Niku Hiva/ diary

Mawari
Bob & Sue Dall
Sun 17 Jun 2012 07:18
Niku Hiva is the largest Marquesan Island and our final stop before leaving for the Tuamotus Atolls. To explore this island we hire a car with Vulcan Spirit (Richard and Ali) and head off for another memorable adventure! The first few miles went well. . .We stopped at Baie Du Controleur to admire the view and were given an 'arm' of about 40 bananas as it was mothers day! This bay was the setting for Herman Melville's book, Typee. ( he also wrote Moby Dick) Melville jumped a whaling ship here in 1842. Robert Louis Stevenson also stayed here.
We got as far as Baie D'Hatiheu before the road disappeared completely. To cut a long story short, it took about 9 hours to circumnavigate this small island and we only met one other car all day!
After recovering from our expedition we sailed 5nms to Daniels Bay. This spectacular anchorage is almost completely surrounded by towering cliffs once through the entrance.
That evening we all dinghy ashore to a gathering on the beach round a fire which helps to keep the No No's at bay. It's pitch black as we drag the dinghy up the beach and tie it to a tree , there's a strong aroma in the air, as Tamsin activates her wind up torch 4 large, curious, faces appear under the tree, and I tread in a cow pat. . . .
The walk to the waterfall the next morning, is stunning, a wide grass track winds thru coconut palms, banana and mango trees along a deep valley. Tropic birds, Terns and Frigate birds soar above the steep sides. There is no sign of human existence apart from an up turned bin with crash hats in it to protect walkers from falling coconuts. . . . . .

----------
radio email processed by SailMail
for information see: http://www.sailmail.com