Marquesas –Fatu Hiva 2 June 2024

We woke at a reasonable time and it was a lovely sunny day with the odd cloud in the sky although the top of the island had a bit of mist on it. We had papaya and mango for breakfast and this was followed by Keith’s bacon and egg.

The water was glistening in the sun and the bay and rock pillars around the bay looked formidable. We were going ashore to hopefully get a tour as far as we are able of the island. The catamaran behind us was leaving and they were worried that their anchor may be under us. They pulled up the anchor and luckily it was not. We were therefore free to leave.

We went ashore and the whole village had been to church and everyone was in their best finery and wondering around socialising. We met Angela who had given us dinner from the night before and she had arranged for us to have a driver to take us to Omoa which is the only other village on the island some 10km away. He went and got his Toyota pickup truck – and all 5 of us had to go which meant 4 in the back and one in the front. The man (we forgot his name but we think it was Felix or something like that) said that once we got out of the village one could go in the cargo bit outside at the back. He drove through the village and beyond where we had walked and the houses declined and we were into trees and lush vegetation. The road then went up the steep west hill overlooking the bay and it was a concrete road (one lane only) and very steep with hairpin bends, some of which he had to reverse back to get round. It reminded me of going up the little road on the rock of Gibraltar.

The scenery was stunning with views across the steep valleys and gorges which were different shades of green and browns and everything looked so vibrant and fresh. The road continued to climb to the top and there was a vantage point looking down over Hanavave, the village off the Baie de Vierges. You could see the roofs of the house spread along the flat of the valley and the trees and coconuts trees spread around them and the lower sides of the valley. The road continued into the next valley and then ran out and we were then on to a dirt road. There were grasses (Fiona thinks fountain grasses) growing at the side with long purple/brown headed tops swaying in the breeze. There were wildflowers- with reds, purples, yellows and white. We carried on up and came to what must be the old central core of the volcano with its ragged edge of rocks and pinnacles on its circular edge. It was an amazing sight with green foliage covering it. There was a great blue sky and we were lucky to see it without cloud. Our driver was clearly proud of the island, but he spoke very little English.

We carried on and the track began to descend and we were soon into some large what I think were acacia trees with silver trunks and branches and green leaves, but each tree was flat on the top so with a number together it was like someone has taken a hedge strimmer across the top. These trees grew from the steep sides of the hills and there were lower bushes and shrubs. There were some dead acacia trees with just their grey trunks and branches like skeletons leaving a reminder of their past. We continued to descend and the ridges of the valleys spread out like fingers or tree root shape. We then came to a point where we could see Omoa below with its little harbour and framed by the blue turquoise sea. We continued to descend and the track meandered down with more hairpin bends through the trees and vegetation, flowers and grasses. The bay opened up and we could begin to see the houses spread-out along the valley floor. Before we arrived at the village Keith who was in the cargo bit had to get into the back again.

We came down into the village and drove through over a river and a grass football pitch. This seemed to be a bigger floor valley and there were more houses spread along it. It seeded more affluent than Hanavave and we passed two supermarkets and we stopped at the second which was Utile, the same brand that was in Nuku Hiva! We got out and walked down to the sea passing the supermarkets and houses and there on the front was the villages meeting place which was a large flat area with lots of stone Tiki (statues) of fish and humanoid shapes. It was alongside the sea which did not really have much of a beach and the surf was pounding on the dark brown stony shore. Oddly next to it on the front was a sort of builder’s merchants – why nobody wanted to live on the front seemed odd.

Once we looked around we got back in the truck and retraced our route back stopping at various photo viewpoints where sometimes the view does look different when seeing it from a different angle. Our driver also put on some music which was Marquesian and it sounded sort of Hawaiian with singing in French and it seemed very apt for the lovely scenery we were viewing. We eventually got back to the steep hill down where at certain corners he had to reverse back to get round the corner which was a bit disconcerting. We stopped and could see Stormbird in the water below with the steep cliffs coming up each side.

We eventually got back to the port at Hanavave and got out. The trip had been well worth it as we had seen what we could of the island. We all agreed that this was the most attractive we had seen so far which is why they say this is the most beautiful island. We came back aboard and had a light lunch of cheese, meats and salad and with what bread we had left. We could not buy any today as there was none in any of the shops.

The main fridge was frosted up so we decided to defrost it. This took a number of hours as the ice on the plate was quite thick. It meant leaving it off and taking everything out. I had also checked the generator again and saw a small leak again at the same point and I thought that the jubilee clip we put on was not tight enough so I changed it and hopefully that will resolve the issue.

We had heard from the local French boat that snorkelling around the point was good. Keith, Andy and I therefore set off to visit this area as the bay was quite cloudy. We saw the French again and they said that one of them had seen a hammerhead shark. We set off (not sure about the Nobby Clark) and went round the point and decided to try along the rocks. Keith and I got out and it was like being at Kicker Rock again (Galapagos). The rock face went straight down and there were a lot of fish along the rock and sea urchins. The fish were all sorts of colours – yellow and black stripes, yellow, brown, black, orange and black, blue etc. One of them looked like a leaf which was yellow with a pointy nose. We did two snorkels at different points and the fish life was the same on both snorkels but also I noticed some coral on various points and in good health.

We came back to Stormbird and via Coho a boat we had seen in Nuku Hiva and a couple we had met on our waterfall walk. We therefore invited them for a drink. The fridge had defrosted and we got it back working but this meant our wine and beer were not that cold.

Coho’s owners Gordon and Louisa came on board and both were from Canada but now lived in New Zealand in the bay of islands. They had sailed this way 34 years ago and stayed in New Zealand ever since and were now sailing the area again. They were very interesting and told us they had just been to Tahuata which they said was lovely.

Once they left we had an aubergine/melanzana supper which we lovely and it had been a great day.

Crewing Opportunity

We have arrived in the Marquesas in French Polynesia and will explore these islands and then move through to the Tuamotu’s before getting to Tahiti about the end of July 2024. There may be some space on Stormbird during this period should any sailor/reader be interested in joining for this period or part of it in what must be one of the most distant and beautiful places in the world.

Year Two

In addition, in year two I will be going from New Zealand in early January 2025 across to Sydney and up the Eastern Australian Coast, Indonesia and probably across the Indian Ocean to Cape Town and I will need some more crew.

If there is any interest do email me at  hine.nick9@gmail.com  

The blog will continue as we move through French Polynesia and beyond.

If you have any comments or suggestions about the blog do email me on hine.nick9@gmail.com  I can only upload one picture a day and visit our website www.stormbirdgoesglobal.co.uk