Rolling, Rowing and Rambling in Ua Huka

Not many sailboats visit the smallish island of Ua Huka in the Marquesas. The only anchorages are on the south coast and reputed to be uncomfortable, in turn making landings difficult as well. Marks’s first comment “These bays should not be called anchorages!” sums up our time onboard. Even though we planned to be there in pretty calm conditions (NE winds 10-15 knots, swell under 2m), the wind was very gusty and fluky, turning Irie around and around and having her sit on a lee shore regularly, when the wind followed the land and, accelerated, came into the bay from the south. The swell still managed to enter as well, so we rolled and jerked the whole stay. The constant flow of seawater onto our bottom steps turned them green, just like Irie’s water line and bottom! Our recommendation to visit Ua Huka by boat is to wait for a forecast with winds less than 10 knots from the northeast and a swell of less than 1.5m – it will be as calm and comfortable as it ever gets, but you have to get there first…

Rowing to shore and parking the dinghy in Hane Bay

 

Luckily, once onshore, it is comfortable and there is plenty to see and do. But first, with no dock or big sandy beach to land, there is some exercise to be had. Every morning, we dropped our engineless inflatable dinghy and clumsily rowed the half a mile to shore, which took about 20 minutes. Then, we had to haul the awkward thing over some rocks and above the high tide line to a level “parking spot”, where we left it, unlocked, and set out for half a day or a day. The islands of French Polynesia are very safe and the people – especially in the Marquesas – are extremely friendly. They all greet you; some of them shake your hand, introduce themselves or have a chat. Others invite you over to their house or give you a stack of bananas. The result of that is that we have about 100 bananas, all turning ripe as we speak!

Students carving tikis out of rosewood

 

On our first encounter in the small village of Hane, we met the principal of the local vocational school. He gave us a tour of the buildings and the garden, introduced us to teachers and pupils and encouraged us to chat, in English, with some of the students. After checking out the little store (no baguettes – they had been out of flour for three weeks) and church, and waiting for an hour long rainstorm to pass, we headed for Vaipaee, the biggest village on the island with about 200 people. This town lies only 2 miles away over the water, but, by winding road it is about 10 miles. We started the walk through the barren, but fascinating landscape, enjoying the views and the good, paved street. It was cloudy, so not too hot and the road was leveled against the rocky cliffs, so not too steep. This is my kind of walking!

South coast of Ua Huka towards Vaipaee

 

About halfway, near the airport and the nicely erected structures at the site of the upcoming December festival, we hitched a ride with one of the few cars, hoping to avoid the next rainsquall. A friendly lady picked us up and gave us a tour through the village, before we got out to inspect the narrow, canyon-like bay of Vaipaee. We both agreed that Hane is the better place to anchor. The small town boasts an interesting museum – called “the best of the Marquesas” in a few guidebooks, a nice church with all its statues and scenes depicting facets of the bible carved out of wood, and a few stores. We easily hitched a ride back to Hane in the afternoon.

Church entrance in Vaipaee

Vaipaee museum

 

The following day, we walked the coastal road to Hokatu, passing a viewpoint and some wild goats and horses. These animals outnumber the local people by 10:1. Once in the beautifully located town, we braved the heat and the humidity, to hike up a few hills to see what we could find. We were looking for artisans, willing to sell or trade for their wood carvings. These are known to be the best and most affordable ones in the Marquesas. It was very quiet all around (the Taporo cargo vessel was in Vaipaee, attracting everyone to pick up goods, especially flour) and in the end, we found someone with a key to the artisanal building near the water. After looking around and choosing and comparing some pieces for an hour or so, Mark and I went home – by car – with $100 worth of wooden treasures. It had been a while since we spent some money; believe it or not, but life in the Pacific can be cheap! :-)

Hokatu’s waterfront

 

A day of rest, while rolling, was in order, after barely sleeping at night, and on our last day in Hane (Sunday), we set out towards the hills. One of the church going villagers gave us good directions to reach the local archeological site. The walk was uphill the whole time, but doable, albeit the high level of humidity and the gallons of sweat we had to shed.  We took our time and easily found the ruins on a flat part up one of the hills. Three ancient, weathered tikis stood on the edge of it. Once back in town, we watched the quiet Sunday scene for a while before rowing home, into the wind once more, since it had changed directions… again.

