Daniels' Bay
Ripple2
Sun 16 Jul 2006 08:36
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To escape being busy in the town we motored 5 miles
west along the south coast of Nuku Hiva.
We've just spent 3 days at Anse Hakatea otherwise
known as Daniel's Bay "after Daniel, a Marquesan of much experience welcoming
cruising boats who lives on the right at the end of the bay"
Going in was spectacular! There were sheer 1000
foot cliffs on the lee shore and further in, an amazing valley going off inland.
Once you ride the wind and waves inside you do a u turn and sit in a flat cove
surrounded by land. you can't see the ocean at all. Looking up the valley
it looks like
the entrance to the inside of the very earth
itself. I've never seen a more seep, jagged, pointy and high place ever before.
It's beyond my capacity right now to describe it. I've taken photos at different
times of day and they don't come close to capturing it. The cliffs nearest to us
are so high and vertical that two and a half hours after the sun reaches its'
highest point, and is moving west, that their faces are totally in shadow. The
sunlight ends about 4 pm here.
And we are the only boat here. How nice it is.
Friends of our were here a month ago and there were 16 boats! That would be a
bit crowded here.
At the end of the cove is a small beach and small
house. There are coconuts and various fruit trees. This is where Daniel
lived..... until 2 weeks ago. He died. He was an old man. He had
been welcoming yachties for 30 years and had a "guest book" type record of
the yachts that had been here. The book closed two weeks ago. I'm sure a lot of
people have fond memories of him. Daniels first house was torn down to make way
for filming of a series of the "survivor" TV show. The
contestants "did their thing" in an "uninhabited" place and Daniel got a
house back at the end.
The water here is not clear. But there are at least
2 manta rays living in the bay. We've seen then up close a couple of times. On
land are the ferocious no-no fly. they are tiny blood suckers and you don't
feel the bite. But hours after you come out in itchy red lumps. Several people
we know (well... nearly everybody) have been badly affected. So the crew of
Ripple were content to marvel at the beauty from the boat.
We relaxed (from the "big smoke") for the first day
and the second Annie sewed and Darren checked the autopilot mounts and
took apart the steering gear, adjusted it (it was making a slight noise)
and put it back together hopefully better than before.
It has been a near full moon and clear the nights
we have been here. The cliffs are just as amazing in the bright moonlight. By
day and by night, a magic place.
Alas Christmas is coming and we have many more
miles to go and places to visit. So we now sail 500 miles SSW to the Tuamotu
Group of islands (still in French Polynesia so the few pretty banknotes I
have left will get me not much ).
Chaio, gotta go sailing.
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