Niku Hiva Marquesas- The Land that Time almost forgot.

TAIOHAE BAY -The remains of an extinct volcanic crater

After 18 days at sea we finally arrived safely and relatively sanely in Taiohae Bay, Niku Hiva.

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Land Ho-Clean Shaven Skipper.


If you are looking for the Marquesas  in an atlas (does any one do that any more?) they are always missing because the publishers seem to think its a waste of ink to include those few dots in the middle of all that blue Pacific Ocean so they end the page somewhere to the east or west of them. Essentially this part of French Polynesia is one of the furthest archipelagos from any landmass on earth.

The islands are a visual feast of enormous volcanic peaks and lush valleys. Our cameras were constantly on the panoramic function, focusing on one magnificent view after the next.

We spent a week in this paradise. We were careful to be polite the locals. The islands were hotbeds of Cannibalism a few centuries ago and we had no wish to be the "long pigs" on anyone's buffet table!

 

'If you're very good, I'll save you a piece of the fat one in the white hat.'

In fact the locals were nothing but friendly and welcoming and the bureaucracy was nonexistent so we were relieved that the fierce tattoos covering most of them, male and female, were only fashion statements and not statements of murderous intent.

Oyster Owner Alan with painfully fresh tattoo blending in with  the locals-whatever will his children say?

Niku Hiva could quite well have been the Eden that Adam and Eve so thoughtlessly abandoned .The island is lush and spectacularly green and the trees are laden with fruit and flowers of all descriptions.

Biodegradable shopping bag.

Pampelmousse-enormous sweet grapefruits- a speciality of the Marquesas.



DNA testing has proved that the fore fathers of today's Polynesian people hailed from Asia-probably Taiwan. They certainly got much bigger and stronger after paddling all that way! Most of the men and older women are enormous.

We took a fascinating day tour with  a guide who was incredibly knowledgeable about the island's flora and fauna and history.

Ancient Fossils

Enormous Banyan Tree which was decorated with skulls of enemies and ancestors in ancient ceremonies.

Bone Pit on Ancient Altar...the skeleton of a 19th Century French soldier complete with Tricorn hat was unearthed recently.

The Marquesians pride themselves on their hose riding prowess.

Oyster arranged a marvellous party to welcome us to the Marquesas and we were lavishly fed and  entertained by the locals.  Goat and chicken baked in an earth oven were the highlight of the feast..the raw mud crabs didn't go down as well...

The Haka featured several times in the male dancing routines and the frightening sight of the tattooed warriors  would instill terror into even the most fearless All Black rugby player out there.

 

Budding Warrior -Hair stylishly gelled!

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Luckily for the All Blacks, and the Springboks, the Marquesians are not into rugby and prefer dancing!