Papeete to Nuka Hiva

Some of the local fruits we sampled on Nuka Hiva

The "Survivor Nuka-Hiva" Beach

It is about 780 nautical miles from Papeete to Nuka Hiva, or somewhat further than Seattle to Ketchikan.  About halfway to Nuka Hiva we passed by several atolls in the Tuomotos, including Takaroa atoll which has the remains of an old square rigger, “City of Roxbury” on the beach.

The weather finally turned to rain as we approached Taiohae Bay on the south side of Nuka Hiva.  The bay is semi-circular and somewhat protected, except when the swells were from the southeast.  There were a number of sailboats anchored in a very open roadstead and they were all rolling heavily as we were taking the tender ashore.  We had booked a scenic driving tour to the Taipivai valley which was part of Herman Melvilles novels, including a look down onto the beach where “Survivor Nuka Hiva” was filmed.  There is no trace of the filming left, CBS completely cleaned up the area.  After driving through a coconut plantation we stopped for local fruit snacks and a chance to buy local handicrafts before returning to the ship in drenching rain.  The rain pretty much eliminated any of the scenic vistas we had hoped to see.

The Marquesan's do a lot of stone carving

The local cathedral with the orginal 1800 entrance preserved

This is the last stop before San Diego.   San Diego is 2837 nautical miles away and we have already travelled 6693 nautical miles for an estimated total cruise distance of 9530 nautical miles.