa. We saw tools used in the rituals of cannibalism-the dungeons, axes, head and neck holders, and burial spots for bones. It was done usually as a sacrifice to a god for safety or food, or to inherit the good qualities of the person eaten.

There has been an unusual cultural side effect to these killings. Since they only used males, families often raised their first born sons as girls. They can procreate but otherwise are quite effeminate. They are still accepted in the culture, although many are gay now, and are preferred in the service industry since they don't need maternity leave. We certainly saw them at our buffet dinner.

On the tour was the crew of Heron Reach, Ginny and Gerry, who joined the BPO after a long sail straight from the US to the Marquesas. Chris and Paul on the boat "Georgia" in the harbour joined us. They hail from the same Seattle home port. Coincidentally, they purchased their boat in 2011 in Cape Breton. It was one of the other boats we considered when we were looking at Maggie.

We are finally having one of those great trade wind sails and have covered 150 nm in 24 hr. We could travel 6 to 7 knots in about 10 knots of wind. Today we are reefed and going over 7in 15 to 18. It is the afternoon now and I noticed that while I am writing down below the other 2 on board have fallen asleep. I had better keep a bit of a watch.