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After hauling the tender up onto the beach, above the high
water line, we set off on a trail that first led us into the nearby
village past the cemetery. |
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Hakaui was formerly the royal valley, although there
are only a couple of families that live in the bay now. The families
grow all their own produce. There was more fruit on the trees than
they could possibly eat themselves, so they sell some to passing
hikers. On our way back we bought bananas, grapefruit, passion
fruit, oranges and limes from a family that invited us in to sample their
wares. They had some more exotic nuts and berries to try as
well. Pistachio berries, for example are bright purple, juicy and
sweet but also very dry. They also had some large boiled nuts
that tasted similar to a
chestnut. |
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The village has a small
chapel. |
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Leaving the village we headed up the ancient
road. For most of the two hour long hike we were walking on what was
once a main thoroughfare, bordered with large stones and built up several
feet high in places. There were many abandoned structures along the
way, some of them with such large foundations of stones that they
must have taken years to build. |
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Gradually the road became more of a
path. |
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And in places the jungle was
encroaching. |
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Exotic flowers littered the
ground. |
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We had to ford a river several
times. |
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Some trying to cross without getting their feet
wet. |
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And finally we got our first glimpse of the waterfall.
Some tourist guides claim that this is the third highest waterfall in the
world, although from browsing the web we think that 350 metres high only
makes it one of the top
20. |
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