The Marquesas

THE MARQUESAS 199 Raiders Fatu Hiva Puamau Taaoa Hiva Oa © Lonely Planet Publications Planet Lonely © ’Ua Huka 'Ua Pou Hatiheu Toovii Plateau Hohoi ( p217 ) ( p225 ) ( p214 ), ( p214 ), (sacred (sacred tiki Hohoi Fatu Hiva Fatu ‘Ua Pou ( p222 ), Taaoa ( p211 ) or (guesthouses) and just two hotels, they’re rather an ecotourism dream. rather an they’re (guesthouses) and just two hotels, ( p205 and p220 ) across the ver- p220 and p205 ( ( p208 ) and scalloped bays are blanketed with desert blanketed or black sand. arcs of white and scalloped bays are ( p222 ), Ua Huka ( p205 and p220 ) across the Nuku ) across the Nuku p220 and p205 ( pensions Hatiheu life on ‘ life meeting master in homestays and lodging carvers hiking Hiva or Hiva Oa heartlands sculptures) petroglyphs, and sacred sites at at sites petroglyphs, and sacred sculptures) Puamau and wandering flabbergasted amid wandering flabbergasted internet is really just a frivolous modern con- is really internet on hard-to-reach venience Clip-clopping dant Toovii Plateau or Hiva Oa’s fecund interior or Hiva Oa’s fecund Plateau dant Toovii

Experiencing timeless traditional village Gazing down impenetrable valleys while Living out your Indiana Jones fantasies while the what day it is and realising Forgetting

HIGHLIGHTS HIGHLIGHTS

Don’t expect bone-white sweeping tranquil turquoise lagoons, swanky resorts beaches, and This art gallery is all outdoors. Some of the most inspirational hikes and rides in French artthe most inspirational hikes Some of This in French and rides outdoors. gallery is all

It’s hard to find a better combination of nature and culture. combination of nature It’s hard to find a better In everything from cuisine and dances to language and crafts, the Marquesas do feel from cuisine and dances to language and crafts, the Marquesas do feel In everything tering of tering Cancun-style nightlife – the Marquesas are not a beach holiday destination. With only a smat- – the Marquesas are nightlife Cancun-style be kept days, too. occupied for headed whales or dive along the craggy shores of Hiva Oa and Tahuata. Bird-watchers can of Hiva Oa and Tahuata. the craggy shores along headed whales or dive Nuku Hiva’s convoluted hinterland. Those who want to get wet can snorkel with melon- Those hinterland. Nuku Hiva’s convoluted Polynesia are found here, allowing walkers allowing and horseback riders the opportunity found here, to explore Polynesia are of the Lost Ark; emerald forests; amphitheatre-like valleys cloaked in greenery are reminiscent of the reminiscent amphitheatre-like are valleys cloakedemerald forests; in greenery vertical canyons; the ocean thrashes towering sea cliffs; sharp basalt pinnacles project from vertical ocean thrashes towering sea cliffs; canyons; the jut up dramatically from the cobalt blue ocean. Waterfallsjut up dramatically from trickle down taller than skyscrapers nature’s fingers have dug deep grooves and fluted sharp edges, sculpting intricate jewels that intricate sharp edges, sculpting and fluted dug deep grooves fingers have nature’s Grand, brooding, powerful and charismatic. That pretty much sums up the Marquesas. Here, Here, Marquesas. much sums up the powerfulGrand, brooding, pretty That and charismatic. The Marquesas pre-European times, all shrouded with a palpable historical aura. pre-European They also make for a mind-boggling open-air museum, with plenty of sites dating from dating from also make museum, with plenty of sites for a mind-boggling open-air They pings of Western influence (read: mobile phones), their cultural uniqueness is overwhelming. mobile phones), their cultural uniqueness is overwhelming. influence (read: pings of Western different from the rest of French Polynesia, and that’s part the trap- of French of their appeal. Despite from the rest different THE MARQUESAS Among the first bythe islandstobesettled 1595 whenSpanish navigator Alvarode Only the Catholic missionaries, who had been missionaries, whohadbeen Only the Catholic which hadamore theythought strategic value. tration preferred Pape’ete todevelop onTahiti, most fell intooblivion –the French adminis- name of French King Louis-Philippe. oftook possession Tahuata in1842the 1838, RearAdmiralAbel Dupetit-Thouars the Pacific. After areconnaissance voyage in means of countering Englishexpansionin tempts atevangelism were unsuccessful. Society (LMS),landedonTahuata, buthisat- Protestant pastorwiththeLondonMissionary on ‘Ua Pou.In1797WilliamCrook,ayoung on fresh supplies atTahuata andthenlanded Étienne Marchand, merchant vessel took whose aheadofin 1791,arrivingslightly Frenchman covered’ thenortherngroupof theMarquesas the Americancommanderof the Tahuata voyage. duringhissecond Ingraham, of Peru, GarcíaHurtado de Mendoza. Mendoza inhonour of hissponsor,theviceroy Marquesas christened fourislands Las de these 10 daysinVaitahu onTahuata. Bay Mendaña andanchored andHivaOa, Motane foraround chance. Mendaña’s alongpast thensailed fleet Mendaña yNeirasighted Fatu Hivabypure from prehistory AD300 tobetween and 600. Estimates of vary theislands’colonisation Hawaii IslandandNewZealand. toEaster point forthewholePolynesiantrianglefrom asadispersal grations, theMarquesas served Polynesians duringthegreat SouthPacific mi- 200 History Under theFrench yoke, theMarquesas al- French interest intheregion grew asa In 1774James Cooklingered forfourdayson The Marquesas’ isolationwasbroken in Fatu Huku,Terihi andThomasset Rock. islandsofMotane(Mohotani),four deserted Oa,TahuataHiva andFatu –andthe Hiva group comprisesthree inhabited islands– The southernand theClarkSandbank. Hatutu (Hatutaa),MotuOne(SandIsland) HatuIti(MotuIti),Eiao, tothenorth: further ‘Ua Pou–andthedeserted and inhabited ‘UaHuka islands–NukuHiva, groupconsistsofthreeThe main northern The Marquesasare dividedintotwogroups. GROUP NORTHERN GROUP&SOUTHERN H AQEA • Hsoy THE MARQUESAS ••History motu Hope, (islets) ‘dis- spine tingle)andtheirownlanguage, andthey Manu ortheDanceof thePigwillmake your Marquesans have theirowndances(theHaka istheculture,quesas which isstillalive. The ofOne of avisittotheMar- thehighlights ecotouristpotential is whose still intact. growing interest islandgroup, inthisfantastic comparatively shortwhileago. There’s nowa are uncovering aculture thatwaslostonlya pelago’s isolation,whilearchaeological surveys of infrastructure thearchi- hashelpedlessen boxed text, p220 ). Slowbut sure development singer JacquesGauguin andBelgian Brel (see residentsmade famousbyHivaOa Paul 5264 in1887,and2096 in 1926. plummeted fromaround18,000in1842to syphilis. Inastunningdeclinethepopulation Whaling crews alcohol, brought firearms and foundations of Marquesan societycollapsed. is, firmlyentrenched in the Marquesas. persevered, became, andstill andCatholicism active sincetheirarrivalonTahuata in1838, Culture Hatu Iti THE MARQUESAS Eiao In the20thcenturyMarquesas were withWesternUpon contact influences,the S OUTHPACIF IC Hatutu Motu One Hiva Map O CEAN See Nuku

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