Blogs from Nuku Hiva, French Polynesia, Oceania

Nuku Hiva is the main island of the Marquesas Islands, and contains the capital in the settlement of Taiohae. This is the only island that we visited of the 15 islands in the Marquesas, which is part of French Polynesia, and it was mainly just a place for us to refuel and have a few days off. This island once had a population of somewhere between 50,000 to 150,000 people, depending on who you ask, but the population is now down to around 3,000 inhabitants. The Marquesas were extremely hard hit by diseases introduced by the European and American sailors that 'discovered' the islands, which had really been settled for thousands of years. The first thing that I noticed about Nuku Hiva is how rugged the terrain is. There are many steep cliffs around the island, ... read more

For most of us it was probably an illustration in a book or perhaps a movie. A glimpse of a sandy beach, nodding palm trees and the surf crashing on a reef off shore. There might even have been a black hulled schooner bobbing at anchor…waiting for her next adventure. For the rest of our lives, especially on cold winter days, those images come flooding back when we hear the word “paradise”. Don't despair…I can safely tell you that paradise does exist. It isn’t pristine pure but it’s all here. The beautiful azure water, the surf pounding on the barrier reef, riots of colorful fish, powdery white sand, palm trees, and the scent of flowers in the air to name just a few of the pleasures. We have visited islands in the last couple... read more

If you could use one word to explain a place; I would use mystical for Nuku Hiva. On arrival we pulled into a small bay, the backdrop was filled with volcanic peaks thrusting into the sky while being enveloped by a lush green tropical rainforest. The swells had picked up and the cliffs that overlooked the sea where being thrashed by waves whilst the power of the ocean splashed high into the sky and against the rocky landscape. True to our nature, we dropped anchor just as fast as we hit land to explore. 5 of us rented an island truck, packed a cooler of beer and with no map and no plan started driving. Our truck was heading uphill on the only road we could find. Nuku Hiva is the second largest island in the ... read more

June 12 Nuka Hiva, French Polynesia We made it safe and sound!!!! Hello everyone, we have now been in Nuka Hiva for over 24 hours, arriving yesterday, putting down the anchor and sighing a big sense of relief, a full nights sleep and no more hand steering for a few days :) We had a good day yesterday, mix of motor sailing and broad reaching passing through the islands and taking in all the majestic scenery, as well as catching a few fish on the way. They were more of the same we caught the other day and as we still had fish in the fridge, we unhooked them and let them go. We more or less threw the watch system out the window after about 8.00am and people just took turns on the helm when ... read more

The South Sea Island mystique has been beckoning drifters, dreamers and dropouts for centuries. Captain Dag calls it the siren song of the islands. He should know---he spent five years cruising in this area of the world. We will be visiting the islands made famous by the paintings of Gauguin, the explorations of Thor Hyerdahl and the writings of Robert Louis Stevenson, Melville and Michener. More recently the television show “Survivor” filmed one of their episodes on the volcanic isle of Nuku Hiva. The Marquesas Island chain is almost untouched by modern day life. Its remoteness gives it a special sense of isolation. Not much has changed since we were here in December. Actually we have been here three times in the last year--I don't imagine too many people can say that! Nuku Hiva is the ... read more