More on Nuku Hiva   Sunday, 09/07/2023

The weather here is challenging. Most days it rains a few times, sudden hard downpours often lasting no more than a few minutes. Then big patches of blue sky appear and it is mainly sunny. Needless to say, everything is very green. 

On Friday Patrick and I hired a car and went on a tour of the island. The weather looked good – and indeed it was, sunny most of the day and no rain (although I got soaked on my return, only five minutes from the boat). The roads here are amazing, carved into the mountainsides, as steep as you’ll find anywhere in the world. In a little Renault Kwid, which I think had just a one-litre engine, at times it was necessary to go into first gear because of hairpin bends and the road being so steep. There are two basic roads, one cutting across the island from Taiohae up to the northwest where there’s a little single-strip airport, and another branching off it, going down to the southeast corner of the island and then up to Hatiheu Bay in the northeast.

The scenery was stunning: deep valleys plunging down from the roads, bays along the coasts framed by mountains, waterfalls and soaring peaks. And, in the centre of the island, a high plateau called To’ovi’i about 600-700 metres above sea level where the climate is much cooler and there are fields with cows and stands of pine, not tropical at all – it feels like you are in the Alps. Considering that the area of the island is only 131 square miles (339 sq. kms), it’s a lot of geographical diversity in a small space.

We finished our trip by getting some drinking water. I’d taken three 20-litre jerry cans and Patrick four, and at Taipivai on Controlleur Bay there is a place with four taps which dispense free spring water. This was very handy because the water at the dinghy dock here in Taiohae is not potable – it comes from a mountain stream and is a bit muddy, and likely contaminated with goat droppings. Fine for washing, but not for drinking. We left getting water until the end, because 140 litres of water weighs the equivalent of another two people, something which our small car on mountain roads did not need.

Patrick and I have been eating together every night, on Manuka. It makes sense because any food you can buy is good for at least two, and this way we can have a varied diet, eating something different every night. Supplies here are very restricted, but we’ve been doing well, making the most of what is available.

At the moment we are waiting for a weather window to move on towards the Tuamotus, an archipelago of almost 80 islands and atolls lying about 500 nautical miles southwest of here, two-thirds of the way to Tahiti. Presently there are strong winds on the way, 30 knots or so. Perfectly doable, but likely to be an uncomfortable ride. Better to wait for lighter winds – by Wednesday hopefully the wind will have moderated to a more normal 15 to 20 knots, which would offer much easier sailing conditions. It should be no more than a four-day sail, so relatively easy – a long way, but compared to a four week voyage to get to the Marquesas, a bit like a short walk down the road…