Fatu Hiva Waterfall

We did a couple of hour hike out the back of town to this 200 foot waterfall. I know it doesn’t look like it is 200 feet in the picture, but it is pretty impressive straight drop down. Not a place you’d want to water slide off. It was a bit more of a hike than we expected. Definitely off-road.
Here’s the detailed toppo map we used to get there – supplied by our local friend Reva. For any cruisers using it, here’s the key. Bottom left is the bridge. The double lines are the concrete road, the single line the trail. The squares are small houses. The squirrely lines are the stream you cross over – just once.Take the concrete road out of town till you hit the bridge on the map. There are a number of cairns on the trail to mark it – most about 30 feet past where you missed the turn.

The trail started out wide and lined with hibiscus hedges around coconut and banana groves.

Then the trail deteriorated to a little more like bushwhacking.

Noni fruit along the road. The noni fruit is thought to have medicinal qualities and is grown and exported to make noni juice.

Healthy looking and  friendly local working horse grazing by the roadside.

There are lots of various shapes of copra drying sheds around. The split coconuts are laid with the meat exposed to dry. The roof is on slides and moves to the left to expose the shells to the direct sun and to protect them from rain.

Not sure who this tiki is, but Chris thinks it’s a fertility goddess.

We picked up our tapa cloth passport holders at Reva’s house. We gave them 2 of Juliee Veee soccer balls, one for her son and one for the school. I also gave her partner some gloss Epifanes varnish that he wanted for his wood work.

He gave me this bone carved necklace that he made in exchange. Really nice people.

We were visited by the local police or security guy yesterday morning. That’s him in the yellow vest on the right. He was pleasant and took our passport numbers down and told us we had to leave and go to Hiva Oa to check in, as the Hiva Oa gerndarme had called him. He said Monday would be OK. So we’re off tomorrow and will see what the gendarmes have to say.
Paul