Friends and Fishing at Fatu Hiva

Leaving the safe harbour at Hiva Oa was a bit daunting.  That harbour had been our deliverance after the harrowing trip across from Galapagos.  It felt wrong to leave, even if it was only a couple of hours journey across to Tahuata. We put the autopilot on, now with repaired metal collar, and we let go of the wheel for the first time in a very long time.

The bay of Hanamoenoa on Tahuata is a huge contrast from Hiva Oa.  Here, there was a long white beach and crystal clear water.   For the next few days we wandered the beach, ate coconuts and swam in the beautiful water.  

We caught up with our friends on the boat Tonka, who told us about the excellent fishing on Fatu Hiva.  Gary listened intently to the tips on what bait to use and where to find them.  This, however, turned Gary a bit “fish crazy” and he declared that we would leave the next day to Fatu Hiva, and spent the rest of the afternoon making fancy fish hooks to try and catch the bait fish. 

So on to Fatu Hiva we went the next day.   Gary threw out the trawling lure as soon as we left the bay.  As we reached the end of Tahuata, the reel began to scream then Gary did too.  After a mighty half hour fight we pulled in a massive Yellow fin Tuna. 

I was a bit reluctant to go to Fatu Hiva, being an 8-hour journey in the wrong direction, but the journey was worth it.  The steep surrounding cliffs looked impressive from a distance, but were just breathtaking close up.  The photos just don’t to the place justice.

We shared some of the fish we had caught around the boats in the harbour, making a few new friends.  I had told Gary now that we had a freezer full of fish, there would be no more fishing.  But Gary had other ideas, organising to go fishing with some new friends on Ninita, with them keeping any fish caught, of course.

The next morning we explored the dramatic coastline.   We felt completely dwarfed by the huge cliffs that wove in and out creating many coves. Beautiful white birds with long tails flew high up in the mist.  We felt like we had finally found the floating mountains from the set of Avatar.  The shoreline was alive with crabs that scattered at the sound of our outboard engine.  In the coves, the water surged into underwater caves then burst out blowholes, sounding like the island was breathing.  The water was so clear that we could see colourful fish swimming around the dinghy.  It was just breathtaking.

The next day we hiked up to a waterfall with the other boats in the bay.  We had been told that the track was hard to find, and each cruiser seemed to have slightly different instructions on how to get there.  The road became really steep and we slogged on up it.  We came to a path that fit the description, but one of the instructions we had been given was not to take the first path that looks obvious, so on we went.  Up and up and up we climbed, all drenched with sweat, panting and quickly drinking all the water from our packs.  Suddenly someone calls us all to a stop.  He had looked back while taking a break and noticed the waterfall behind and below up, far off in the opposite direction.  Bugger.  We took a few pictures of the bay from this height, then headed back down the road to that path that we had passed half an hour ago.  Another half hour up a forest track, through mud, over rivers and past some rabid dogs and we made it to the waterfall.  We all jumped in, taking no notice of the giant eel rumours, and washed our hair in the fresh water. 

One evening, we heard our friends from Orion on the radio, coming in to Fatu Hiva direct from the Galapagos.  We had left with Orion from Panama, but their gearbox broke in the Las Perlas and we hadn’t seen them since.  The next few days were full of social activities, with Gary being taken on fishing play-dates with Dylan from Orion and Ola from Ninita, and drinks and dinner with our friends every night. 

A mini cruise ship arrived in the bay for a morning.  The villagers put on a dance for the ship, but of course we tagged along. 

One evening, the boat Flapjack put on a party for all the boats in the bay.   We had a great time catching up with friends and meeting new ones.  The music went late into the night, and everyone sang along to the song “Silver Lining” as we left, making it difficult to get the song out of my head for days.

Another of our friends arrived on our last day, direct from the Galapagos.  We had everyone round for drinks that night and said our goodbyes, just in case we didn’t catch up with them again.

After a fun, friend and fish filled week, we made our way to Nuku Hiva where all our parts were waiting for us.