There is a big rock marking the fork in the road where we first turned right to drive over the cliffs to Taipivai Valley (Typee where Melville lived). This valley has 3 bays at the foot all together called Comptroller Bay. We stopped to get a view from the top of the hill overlooking the nearly empty water (only one boat anchored in 2 of the 3 bays). We stopped at the ceremonial area where they had built for the Marquesan Dance Festival a few years ago. They had 3 building structures and many Tikis decorating the place. Some Tikis were distinctly male while others appeared to be female. One looked like he had been doing butt crunches (see photos)! Then we drove thru the village where many ladies were in beautiful dresses heading to some sort of gathering. It was May 5th and it was Ascension day, which is a holiday here. We stopped at a very small church which was right next to a stone structure with a table. Maybe where they did baptisims? Not sure. It was a lovely little church. The man in his house across the road asked us to please go in and look in his best French. We drove all the way to the end of the road to the smallest of the 3 bays and got out for a stretch. They had beach bathrooms and showers there, much cleaner than the ones we have seen in Mexico. All with real running water plumbed not just the stream!
We headed back thru town and stayed on this side of the river. Just before we got out of the village area, was the sign for Tikipaiki which was a bit of a hike up a muddy trail to an ancient ruins. We assumed it must have been a ceremonial place because it was at the top of the hill with a view of the valley. There were 3 structures, all surrounded by Tikis. It had a very interesting vibe there. We saw a weird looking alien fruit in a tree. Nana said it was called a Sour Sap (see photo).
After our hike we continued on where some of the road turned to dirt for part of the way, and many switch backs above the creek. We had several views of waterfalls at the head of the valley. We saw more wild horses and a glimpse of a wild pig. The road went thru dense jungle forest with skinny lanes. Lucky for us almost no traffic too. Then we came across the top of a peak and got a spectacular view of Hatiheu Bay and Village. This was the favorite bay of Luis Stevenson the Scottish writer. There are huge volcanic spires on the West side and the valley has many colors of green on the different ridges leading down the hill to the village. We could see one boat anchored in the bay and it was Morning Light. We had planed to meet them at the fancy restaurant Chez Yvonne which we had heard is the best in all the islands. We were going for the Lobster Bisque.
On the way down the hill to the village, we stopped at another archaeological site. This site is guarded by a ginormous Banyon Tree. I had been told to look for it and not to miss it. Now way you could, it is so huge. We all walked thru the make shift village that had been updated and buildings rebuilt by the locals many years ago. We crossed a big log bridge and went to the courtyard area. There are several structures here as well and the courtyard had drainage off to the low side. Funny, it reminded all of us of the courtyard in Teotihuacan near Mexico City. We wondered how many 1000s of people had lived here back 200 years ago. If there were 30,000 in that small valley by the big waterfall there must have been more than that here! This area was quite large and near the large protected bay of Hatiheu.
But when we got to the Chez Yvonne restaurant,it was closed for the holiday. We were all saddened by this! Then we see Scott and Mike heading back out to his boat. We honked the horn and then hollered and they came right back in to the quay. We drove thru the village where the locals were having a pig roast and playing Bacchic ball (very popular game here with locals). Drove down the steep ramp and met them at the quay. There was a bit of a surge with the swells coming in, but the water was clear as gin down to 40 feet! We saw lots of tropical fish swimming along the quay wall. We all wanted to come back with our boats too!! We shared the sandwich Nana made for lunch in the shade of some trees and watched the local kids jump off the cliff into the water. Thank God she made that sandwich on a big french baguette as that was the only thing we were going to get to eat for the whole day as everything was closed! Scott and Mike told us that as spectacular as this bay is, that Anaho bay where they spent the night before was even more beautiful. We had just been saying when you think you have seen the most beautiful scenery you can, the next thing you see is even more beautiful if that is possible!
