Goodbye Marquesas, Hello Papeete

Posted on August 5, 2014 by Tara

After 3 fantastic days on Ua Huka, sadly it was time to go. Our next destination would be Rimatara to see the spectacular Kuhl’s Lory. Since Air Tahiti only flies there 3 times a week, we had a day layover in Papeete which I will blog about soon. In the meanwhile, let’s farewell the Marquesas with a few shots from the plane and while changing planes in other islands. The Marquesas are stunning islands and if they weren’t so far from Tahiti (and Bora Bora much closer) they would be a top tourist destination, so maybe be glad they are remote!

Brief layover at Ua Pou – stunning island!

Friendly crew!

Changing planes at Nuku Hiva

Brief layover at Hiva Oa, they also have interesting endemic birds!

Back to Papeete, Tahiti!

Birding Ua Huka With Official Guide Geoffray Sulpice

Posted on July 31, 2014 by Tara

Part of responsible eco-tourism is putting as much spend as possible into the local communities and providing employment for them. Fortunately, in Ua Huka, MANU has a superb trained guide who is passionate about conserving the two endemic birds – Ultramarine Lorikeets and Marquesan Monarchs.

Our barefoot guide, Geoffray Sulpice

Geoffray Sulpice is not only an excellent guide who knows his island like the back of his hand and where to find the birds but he also works in biosecurity to keep the dangerous black rat off the island. Black rats have already been responsible for exterminating several species of birds from other Pacific Islands. You can call him direct or ask Maurice (his uncle) to call him. Be sure to specify you want an early start, just after dawn. I didn’t do this and therefore Maurice told Geoffray to come at 8am.

Being able to make a living from this eco-tourism activity allows Geoffray and his sister to keep on preventing any pest infestation of Ua Huka.

Contact number: Geoffray (00 689) 87 34 66 69 / Hinapootu (00 689) 87 92 60 53

So right after breakfast, Geoffray showed up – barefoot! In answer to my questioning glance, he just replied “pas besoin”. Not needed! Maybe HE didn’t need shoes but tourists will need some kind of walking shoe (boots not required) as the path up to his plantation where the birds are is pretty rocky. He will point out the nest boxes he built to help the Pihiti (local term for Ultramarine Lorikeet) breed.

We got there a bit late but there were still a few birds hanging around. The photos I took very early this morning show when the lorikeets are most active. Meanwhile, he showed us around the plantation and pointed out the fruit trees. Some lorikeets appeared to resting after a big breakfast.

Others were in a more playful mood!

The light was pretty bad as it was overcast and the birds were mostly in the shade. The sun came out a bit later and I was able to get these shots of a Pihiti munching on a flower.

Other birds seen in the plantation include the Marquesan Monarch, local roosters and White-capped Fruit Doves.

Geoffray husked a coconut for us to drink.

By mid-afternoon, most tourists would have been happy with these sightings and gone home but I was still hoping to get better shots of the lorikeets in the sun. My patience (and stubbornness) was to be rewarded. Around 3:30-ish, some hungry Pihiti flew in and went to town on the banana flowers! This let me get closer to them without disturbing them. They don’t eat the actual bananas, they eat the nectar from the flower at the bottom of the stalk. It’s pretty cool to see how they climb inside the flower!

Finally I was happy with my photos! We all walked back down the hill. The trail ended right in front of the bungalows we were staying at.

Geoffray was an excellent guide and I highly recommend hiring him if you will be in Ua Huka. His fee is fixed at 2500 XPF per person (June 2014) which is pretty reasonable. He doesn’t speak English but he knows how to point out the birds! I can speak basic French so we got by. If the Aranui cruise ship is in port, he won’t be available due to his biosecurity duties so if you are only staying for one day, check the cruise schedule on their website. You could probably get by with a 2 day stay to make sure you see the lorikeets but I was happy we stayed 3 as we had one day with the ship in town and you never know how the weather may go!

Marquesan Traditional Dance & Handicrafts – Ua Huka

Posted on July 26, 2014 by Tara

After leaving the museum, we headed back past the airport to the festival grounds. We were lucky the Aranui was in port, otherwise we wouldn’t have gotten a chance to see the traditional Ua Huka dancers! On the map below, I have indicated where this is with the blue arrow. We drove past a small shop, saw how the Arboretum (which we had had all to ourselves!) was now swamped with tourists, then made a quick stop at the airport.

Here is the entrance to the showgrounds, a huge Tiki and lots of tourists! The dancers were young and enthusiastic and of course at the end a few tourists (including me and Ina) got up to join the fun! Leaving the showgrounds, we enjoyed a scenic drive, once again running into the traffic jam. It is shocking how the ship passengers completely overwhelm this island! I was glad that tomorrow we would have a nice quiet day to go birding!

There were two markets available. The one in Hane was only arranged for the ship passengers. The wood carvings are beautiful but not cheap!

The shop in Hokatu is in a permanent shop but opens sporadically – definitely when the Aranui is in port or on request for people staying on the island. Since I didn’t want to have to deal with AQIS (Australian quarantine), I didn’t buy any wood products, just a DVD of Marquesan dance.

Vaipaee Port & Museum, Ua Huka

Posted on July 25, 2014 by Tara

Continuing on from yesterday’s post, we left the Arboretum and headed into the main town of Ua Huka – Vaipaee. The Aranui cruise ship in town was causing a traffic jam as all passengers seemed to be in regular vehicles and we must have passed at least 30 leaving the port as we were entering.

A couple tourists avoided the traffic jam by riding horses!

The Aranui is too large to come into port so goods and passengers are ferried in on smaller boats or barges. The Aranui also serves as a cargo ship and the local Manu bird guide, Geoffray Sulpice also serves as an inspector to make sure no black rats can get into the island.