Archeological site in the hills behind Hane

 

One last row and carrying the dinghy ashore on Monday, to pick up some anticipated baguettes, before we slowly sailed to Haavei on the SW corner of the island. We passed two interesting looking islands with hundreds of birds circling around them, before entering the idyllic looking bay. A sandy beach with heaps of palm trees lured ashore and the dry features of the rocks and cliffs around filled our view. It was quiet and attractive, but … rolly and with fluky, onshore winds. Again. Kind of ready for some sleep at night and some chores to be done in a non-moving boat, we decided to pass on this anchorage and – even though it was already 11am - sail on to Nuku Hiva. There, in Baie du Controleur, we found an incredibly flat and peaceful anchorage (no crashing waves!) after a fun and smooth five hour sail. Ah... the pleasures of not bumping our heads and toes anymore!

Haavei Bay

Tikis carved in stone in front of Hane’s hospital

Church in Hane

Stone carved statues in front of the Vaipaee museum

There are tikis everywhere on these islands; here in front of Vaipaee’s town hall

Hane Bay – with Irie – seen from the viewpoint towards Hokatu

Picturesque rock at the mouth of Hane Bay

Interesting looking “bird islands” off Haavei Bay

Dorado (mahi mahi) for dinner, once in Nuku Hiva

 

Explorations around Hapatoni, Tahuata

Teii is a Marquesan man from Tahuata, who lives in Hanatefau Bay, the place where sailboats anchor to visit Hapatoni and surroundings. He lives in a little hut onshore. It is a beautifully located wooden structure with two walls and a roof. The only things inside are his mattress with a mosquito net draped around it, some neatly folded clothes on a shelf and some utensils. He has an outdoor kitchen area, a fire pit and a fresh water spring with an unlimited supply of lovely tasting water. Apart from the hordes of mosquitoes it is a cool place indeed, facing the onshore breeze. “Do you get wet when it rains?” was one of the questions we had for him. He does, but then he just moves further away from the part that gets wet.

One afternoon Teii invited us and some other cruisers over for lunch/dinner. Since he is located on a lee shore with massive boulders bordering the bay, landing the dinghy and ourselves was a wet and slippery affair. But, we made it and he had plenty of fresh water to rinse off. The afternoon was social and pleasant, with tasty local food – fatty pork boiled in salt water and coconut milk, bananas boiled in water and rice. We brought some homemade alcohol and a precious box of wine, which he and his cousin were very happy about. By the time we clambered the rocks back to our dinghy, the sun reached the horizon and the tide had dropped. Waves had been crashing into our little inflatable, which had been pushed back and forth onto the boulders. Not a great scene. The dinghy was half full of seawater, the fuel tank floated upside down and the stern anchor was stuck in the rocks. Luckily, the engine did start and we made it home safely, with our rusty stern anchor. We vowed never to visit Teii this way again.

The following day, the family of SV Iona, and Mark and I put the dinghies at the protected dock of Hapatoni, about ¾ mile south of the anchorage, and walked to Teii’s place through the cute village and over the hill. He was awaiting us and led us to well-hidden petroglyphs in the humid forest.  A big stack of bananas became ours, when he hacked the tree down above the ancient rock. An easy way to get to the fruit! Afterwards, he whacked the tree in pieces with his machete and shoved it into the forest to clean up the mess. Since every banana tree only carries one stack of bananas, this is the way it is done. He joined us into the village, where we met one of his cousins, a traditional dancer and artist. Together we gathered some avocadoes, coconuts, limes, a breadfruit and soursop. The day proved to be another good example of the hospitality and friendliness of the Marquesans, and I got to practice my French.

After a day of rest and boat chores, it was time again for more exercise. Mark, Chris, Katie, Leili and I (Chris’ son Dylan stayed home, tired after all the hiking from the previous days) followed a different rocky road out of town and kept climbing until we reached the crest of a big hill. The views were nice and, despite the heat and the humidity, we all felt good after the effort. Another stack of bananas was retrieved the local way to guarantee our vitamin intake and to replace the pamplemousses and oranges from Hanamoenoa. Once our fruit is finished, we’ll have to head back there!

Irie in the Hanatefau anchorage

Irie facing sunset and the ocean – on a lee shore

Cemetery of Hapatoni village

Church of Hapatoni

A neat path out of Hapatoni village

This landslide recently took place and – unfortunately – colors the bay brown

After a snorkel along the edge of the Hanatefau bay

Tricky landing and dinghy parking to visit Teii

Lunch at Teii´s place: Teii, cousin Mark, Pierre, Liesbet and dog “Mon Chien”

Pierre starts Teii’s grill

Chris, Katie, Leili (on Katie’s back) and Teii before our walk to the petroglyphs

Marquesan petroglyphs in the forest

Ancient spot to mix natural paints and sharpen tools

Katie and Leili visiting Irie for some fresh pretzels

View of Hanatefau Bay and the sailboats from the hike up a hill

One of the roads out of Hapatoni village