Land of Plenty

Rhiann Marie - Round the World
Stewart Graham
Mon 3 May 2010 05:47
Sunday May 2nd 1915 Local Time 0445 UTC (May3rd)
 
08:56.71S 140:09.91W
 
Since we spoke last I think it is fair to say that Trish and I have had one of the memorable times of our lives. On the 26th May we arrived in the bay of Hakatea otherwise known as Daniels bay. We anchored up with a few other boats in the bay and had a relaxing evening at anchor. The next day we went ashore via a small river into a lagoon behind the west shore and explored around a little bit and generally enjoyed one of the most stunning environments I have ever been in. We passed up the river as far as the dingy would allow us.The river passed through a stunningly beautiful village with a few houses all surrounded by a bounty of fruit trees and lush vegitation. It truly looked like the garden of eden. We were impressed with Fatu Hiva but this was just breathtaking. The river banks were crawling with large land crabs there were fish in the water and fruit was dropping into the river all around us. In some places it was almost raining fruit - mostly "Pistach" - a grape shaped type of cherry.
 
The next dat we went ashore again to hike to the waterfall and as soon as we stepped ashore a very stereotypical Marquesan guy with tattoos and long flowing black hair was waving at us. We went over to speak with him and he asked us to visit him for some coffee on our return. We asked if he had any fruit as we needed to buy some and he siad he had. 
 
The we embarked on the most beautiful hike we have ever taken in our lives. The village was beautifully groomed and there was a picturesque, tiny open sided church and all the dozen or so houses had fruit and coconut and banana trees right up to the edge of the track which was literally strewn with an abundance of fruit such as we have never seen before! The hike would be two hours into the valley, which in the past had sustained many thousands of people and today had twenty or so. The valley was formerly inhabited by a king and queen and a royal road had been constructed by hand in their honour, I am guessing hundreds of years before hand. It was overgrown and disappeared and reappeard on our hike which was mostly on a very narrow trail. We also passed ancient settlements and tiki still lying in place. It was like something out of an Indiana Jones movie! After wading through two rivers, we eventually arrived into an enormous "slot" canyon rising on three sides around us to, I'm guessing, 800 feet or so. In any event the waterfall there is reputed to be the third largest in the world but due to a dry season there was no flow in the waterfall, but that did not take away one bit from the spectacular location and the emerald green pool at the bottom of it. Off course we stripped off and took a swim in this breathtaking and refreshing pool looking straight up maybe a thousand feet or so to the cliff tops and the blue sky. The pool is occupied by a few large eels one of which I spotted but did not mention to Trish. There are also a large number of fresh water crayfish inhabiting the pool and it was absolutely hilarious watching Trish screaming and dancing from foot to foot in the all together as the crayfish were nipping her toes trying to reclaim the rock she was standing on!
 
We picked mangoes and other fruit off the ground as we returned and went in to visit the villager we met on the way up. He had prepared fresh lemon juice for us and a fruit salad and also tea. We had a great chat and stayed a while and he commented on our boat and that he would love to see it. So over he came and we had some cheese and snacks and a few beers and really enjoyed Ma'ee 's company. He then took our boats guitar and played us several polynesian songs. We gave him some "Rhiann Marie" polo shirts for him and some of his family. After he said he was having a dinner on Friday and invited us to come. He was going to hunt a goat and serve it for dinner. 
 
We agreed that I would collect Ma'ee the next morning at 0700 and we went spear fishing along the cliff bottoms. I was swimming with nurse shark, black tip shark and two manta rays while doing this. Ma'ee saw a large hammerhead also but I did not see him as the visibility was very poor. Anyway I shot 4 fish, which I was happy with for my first time, and Ma'ee shot about 8 or 10 all of which were going to be prepared for the following nights dinner along with the goat.
The next day we visited again and we discussed our sailing to the town which was Taiohae. We then agreed that we would first take his wife's uncle to the town and bring him his son, Ma'ee's wife Marie and their son back the next day.
 
We had had a great time in Taiohae on the Thursday night and we caught up with many friends including Nika and Wooloomooloo and also Grace and Chappie who we had been in radio contact with on the Pacific passage.
 
We had a great wee sail back from Taiohae to Hakatea and at 1730 we headed off ashore to Ma'ee's and Maria's dinner. It turned out he was having the party in honour of returning friends from France and we were one of several boats he had invited along to the goat feast. It was cooked in a traditional "hangi" under the ground on the beach right outside his house, and Ma'ee ceremoniously uncovered it by first doing the "pig dance" a kind of ceremonial "haka" which was highly emotive.
 
The party went on to the wee small hours and we were asked back for dinner the next night which was Saturday. 
 
We took it easy that day and we had the children from Nika aboard while John and Helen did the waterfall hike and we also had Tehia, Ma'ee and Maria's son for the day. We were then given a huge bag of enormous pampelmousse, 6 coconuts and the two largest papaya I have ever seen. They would not take any money for them.
 
We gifted them a hand held VHF and coincidentally Wooloomooloo gifted them a fixed set, the following day. So after Saturday nights dinner where me and a Marquesan agreed to wear traditional dress for the occasion (me in the kilt he in the Marquesan dress but with only I turning up as agreed!), we agreed again to go spear fishing in the morning. I turned up at 0700 as agreed and brought with me a spare VHF antenna that I had aboard. We had some coffee and tea then we rigged up an antenna on top of a large bamboo, and VHF "station" for them. Now between the hand held vhf and the fixed vhf they had a great way of communicating locally. It felt very good to be able to repay some of their warmth and kindness to us in this small way.                     
 
Then we were asked for Sunday lunch to eat the fish we shot in the morning. We were also shown how to crack open coconuts, grate the meat out and also how to make milk from it. 
 
We are completely humbled by this incredible experience which of course inevitably force's one to evaluate one's own priorities in life. 
Mine are still to drive onwards and upwards though...............  
 
We have decided to stay over on Monday and perhaps we will sail with Ma'ee to his "home" island of Ua-Pou we are not sure yet and we have found in the past few days that we are really enjoying for the first time on this adventure not having any pressure to be somewhere else.