Here is the Aranui anchored further out.

Looking back towards the port. UA HUKA MUSEUM

A few metres back in the village, there is a small but very interesting museum showing the history and culture of the island. As you enter, there are some Tikis and a nice carving that looks like a coat of arms with some birds on it!

Inside, you can see artifacts and photographs of traditional Marquesan people. There is also a taxidermied Ultramarine Lorikeet called Pihiti in the local language. It is very clear that this beautiful bird means a lot to the locals and they are very keen to conserve the birds.

Taxidermied Marquesan Fruit Dove

Outside the museum is a poster to show the new currency which has been recently re-designed. The new bank notes are a bit smaller and each one has a reference to the culture, flora and fauna of French Polynesia.

Ua Huka Orientation & Arboretum

Posted on July 24, 2014 by Tara

I had been hoping to go birding the next day with the guide, Geoffray Sulpice but because the Aranui cruise ship was in port, he was already occupied for the day. Let’s start with an orientation of the island of Ua Huka. In the map below, I have used red arrows to indicate the 3 villages – Vaipaee, Hane & Hokatu. Each village is at the mouth of a small river or stream that flows through the valley into the sea. The beautiful endemic Ultramarine Lorikeets can be found in these valleys.

Ua Huka highlights map

The northern side of the island is uninhabited, the entire population is in the southern coast where the villages are. There is no public transport. Tourists can either rent a car or horse and go around by themselves or get your guesthouse owner to organize something for you. Maurice did this for us. I forget what he charged for about a half day tour, it was around 2500 XPF-ish.

UA HUKA ARBORETUM

The first stop was the Ua Huka Arboretum which is a botanical garden and one of the best places for independent birding as it is open to the public and there is no entry fee. It is located between the airport and the main village of Vaipaee, see the green arrow above.

There is a trail that leads pretty far back towards the mountain, the further back you walk, the narrower it gets and the more birds you will see. As you walk through, enjoy many beautiful tropical flowers and plants.

Those tiny dots are Ultramarine Lorikeets, must have been in a hurry to get somewhere!

White-capped Fruit Dove

Marquesan Monarch, the other Ua Huka endemic

This little guy is called a “vini” by the locals which is confusing as the scientific name for the Ultramarine Lorikeet is “Vini ultramarina”, but these birds aren’t even close. I think they are Chestnut-breasted Mannikins.

Long-billed Warbler

Lodge Review: Pension Maurice et Delphine, Ua Huka, Marquesas

Posted on July 22, 2014 by Tara

Forget your hotel points, in the Marquesas, you will be staying in small guesthouses with the locals called pensions – and that’s half the fun! Pension Maurice et Delphine is in the village of Hokatu which is the best location if you are hoping to see Ultramarine Lorikeets.

You can’t beat the loction, on a cliff with a great view of the sea!

We stayed 3 nights and the first night we were the only guests. We were lucky enough to get the bungalow Mata Otemanu which is on the corner of the property so we had views of both the sea and the valley. This valley is where I got my first glimpse of the beautiful Ultramarine Lorikeet as pairs flew swiftly and sporadically through the valley.

The bungalows themselves are small but cute. They don’t have kitchens but they do have a kettle so you can boil water for ramen noodles! No hot water so we had to take quick showers in the afternoon before the sun set and it cooled down.

Wild horses (which can be seen from the verandah) were not going to drag me away from my lazy birding! Most people book demi-pension which gives breakfast and dinner. In June 2014, this was 5900 XPF per person. The breakfast is a typical island continental breakfast of bread, fruit, coffee, tea and fresh-squeezed lemon juice. Dinners will have a variety, usually seafood but they were very accommodating when I told them I don’t eat seafood. My husband was loving the island style food (like he grew up with)! Meals are served at Maurice & Delphine’s house which is a short walk from the bungalows. At night, there are no street lights so you will need a torch/flashlight to get back.

My husband got into some ukulele jamming with the family after dinner!Maurice & Delphine have a small convenience store and Maurice is a master wood carver so you can see his workshop and buy souvenirs if you want.

In front of the house/shop you can see a typical Polynesian vaka or canoe.

Maurice & Delphine are lovely people. This is one of the reasons people visit the Marquesas – to see how the locals live and interact with them and you can’t ask for friendlier people! Delphine’s English is better than Maurice’s so be prepared to communicate in French. The bird guide (whom I will talk about in a future post) is their nephew and they are happy to organize any birding or sightseeing you need on the island at reasonable prices. There is no internet or email here so you have to call them by phone to book accommodation and once again, be prepared to speak basic French! Airport transfers are 2000 CFP return.

Contact Information

Address: Vaipae’e, Vaipaee, Ua Huka, French Polynesia
Phone: /92–60–55

New Birding Guides In French Polynesia

Posted on February 14, 2014 by Tara

While gathering information for a future “bucket list” trip to the Marquesas to see the spectacular Ultramarine Lorikeet, and possibly also to Rimatara for Rimatara Lorikeets, I found this article in a pdf version of Air Tahiti’s magazine. Also see the MANU website.

This is excellent news as the birds could otherwise be difficult to find given the lush mountainous topography of these islands. The local guides would know where to find them.

There are very few airlines that get you to Tahiti on miles, only Air New Zealand (Star Alliance) and Air Tahiti Nui (non-alliance partner with American Airlines & Delta). You need a South Pacific award which falls into the same region as Australia in most cases.

Once you are there, you need to pay full price for the Air Tahiti flight as they don’t have any mileage options…………..and the flights are not cheap!

Miles To The Wild

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