The sail around to Hatihe'u gives us a great view of the spectacular Marquesan scenery
The place tends not to be on too many cruising itineraries because, apart from the stunning scenery, the anchorage can be tricky. Almost all of the time, a northern swell makes its way into the bay, which can make it a bit rolly, especially for monohulls. That same swell makes for pretty treacherous surf for anyone trying to land a dinghy on the beach. Hatihe'u does have a small wharf, where it is possible to launch and land without braving the surf, but the swell makes it necessary to get out of the boat quickly and then get the boat out of the water quickly behind you.
For us, the kayak was ideal for this because, although it is less durable than our dinghy and harder to get into and out of, either one of us can lift it out of the water with one arm and carry it over to a nearby lamppost to tie it off. After that, it's a five hundred-meter walk to the village.
Scenes from our time in Hatihe'u, including steep winding roads, friendly eels feasting on the scraps from the local restaurant, and wild pigs
The few visitors to Hatihe'u generally come on guided tours of the island by road. The main, intra-island road that begins at the airport passes through Taiohae and Taipivai, before eventually terminating at Hatihe'u, Population: about 230. There is another minor road that goes along Nuku Hiva's northern coast from there to some of the more distant villages, but it is mostly one lane and less frequently maintained. For most purposes, Hatihe'u is the end of the road.
The other main source of visitors to Hatihe'u is cruising boats anchored in Baie D'Anaho. There is a horse trail that goes over the ridge separating the two bays. Some of the more adventurous tours do the trail from Hatihe'u to D'Anaho, then take a break for a snorkel of the bay's coral before heading back.
Maryanne and I considered doing the trail ourselves when we were anchored in Baie D'Anaho, if not for just the exercise. The problem, however, is that it has a reputation for being very slippery, with ankle-deep mud if there has been any rainfall at all within the last four or five days. The day we first tried it, we had barely started our ascent when it became clear to both of us that there was no way we were going to get through the hike without falling and getting coated with mud, like kids at summer camp. Since we knew we were going to be taking Begonia around to Baie Hatihe'u anyway, we changed our minds and walked the other way to Baie Haatuatua.
Hatihe'u is a very trim little village. It has a part-time museum and a part-time souvenir shop, but the only thing there really is to do in the village, apart from walking around with your jaw open at the views, is to eat at Yvonne's.
Yvonne's is reputedly the best restaurant on all of Nuku Hiva. Personally, I think that may be a bit of hype to make people feel better about the hours-long drive to get there. Maryanne and I popped in to have a look at their menu for another day. One thing led to another and, the next thing we knew, we had been given a table by the menu board.
Our meal was good and surprisingly reasonably priced. If we lived in Taiohae, I'm not sure we would be willing to make the drive on a regular basis just for the restaurant. As it was, it was definitely the best restaurant this side of Taiohae.
After the lunch rush was over, we got a little bit of entertainment as the staff disposed of any uneaten leftovers in the river that runs alongside. It is filled with giant eels, which appear from their hidey-holes to greedily mop up the offerings.
Newly fortified, Maryanne's and my plan was to walk a few kilometers up the main road to the top of the valley, where we were hoping to be rewarded with views from several viewpoints. As we were about to turn from the waterfront onto the main road, Maryanne stuck out her thumb at an approaching car.
The couple inside had also just left the restaurant (they had been sitting three tables away from us) and had barely made it out of second gear after pulling away from their parking spot. Marc and Laura were Swiss cruisers with a boat in Taiohae who had rented a car for a day of sightseeing. When we told them we were just going to some of the nearby viewpoints, they agreed to let their car do the climbing for us. They dropped us off at the summit of the pass, and only then did I realize that we had really wanted to go to the far viewpoint, which was about another kilometer or so down the steep hill.
No worries. We had already been spared so much uphill walking that having to do the bit back up to the pass would still be getting away with something.
The viewpoint we were heading for was of Cascade Kueenui, way on the other side of the valley from the road. It's an impressive waterfall, but there would be no way to cross through the valley to get closer. I realized afterwards that on our first visit to Nuku Hiva, we had walked for ages to try to get a view of the falls from the Taipivai side. The climb and the heat eventually defeated us and we returned to Taipivai without ever spotting it.
After regaining the pass, our intense workout transformed into a leisurely stroll as we started the descent back to Hatihe'u. Partway down, we reached the first pair of viewpoints overlooking the valley, where we could see forest, then farms, and then finally, the village in the distance. Begonia was the lone speck of a sailboat anchored in the bay.
Farther down, almost at the village, we came upon several ancient Tohuas, or gathering places. The first was Tohua Kouena, or "The Big Tree". This is a large banyan, whose base has been surrounded by several Pae Paes, or ceremonial platforms, some of which were the site of human sacrifice. Further down the valley there are several more Pae Paes and Tohuas at the site of a village, still under excavation, that was once much larger than the current settlement at the harbor.
Remnants of the traditional villages on the island
For some variety, we decided to take a back trail to Hatihe'u, rather than rejoining the road. It took us through some interesting jungle (complete with lots of face-high spider webs), but seemed to be better suited to ungulates than us. It was very steep and very slippery. We were both glad to tumble back onto the relatively shallow concrete of the main road at the other end.
After a day of rest, we went ashore again. This time with the idea of walking west along the coast road to a couple of high viewpoints a few miles away. As I mentioned before, this is a minor road that probably serves less than a hundred people along its length.
For the first couple of miles, we saw no one else and occupied ourselves by kicking fallen rocks out of the road. After a while, an empty flatbed truck with a sign saying it belonged to a produce company overtook us. With the next village being over a dozen miles away, the driver stopped, then backed up to ask where we were going. When we told him we were trying to get to the viewpoint at the top of the pass, which was just over the halfway mark to the village, he apologized for having no room in the cab, but motioned for us to climb onto the back.
The road turned out to be so steep in places, that had we not had a good handhold, Maryanne and I would have slid right off the back, like a load being delivered by a dump truck. As he dropped us off, we thanked the driver profusely and were again happy to have been spared the arduous climb. From the ridge, we had a view of almost the entire north coast of Nuku Hiva, with the nearby village of Aakapa in the foreground.
A walk between rain showers to another great viewpoint
Apart from a few widely scattered farms hidden in the undergrowth at lower altitudes, there are very few people un Nuku Hiva that live outside of the villages. Looking back and up at the jagged cliffs and mountains, it's hard to imagine that the islands looked much different ten thousand years ago.
Of course, the main drawback to being driven to our destination was that we no longer had the option, should we decide that we had bitten off more than we could chew, of giving up partway and turning back for home. At least the miles in front of us were almost entirely downhill.
About halfway, dark clouds rolled in and we could see it raining heavily in the highlands. With a couple hours to go, we were fully expecting to be caught in the deluge as it moved towards us. We tried to remind ourselves that we were in the tropics. The air is warm. The rain is warm. We'll just end up being really wet, that's all.
It never happened. We watched rain fall all around us and all the crevices in the hills started sprouting white veins of waterfalls. We came around the headland into Hatihe'u Bay and saw Begonia getting a good rinse in the distance. We only got skirted with the edge of a shower, which dampened our windward sides. Ten minutes later, the wind behind the shower had blown us both dry. At home, just after hoisting the kayak on deck, the skies opened up. I volunteered to tie the thing down while Maryanne escaped to the interior. Free shower!
It rained continuously for the next day and a half. Had we not saved time by getting the ride from the produce truck, the kayak would have been a bathtub by the time we made it back to the boat.
Anchorage location >> On google maps
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