We had decided that today was the day for the hike up to the waterfall.

It is about an hour and a half from the village, the first part on paved roads though they were quite steep never-the-less but most of it was on muddy tracks and paths.

As we docked the dinghy, a young woman took our lines, her name was Laurie.

She was looking for people who wanted to eat ashore.

Here there are no restaurants per se, but locals invite you to eat at their homes and this was one such offer.

For 1700 CPF (US$17) we would get a 3 course meal and you could BYO.  So we signed up and headed off to the falls.

They are spectacular, the cascade is some 60mts high. We were lucky as there has been plenty of rain, so there is a good fall.

The village is very pretty with the river running through it.

They have an interesting way of cutting their hedges though.

They simply tie a goat to the hedge and it eats all the leaves!!

Getting to the waterfall is pretty straightforward, you simply follow the road that leads out of town for about an hour, then take the 2^nd turn off on the left, which looks like it is going to a house, but you walk past it.

Be warned, it is very muddy. But a little further on, there is a stream to wash your feet in.

I was unlucky, as it was so muddy, the sole of my sandal came off in the mud. This made the rest of the hike difficult (fortunately, I had packed some swim shoes, so when my sandals finally gave up on me I had something to take their place.)

Somebody had very thoughtfully marked the trail with little cairns.

Which was just as well because the trail disappears and you are wading through thick vegetation.  I was so pleased  to know that there are no snakes here!!

Though I was on the look out for the huge millipedes that give you a nasty bite.

There are however, millions of nono’s (no-see-ums) and I will tell you tomorrow how voracious they were!

When we finally reached the waterfall, it was in full flow and quite spectacular, this was an example of the destination being better than the journey, well worth the effort.

We had timed it well as there was no one else there when we arrived.

I had been looking forward to the swim in fresh water and rinsing my hair (as the shower on the boat is not very strong).

The water was cool, but not too cold and it was lovely. The pool is very deep (okay, it was to me, as I couldn’t touch the bottom) and I was surprised how difficult it was to breathe at the foot of the waterfall.

It was so nice to be able to actually swim at the falls, instead of being fenced off, only allowed to look.

Roger & I sat a while, enjoying the beauty of the surroundings. We had  some fruit and a drink before setting off back to the dinghy.  

We had hoped that there would be plenty of fruit, as there had been in Hiva Oa, but alas it was not to be.

So it was just as well we came prepared this time. It was lovely and quiet and the temperature was perfect.

The trip back was somewhat treacherous though, as my swim shoes had no grip and I kept slipping.

The day was marred when, upon getting into the dinghy, we noticed someone had taken our curly cord.

This is the safety shut off cord for the outboard, without it you cannot start the engine.

It is the first time we have had anything taken and it was a surprise in a lovely little place like this. Fortunately my hair was tied up in a pony tail, so I took the band off and it allowed us to get the engine started and back to the boat.