Hiva Oa

Tuesday 31st March

Yesterday we set off for the North East of this island in our little Suzuki Jimny. It does the job of moving you around, but otherwise forget it!

Initially however we went further west from our anchorage to a beatiful bay. There were several families there and a lot of surfers playing in the surf. The 3 of us went in for a swim - it was like champagne, not sea water! Around 30 degrees. We then had a picnic lunch on the beach and off to the nether regions. The road to the airport is good, if a little twisty. The airport is small, modern and built in a cul de sac valley.

After the airport, which I drove into and turned around on the apron, the road changes. It becomes a dirt track of loose stones and dust with long, long drop-offs and no barriers. Very interesting to drive. A lot of 1st & 2nd gear usage. At each little village there is a strip of concrete road the length of the village, and no more than that!

Eventually, about 3 hours later, we arrived at the town we were aiming at. You need a LOT of faith to get there. On payment of 900FPF, say 8 euros we were told where to find the Tiki. We stayed on the site of the temple for maybe 10 minutes and set off back again so as to have daylight for the worst part of the trip. I would love to have spent more time there. The return trip was about 2 hours as the driving was a little more vigorous.

In the evening all 4 of us went out to dinner in the posh hotel nearby. Service was extraordinarily slow, I guess the meal of 3 courses took 4 hours. At the end of it we said goodbye to Paul who is now on his long journey back to Dublin. We wish him bon voyage, and safe journey. It was really good having him on board for just over 3000 miles at sea and we miss him already, as we do all the crew members who have sailed with us.

Next stop is a small island south of here for the night, and then Nuka Hiva for a few days.

Bar the watermaker, all is well on board.