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| Patty, Wayne and Steve on our first Viapo Falls river crossing. The deepest point was the rock behind Steve (the guy without an umbrella). |
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| The same river crossing point near Hakaui Nuku Hiva as before, about two hours later. Note you can’t even see the big rock that was visible before. |
Thus when we reached our first seemingly impossible, substantial stream crossing, as the shortest in our hiking party, I plunged ahead, figuring if I could make it, so could Wayne and Patty and Steve of s/v Armagh. The stream was opaque with silt, so umbrella in one hand (it was raining), I “felt” my way across with my feet. It was deep enough to get my shorts soaked, but passable. Wayne, Steve and Patty followed, with some reluctance.
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| Our trail became a stream – it got much deeper, wider and swifter than this. This is one of the few shots I could get before my camera got too fogged. |
It was our last full day in the Marquesas, so I really hoped to get in one more waterfall / swimming hole as we’d passed on a few, most notably Hiva Oa’s Hana Menu swimming hole and a pair of waterfalls on Ua Poa. The Tuamotus, our next stop, are known for their lagoons and beaches, but are desert-dry atolls; fresh water is scarce; forget about waterfalls.
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| We turned around a little past this viewpoint; not sure if it was Viapo Falls. We were about an hour into the hike. |
After spending 20+ years in the Pacific Northwest (PNW), a little rain was hardly a damper. Besides, we were already wet and it was fresh water for a change. I’d brought my biodegradable body soap/shampoo, swimsuit, towel and cream rinse and had visions of a good freshwater pool shampoo and bath. Plus, unlike true native PNWers, I had an umbrella and wasn’t afraid to use it (must be because I was born in California – a trueborn PNW native would never use an umbrella).
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| This is one of the minor stream crossings on the way back. It tripled in size by our second crossing of it. |
But it kept raining. And raining. And raining. Enough for even a near-native of the PNW to take notice.
When we reached the big steam crossing, it had risen several feet in less than two hours, and looked more like am angry torrent than a stream. This time, none of us felt it wise to attempt crossing. We began scouting for a better crossing spot, when a group of six other hikers showed up, facing the same predicament. One of their group was a guide. He was a tall fellow, and decided to test the crossing, but near halfway across and waist deep* he too suggested finding an alternative crossing. Meanwhile, the rain abated just enough for the mosquitoes to begin feasting upon us.
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| Not treacherous like Viapo Falls river, but sticky enough to suck Crocs off your feet if you were unable to sidestep it. |
The guide found a slightly less treacherous crossing point, cut some sturdy stick for us to use to brace ourselves, and laid out a plan for crossing. It was dicey, but it worked. I don’t believe we would’ve made it without his help. We’d likely have had to wait for the “stream” to fall, however long that would’ve taken.
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| Different point on Viapo Falls river, Nuku Hiva. Better, but still marginally passable. The guide, rear, assists the final hiker across the slightly shallower but swifter portion of the river. |
Fire!!!
Even though there was almost no smoke or burnt smell, I boiled up some cloves, cinnamon, my usual boat remedy to overcome odor.
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| See the two waterfalls between the pair of palms? And the one to the left of the left palm? Viapo Falls? Not sure. All these Nuka Hiva falls were flowing full bore on our way out. |
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