Month: November 2017

RAPA 

A dramatic jewel in the Austral Islands

Link to –RAPA Photo Gallery– Austral Islands 2017  

Link to  –  Unique RAPA MUSIC

November 4, 2017  –  27-36.64S /  144-19.80W
SV Raynad -Enjoying dramatic Rapa in the Austral Islands

John and I arrived in the dramatically beautiful bay of Rapa Island yesterday morning at 7am following an uneventful 3 nt passage from Raivavae.  Within an hour, both the mayor, his 4 yr old son, and a policeman arrived to check our documents, kind of them, but also I think that they were just curious to see the boat. We’re really glad that we decided to visit this island as the people are incredibly friendly, and being only the 9th boat this entire year to visit here, we are rather special. Already we have at least two groups of teenagers scheduled for visits on board Raynad, one groups this morning at 10am and another on Monday at 10am. John is of course a bit worried that this may get out of control as word spreads and we have many more groups requesting to come out and see the boat. Nice though to actually have the kids stop and try to speak with us and persist with communications despite our very poor skills with French.

There is one other boat here, a French couple on a catamaran. The history of this island is interesting and there are several archaeological ruins of hilltop fortresses we’ll hike to. Rapa is a volcanic island and the bay we entered and are anchored within is actually a collapsed crater. Hence, it’s a very uneven bottom that rises and falls by 3-15 meters making it a challenge for the anchoring gear!

We both were awakened by the sounds of winds gusts and grinding chain, although John got up a good hour before me, the lazy bones:) Half the sky is sunny, the other rather gray and ominous, we’ll see which weather we get today!?! This anchorage is notorious for having very significant wind gusts shooting down through the mountains.

This wind is more SE, so we’ll likely have strong winds from the sea rather than over the mountains, a the forecast over the next few days is for strong SE winds (the predominant winds down at this latitude tend to be from the W or SW.

We took a hike up one of the mountains yesterday to view an ancient fortress. Not much left of the fortress to see, but the views were magnificent and we took lots of photos. This too was a steep hike, but they have hacked steps in the the hillside on the steeper parts which was really wonderful and much more secure than the last hike. Today we have been invited to attend church and a community dinner afterwards, so that will be our Sunday. On Monday we are planning to take the bike ashore and take turns riding it around the bay where there seems to be a road that connects the two villages (we could see it from the hike yesterday) even though all of the literature says there isn’t one.

We have had an incredible day here in Rapa. The island population is 95% protestant (unusual in French Polynesia where the catholic denomination is usually dominant) and they are welcoming a new preacher!

The last preacher is retiring, so the entire island came together to welcome the new man today. Even the Seventh Day Adventist preacher and Catholic priest and their congregations attended this service which started at 10am and did not conclude until 1:00pm! Prior to the service, we befriended a local school teacher who then sat next to me and translated as much as she could. She was so proud of their unique Rapa culture, music, language and the special events that we were sharing. It was the longest service that I’ve ever attended, made worthwhile by the amazing music raised acapela by the entire congregation. This special music was reported on All Things Considered and they have released a CD- Link:  NPR Tahitian Choir Story

Women filled several rows and the men filled the rows behind them, which seemed odd at first until I realized that they were basically sitting like a choir. Rapa has its own language and music to match – much more emotionally rich with rhythm, dense harmony, mostly call and response form and repeated modulations into new keys…seriously one song went on for at least 10-15 minutes and modulated down several chromatic steps, lead by the bass section, multiple times. Being fairly repetitive, John and I joined in on many of the songs which was fun. We were sitting just behind the men with a few next to us and behind us, so I guess we were sort of in the middle, we both thoroughly enjoyed watching these men not only sing at the top of their lungs, but also sway and bounce with the music – they could hardly contain themselves in their enthusiasm to sing. Following the long sermons (yes plural) and speeches of appreciation, the community hosted a meal.

While waiting for the hall to open for dinner, the crowds milled about and we were able to get a few pictures of the women’s hats which are a very creative assortment of wild weaving and design (John joked that a few just needed blinkers to look like spaceships waiting to launch:) When we entered the dining hall, rows of tables were absolutely heaped with platters and plastic covered trays of food. We’d seen this same arrangement in Tonga at the King’s Church banquet. An amazing mass of food! The VIP were seated in the middle of the hall, and there was a special band of guitars, drums and singers who made music while everyone ate.

All of the VIP were bedecked in huge flower leis and/or head pieces.  John and I ate many forms of taro, raw fish, various salads, chicken, pork, stir fry unknowns….and then our fellow diners insisted that we bring back four trays of food to our boat! Still digesting the assortment, not sure what dinner will, or will not be.

Tomorrow we are scheduled to have a group of teenage girls onboard Raynad, an appointment they were eager to confirm this afternoon. Otherwise, we have plans to ride the bike around the island road system and see where it goes. It’s been a very special day in a very unique island. Rapa is absolutely visibly spectacular. This is probably the most colorful, geographic, social experience that we’ve had to date, created by just 850 people isolated in a volcanic crater visited only once a month by a ship, and we are only the 9th cruising boat to visit this year. We feel incredibly lucky and fortunate to have made our way here.