We said bye to Scott and Mike and drove a little further down the road, but it turned to single lane dirt and we had been recommended to not go that way, so we turned around and headed back to Taipivai the way we had came. On the way back we got to see two wild pigs and more wild horses. You can tell the ones that are not wild because they are tied to a stake so they can cut the grass in their yards. Back up the steep valley sides and to the rock in fork in road. Now we were in new territory, going up again on the back side of the island heading toward the airport. We thought the switch backs were sharp on the East side of the island but here they were real hairpin turns! We headed up into a cooler climate where was saw cattle, horses, and pine trees! That was a surprise! We came across a wide open part of the high valley where there was a big ranch. Some of the cattle were fenced in here, while other were just wondering on the roadside. Then we had to go up again on the far side of the valley. Here the road really narrows to one lane with turn outs and the sides of the cliffs above were covered in fencing to keep rocks from falling down on it. When we were at the crest, we stopped to see the view on both sides. There was a spectacular wild orchid growing there. Once on the far side, the pine trees thickened and we also saw fern trees. We thought we were in WA state rain forest for a bit! The road follows a ridge top as it descends to the airport on the NW side of the island. There were no planes and of course everything there was closed too.
I think the biggest surprise to us was the diversity of the plants and all the wild animals. It was a beautiful and fun filled day!
Supply and passenger ship from Tahiti arrives every 3 weeks
East side of Taiohae Can you see Avatar?
West side of Taiohae
Taiohae Bay
Mike and Shelly over Taiohae
The mountains we drive thru
Wild horses in the road
Foal in the bushes
Foal in the light
ferns growing on cliff by the road
Taipivai Valley
Erick, Pedro, Nana and Mike at Comptroller Bay
Comptroller Bay
Ceremonial Park where Marquesan Dance Festival was held
Tiki building pillar
Stone Tiki with structure
Polished butt Tiki
Mike at ceremonial ground
Raised structures with Trees growing in them
building at ceremonial site
River thru Taipivai Valley
Ancient Structure with many plants and trees growing inside
Lovely little church
Stone structure by church
Beautiful flowers and chandelier inside church
Road goes by the river
smallest bay in Comptroller
Lovely bench seat in shade by the bay
Another much bigger church (we think) or community center in Taipivai
Sign showing us the trail
Ancient Tiki structures
Ancient stone and Tiki structure
The upper structure overlooking the rest
Looking down from upper structure
Amazing tree roots
Sour Sap growing in tree
Mike at Tikipaeke site
Waterfall at head of Taipivai valley
more waterfalls
View of Hatiheu village and bay
Morning Light at anchor in Hatiheu bay
Towering rock spires overlooking Hatiheu Bay
A huge ancient Banyon tredd
Shelly at the Banyon tree
wood bridge over creek
Structure at archaeological site
Statue of a ..........?
Courtyard area
other side of courtyard
rebuilt structures
Erick and Pedro
Stone carved turtle
Mike in courtyard
Dense foilage with big banyon tree by rental truck
Beautiful church in Hatiheu
Morning Light anchored in Hatheu
ridges of the valley into Hatiheu
steep ramp to the quay
young boy jumps from cliff
Unloaded copra from the boat
carved tree trunk in Hatiheu village
view to the NW from dirt part of road
Morning Light heading back to Anaho
Wild pig in the road
Mr and Mrs Wild Pig did not rush into the bush! Looks like a razor back to me!
Flat bed truck overgrown by the bushes. Don't stand still for too long!
Fence line with African looking trees
carpet of growth on forest floor
ferns growing on side of road cliffs
clouds on mountain tops
the road and the top in the distance above
The ranch in the sunlight
Truck up the road
single branch penis tree
road heading up into the clouds
do not drive off the road!
road follows the ridge to the airport
road below us in the clouds
wild orchid
more view of the road
rocks and tree stump on road side
sunlight glistening on the ocean with rock in distance
Fern trees
fern tree forest
Ranch in high valley on return trip
ridges of rocks into the valley below
Cows in the pasture
This was a sign at what looked to be a party site overlooking Taiohae Bay below
The amazing island of Nuku Hiva
