Baie de Tai'oa, (Daniels Bay), Nuka Hiva

Seaduced
John & Jane Craven
Sun 30 Mar 2014 01:35
What a truly unbelievable setting for an anchorage! As you approach from the sea, the entrance is impossible to spot and once you get in you can see why, you are surrounded on all sides by towering cliffs, it is truly spectacular! The beach, although beautiful, is effectively out of bounds due to the flipping no-nos again, but lovely to look at.
The following morning, we set off to find the waterfall. There were people from three boats going, so we all left together and headed round the smaller headland to the next bay, and the village. The tide was out, so to get the dinghy over the sand bar, we had to get out and push. We then arrived at a clearing, and as we started to cross the river towards the village we were met by one of the locals who offered to show us the way to the waterfall. He did say that it was mostly fairly easy, but that there were a couple of places where we might come unstuck. When the guide said he would take all 9 of us for 1000 local francs, about £6, it seemed like a no-brainer.
The walk through the village was just the start of a never ending trail of beautiful and spectacular scenery. It is difficult to describe what it was like, and I am trying to find new words for 'beautiful', 'spectacular', so the blog doesn't become too repetitive, but all you say as you are walking along is 'wow that's beautiful' over and over again!

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Crossing the river to the village

The first part of the walk took us through the gardens. In the village there are 13 families, all farming and rearing their own pigs, cows and goats. They also have some wild horses as well which they domesticate. The are no roads to get here, so it is unusual that there are cars there.
The garden area was like a 'Garden of Eden'. Each was packed with trees laden with fruits & chillies, and vegetable patches, along with bougainvillea and hibiscus bushes. The overall effect was stunning.

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The small village church

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Walking through lush gardens full of fruit trees and vegetables

Once we left the village, we were out in the country and for next hour and a half walked through woodland, crossing streams as we went until we got our first sight of the waterfall. This first view point is only about half way there, but is the only place where you can see the top of the waterfall. The waterfall, at 350 metres is said to be the third highest 'of its kind' in the world. The 'of its kind' part of the description is crucial, as when someone looked it up on google earth back in the UK, it is actually the 282nd highest waterfall in the world. Size notwithstanding, it was fabulous. When we arrived at the swimming pool at the bottom, we all swam under the fall and the water was certainly refreshing after the long walk!

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The top of the waterfall - you can see this about half way there, but not when you reach the bottom!

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Towering cliffs round the waterfall basin - if you looked up while walking, you almost fell over with vertigo!

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The slightly murky but wonderfully cool and fresh swimming pool at the bottom

The night before, when we had stayed in the bay, we had been inundated with flying ants and bugs generally, so as soon as we got back to the boat,w e upped anchor and headed the 5 miles west towards Baie de Taiohae, where the ARC rendezvous and party was to be held the next night.


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