Nuku-Hiva: The Grand Z... to the Grand Canyon
16 January 2015: It is this morning that with Jacky, we will spend two days on the heights of Nuku-Hiva. The objective is to go to the "Grand Canyon" which is located northwest of Nuku-Hiva or "Desert Land"...
Backpacks and walking poles are ready and we take each one with us 4,5 liters of water. Georges, a friend of Jacky's, finds us on the dock to lead us to the plateau of Toovii. In the climb a superb view of the bay of Taiohae is offered to us.
Then here we are., landed on the old airport road called "Le Grand Z". The beginning is a wide track, But quickly the path narrows and landslides make it impassable in 4×4. At first it is a quiet walk in a plantation of tall pines. Quickly the vegetation becomes more sparse as we gain altitude.
With each valley and trickle of water that we cross the vegetation becomes a tangle of banana trees, tree ferns, guava trees, tall grass...
At each bend of the trail we discover a more grandiose view than the previous one.
Arrived at the top we make a well-deserved lunch break with a panoramic view of both sides of Nuku-Hiva.
Restarting is a bit difficult, But the path is now almost horizontal on the mountainside.
We come across many herds of semi-wild animals in the wild: Cows, goats and horses.
We hope to quickly find a suitable place to spend the night. The main criterion is the presence of trees spaced properly to install our hammocks. But luck is not with us and we keep walking until sunset. We are exhausted when we join the road to the airport. In the distance we see a plantation of pine trees that will make perfect poles for our hammocks! It gets dark when we arrive. The campfire is quickly lit with a few pine needles, But a "fresh" wind rises and we quickly suffocate it. It would be frowned upon to set fire to this forest! There is no longer any question of cooking our rice. But don't worry because Jacky brought two delicious sourdough breads that he baked the day before and on which we spread pâtés and cheeses that our women had put in our bags. What would we do without them?
In the early morning we discover our camp and take the way back after breakfast.
We walk down the road hoping that a car will pass by and take us. But the only cars we see go in reverse. (to the airport), because the daily plane arrives around noon. We will have better luck this afternoon when these same cars return to the village... Some pictures of the "Grand Canyon" which seems disproportionate to the size of the island...
At the highest point (1200 metres) we meet Rosine, An artist who every day settles at the top of her island to carve wooden objects. It's hard to find a quieter place to find inspiration.
He Yes! We walked down this road to our starting point. Finally a pickup 4×4 passed by and took us in his dumpster to take us back down to the village. We will have traveled nearly 40 kilometers with an altitude difference of more than 2000 metres! Tomorrow, REST!