For those of you who may visit Hiva Oa, here is some information that you may find useful.

The anchorage is well protected, but you must either anchor outside the breakwater, or once inside, behind the line of the yellow markers. This is to allow the supply ship space to turn around.

Holding is good and depths are around 8 mts. A stern anchor will be necessary.

There is a concrete dinghy dock which gets very slippery when wet, so take care. Also, you may find it helpful to put a stern anchor out as well as otherwise you may find your dinghy is washed up onto the rocks, or under the jetty when the tide comes in.

There are good facilities on the dock. Fresh water (though please bear in mind that the island relies on rainwater and if it is a dry season, you are taking the island supply!) and a shower facility. Plus there is a concrete washing trough, so you can do your laundry.

There is also garbage collection. Simply put your garbage near the boat that is on the dockside (you will know what I mean when you see it).

There is Wi-Fi and availability is good in the anchorage. You can log onto (and subscribe) either Hotspot-WDG or Ioranet. The cost varies depending on how many hours, but the hours can be used anytime and in many places in French Polynesia.

Transport to and from restaurants or hotels are free when you make a reservation (or if you just walk in off the street they will take you home). Otherwise, as we say in ol’ blighty, it’s shank’s pony (walking to all you foreigners) or hitching a lift.

Be warned, it is quite a trek into Atuona. Monday to Fri, when the tourist office on the quayside is open (they close between 12 and 2) they will call a taxi for you.

Clearing in is only between 7am and 10am, Monday to Friday at the Gendarmerie.

I have to say, the clearing in was the quickest and most painless we have experienced anywhere. Also the officer spoke very good English and was very friendly, as are all the islanders. It was very efficient. Regarding the bond, if you are a non-EU citizen, you may be required to place a bond equivalent to a single airfare to your home country. However, if you contact Tahiti Yacht Agency (google them and you will find the info on their website), they may guarantee you for about $110, thus avoiding having to lodge the bond.

There are 3 grocery stores at the far end of town. The best of the 3 is the last one on the left hand side as you go out of town toward the school. They have a fabulous selection, but as my friend Claudine warned me, always check the sell by (or best by) dates as they can be as far out of date as a whole year!!!!! Prices are comparable to Panama, and the selection is better (if you are European anyway).

There is also a small truck that parks outside the municipal Police station, selling fresh veggies. If you want something specific, like passion fruit or something, you can ask her and if she has it, she will bring it the next day.

There is also a man who parks his van next to the veggie van and he sells fresh fish. Tuna, grouper and red snapper. The cost is excellent 800 CPF per kilo (roughly US$8)

Laundry, WOW!!! I took mine to Sandra at Cyberservices (the only show in town I believe) and 6.5kgs cost ……are you sitting down? 2932 CPF (about US$29).  You can call them on channel 11 and they will come and pick up and drop off (for that price they should).

If you want an excellent meal (3 courses), you should call Alex (you can e-mail too). Their restaurant/bar is up the hill overlooking the anchorage and he will come and collect you and drop you off. A meal costs 1500 CPF (approx US$15) but Elianne (his wife) is an excellent cook and it is well worth the visit. Either call him (reservations are necessary) on +689 214817 or e-mail him on pension {DOT} hivaoa {CHANGE TO AT} yahoo {DOT} fr. Alex regularly checks his e-mails and responds very promptly. Keep your e-mails brief, as although he speaks good English, reading and writing are a little more difficult for him.

Also if you are in town and want a drink or lunch you should visit Vito’s little café. It is on the left hand side of the road, as you walk along the main street, just opposite the last hardware store on the right hand side. There is a large car park and if you look behind it you will see her little umbrellas. She is open from 7am, so if it looks closed, walk down and just shout Vito, hello. She’ll come right out. Her food is very good and she serves excellent coffee (only espresso or café longe) and if you fancy something sweet, you could ask if she has any ‘Galette Vito’. They are the best in town.

For anyone (like me) who has back or neck problems, there is a wonderful chiropractor here. He only has morning surgery in Atuona, from 9am to lunch. But he is very good and knows what he is doing. I was there about 20mins and he sorted out all the twists and kinks and all for 3000 CPF (about $30). He isn’t easy to find, but I was fortunate as my friend Claudine showed me where he can be found. You walk past the last supermarket on the left (the good one) for about 200 yds (I paced it this morning). You will pass over a little bridge (though there was no water in the river) and just after the bridge on the left handside there is a drive leading to a little white building (there is a sign in the window saying Photo Marquis or something) the entrance is just on the right of the building. His name is Philippe Cristofini and his number is 79 25 04.

So that’s your lot folks, enjoy!