Sailing Around the World One Step at a Time: Waterfalls and Hills

The Society Islands are volcanic, with towering hills rising steeply from the sea. On the whole all the settlements and roads are located at sea level hugging the shoreline. And so there is an enticing looking interior to explore. It can be a challenge, though to find paths and routes.

Fataua Waterfalls, Tahiti

On Tahiti, one excursion I enjoyed with friends (whilst Andy back in the UK) was to the Fautaua waterfall....quite close by to the main town of Pape'ete. To gain access I first had to visit the hotel de ville (town hall) to get permission and pay for a day pass. A short taxi ride took us to the trail head. Only one of the two trails was open (rather to my relief, as I had heard the other, upper path necessitated an element of climbing.)

The trail followed the valley floor initially through pleasant pasture.

Very soon the valley narrowed and we found ourselves in tangled green forest on narrow paths.

The trail zig zagged back and forwards across the river - sometimes providing a challenge with deep water and slippery rocks

Until we arrived at the 300 metre falls....perfect for a picnic and a swim.

Retracing our steps we lost our way a couple of times, but eventually reached the village close to the trailhead....and were able to catch a bus back to town.

Belvedere

Maps showed a clear path up yo the viewpoint behind the main Tahiti town of Papeete. However, tirned out that this path was either a water company access point or non existant....so instead we took the small road up and up the ateep hills. At the top was a slightly fancy restaurant where we sat out on rhe terasse, enjoyed the view and drank cold beer.

Cross

A lower key excursion with Andy was a quest to find our way up to the big white cross that overlooks Papeete town. We found a pleasant track up winding its way up the hills through light woodland.