 Link to RAIVAVAE & RAPA INFORMATION                      Link to – RAPA JOURNAL

RAPA – A Dramatic  & Unique Austral Island  

 

RAIVAVAE Photo Gallery

RAIVAVAE- Austral Island Paradise

Raivavae is a beautiful island with turquoise lagoon waters rimmed by a barrier coral reef with 28 white sand motu, all surrounding the main island with its towering volcanic peaks,the highest being Mt. Hiro at 437 meters.

For sheer natural beauty, this is the premier Polynesian island. We found this lush island one of the most peaceful and pleasant places we have ever visited. The 22 kilometer road around the island can easily be biked, or even walked. Banana, coconut, mango thrive here and the islanders take special pride in their colorful gardens.

Raivavae has four stores, each stocked with a variety of basic provisions. There is an airport with 3 weekly flights, Gendarmes, police and free wifi at the visitor’s center, or Vini Spot at the post office. We did not find any access to remote wifi.

Hiking Mt. Hiro is a must for anyone capable of a rather arduous, steep climb. The views are well worth the effort! I highly advise wearing hiking sandals or boots – this is definitely not a hike for flip-flops! Allow at least 3 hours or more and carry water.

At one time Raivavae was a thriving island with a large population with a vibrant culture that created large tiki – stone carved anthropomorphic figures. Unfortunately, most of the reported 92 marae and tiki that survived into the 20^th century and were even studied by different teams of archaeologists between 1921-1991, were later destroyed by Chritian converts. One big tiki still remains by the road west of Mahanatoa village. Two others are on display at the Gauguin Museum in Tahiti.

 

RAPA (latitude 27:38 S)

Soaring peaks up to 650 meters surrounding a horseshoe shaped bay make this a stunningly beautiful and dramatic island to visit. The channel leading into Rapa is a very well marked.

 

There are two villages on either side of Haurei Bay and several homes are spread around the inner Hiri bay.

 

Because these bays are just part of a flooded caldera, the underwater topography is very rugged and uneven making anchoring a bit challenging. Depths change continually and suddenly. There are several options on the northern side around: 27:36.6 S /144:19.8W in 12-22m. This anchorage is closest to the village on the north side, however, it’s easy to take the dingy across to the main village with a concrete wharf. Two white markers provide guidance over the safe part of the coral for approaching either village in a dingy. The people here are very friendly and welcoming. Because they do not get very many visitors, those yachties who make it here, are special and gather lots of friendly attention. Within an hour of our dropping anchor, we were visited by the local police, who reviewed our documents (took the copies we provided) and then invited us to a special community meal on Sunday. It’s a big deal for the teenagers to get invited onboard for a visit, so we and the other boat hosted several groups over the days we were here.

There is no surrounding reef. Offshore are several sugarloaf shaped islets. Twelve other indentations around the island provide other bays to explore during calm weather.

Peaches and nectarines are grown in Rapa! There are also a few banana trees, and gardens with lots of taro and we are told that there are also some oranges grown here. At this latitude there is an absence of coconut trees or other tropical fruits found in the rest of Polynesia. The hillsides are covered with pine trees, fern trees, lush grasses and a variety of other hardy fauna. Wild goat wander the steep hillsides.

History: Archaeologist William Mulloy explored the fortress atop Morongo Uta and cleared the vegetation to gain access.

This is the fortress most easilty visited today. Apparently Thor Hyerdahl and his groups found about a dozen of these “pa” (fortresses) buildt on the hildside surrounding Haurei Bay. These were built to defend the territories of the various tribes of ancient Rapa. Prior to the arrival in 1826 of European missionaries and their deadly diseases, Rapa supported a burgeoning population of 2,000-3,000 people. Today there are only about 850 inhabitants.

Hiking: several hikes can be made up to archaeological sites of what were once hilltop fortresses built in the days when there was a thriving, but competitive, tribal population. Some of these were later used to escape foreign intruders to the island. To hike to the fortress atop Morongo Uta,walk from the main village dock, head west passing the soccer field and sports building to find a dirt road that takes off to the left and climbs up the hill which eventually turns into a very well maintained track that even has steps cut into the steeper parts. The views along this hike are spectacular!

Roads: a road does in fact wind around the bay connecting the two villages with several side tracks out to the cargo dock and up the hillsides.

Services: the small stores are well stocked with basic provisions and some produce delivered by the monthly cargo ship. There is no airport, so the only way to access Rapa is via private yacht, or via the monthly ship.

Churches: about 95% of the islanders are protestant, about 7 families are Seventh Day Adventist and the remainder are catholic. Hence there are three separate churches, each with a red roof. We were invited to a special celebration being held by the protestants for their new pastor.