Nuku Hiva
Hiva NukuNavy Commodore David Porter erected a fortress in 1813.
Porters used Taiohae as a temp station from which he attacked Britain's Pacific navigation during the 1812 war. The majority of business activities take place in the heart of the city, or just off to the eastern side, where the airfield street falls off the Mount Muake bluff. Take the next street westwards into the Meau Valley and you will see the Cathédrale de Notre-Dame des Marquises (Cathedral Notre Dame of the Marquesas).
Further up in the dale is a renovated me'ae. From the western side of the cove you will come past a large parkland and then the Monument de Herman Melville (Herman Melville Memorial), a magnificent wood carving created in 1991 by the famous craftsman Kahee Taupotini. From here you have a beautiful panoramic sight along the cove.
Refreshments and another great panoramic drive up the hillside to Keikahanui Nuku Hiva Pearl Lodge. On Nuku Hiva my most unforgettable days were the trip to the rough north-east side of the islands accompanied by a guidebay. Though it is barely more than 25 km (15 miles) to the end of the street, this trip took a whole full days, spending a good part of it just getting from place to place.
It is the best journey for everyone, as most of the main sights of Nuku Hiva are here, especially the Taipivai Valley of Melville and the scenic town of Hatiheu on the north-east coast. Hatiheu is one of the few places in the Marquesas, in Anaho on the north-eastern nook.
From Taiohae, after ascending Mount Muake (from above you have an incredible panoramic views of Taiohae Bay), the street follows a hilltop from which you can see one of Survivor's shores. Then we descend to Taipivai at the top of Controller Bay.
Another coast street leads from there to the south-east to Hooumi, a small town on another cove. As it is easily accessible via the sandy beaches of Hooumi, some of our guests prefer to arrive here than in Taipivai, next to the flat Taipivai River. This asphalt track leads from Herman Melville up into the sheer Taipivai valley.
Their leader stops at about half the height of the dale at renovated pasepaes (stone platforms), the only remains of the town where Melville allegedly remained for several months after leaving an US whaling boat in 1842. You can see several falls in the far away when you go higher down in the valleys.
Out of the valleys, you will soon look at Hatiheu, one of my favourite towns in all of Polynesia. From Steinkai on the east side (follow the unpaved path along the coast) you have the best views of the cove. Of several me'aes in the Marquesas, three of the most spectacular are Hikokua, Kamuihei and Teiipoka, on the Taipivai Strait via Hatiheu.
The Marquesas Festival of the Arts 1999 has a number of impressing sculptures of his work. Kamuihei and Teiipoka are flanking the street higher up in the riverbed. These buildings bear witness to how many lives once existed in this desolate world. If you are considering barreness treatment, you can spare a bunch by paying a visit to Hikokua, the renovated maritime area near Hatiheu town.
On a hill just to the east of Hatiheu lies the small town of Anaho next to a palm-fringed sandy shore in another cove that Robert Louis Stevenson attended in 1888. But Anaho is quite extraordinary because it has one of the few corals formation in the Marquesas, a fringe in front of the shore where you can go snorkeling.
Though Anaho Bay is nowadays rarely used by vessels, it is one of the best marquesas harbours. At Chez Yvonne in Hatiheu you can rent a 10-minute cruise to Anaho or walk across the ridge between the two coves. This rather exhausting walk lasts about 45 min., but you have a beautiful sight of Anaho Bay from the 218m high Teavaimaoapass.
Above Mount Muake in the Hakaui River in Taiohae is Cascade Tevaipo, one of the highest cascades in the whole wide Hakaui area. It is 350 metres high. There is a small lake at the end of the village. From Taiohae to the bottom of the river it is too risky to hike, but your accommodation can organise a ferry to take you to Hakaui, from where an old rocky path leads upstream to the cascades, about 2 hours on foot.