Mountains in Paradise

[Dwayner]

Ahoy!

Dwayner has just returned from drinkin' himself across the South Pacific with stops at such lively watering holes as Easter Island, Ducie Atoll, Henderson Island, Pitcairn, Mangareva, Puka Rua, Puka Puka, Fatu Hiva, Hiva Oa, Ua Pou, Takapoto, Matavia, Bora Bora, Tahiti and Moorea. And just in case you think the only climbing to be found in those parts is re-ascending a bar stool after being slapped silly by one of the local wahines, check out some of this action:

 

Fatu Hiva in the Marquesas:

 

 

Ua Pou, Marquesas (basalt towers):

 

 

Bora Bora, Society Islands:

 

 

Moorea, Society Islands:

 

 

Lots of these:

 

 

Lots of this:

 

 

And plenty of these guys around to set you straight if you get out of line:

 

 

aloha,

 

Dwayner

[Szyjakowski]

SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO jealous I am.

 

[specialed]

Doesn't look much like Paradise to me. Where's the Lodge and the Mounties trudging up to Muir?

[JoshK]

Shit, that first picture is stunning. Looks awesome.

[lummox]

guess you aint read melville. he climbed that shit when jumping ship back in the day.

[mdidriksen]

What was Pitcairn like?

 

It's described as a total paradise in "Pitcairn's Island" but that was a long time ago.

[Dwayner]

Mr. Lummox must have read Melville's "Typee" where they're climbing up them jungle ridges and then did these horrendous descents on vines and such into a valley full of cannibals on Nuka Hiva in the Marquesas. That first picture in my post above is a place called "The Bay of Virgins" on Fatu Hiva.

 

On Ua Pou, a local guy told me that Germans have occasionally come over to climb those huge and wild basalt towers. He even indicated that he had route descriptions. They'd be worth the trip.

 

Pitcairn Island? Like most of these places, they're only accessible from offshore anchorages, conditions permitting, for Zodiacs or whatever. Less than 50(?) people live there and some are direct descendants of Fletcher Christian from the Bounty mutiny of 1790. The whole island population came out to our ship for lunch in one of their big longboats so we were glad they didn't swamp on their way back in rough seas. Most of these guys speak a form of British English and there were a few newcomers who came to live away from the rest of the world. (I think you have to live there 7 years before you can become a citizen). The island is hilly terrain and there is one "town" name Adamstown.

 

The stuff on Bora Bora, Moorea and Tahiti looks climbable through dubious steep bush and jungle thrashing and the approaches would be hellish. I've experienced some of this stuff at its worst on such places as the Iao Needle on Maui......dangerous!!! Here's a terrified, younger Dwayner descending such a jungle spire:

 

 

- Dwayner

[Figger_Eight]

Nice pix Dwayner.

[nolanr]

Sweet pix, but it looks like you'd have to have a suitcase full of wire brushes to scrub all the moss off of them rocks. I thought it was bad around here, sheesh.