Our plan for the day was to make our way over to Vaiare on the east coast, where the ferries from Pape’ete come and go, and take the hike over to Pao-Pao in Cooks Bay. Initially we delayed our start as the winds were gusting into the high 20s and we weren’t comfortable leaving the boat. However, the winds soon subsided into the teens and we were off.
We dinghied ashore leaving the dinghy chained to a ladder in a deserted resort nearby. Not knowing where the bus stop was we started walking towards Vaiare while trying to hitch a lift. Within 10 minutes, as we passed some shops, a local couple about to leave asked us, in French, if we wanted a ride. Although they had no Enlish we managed to communicate our intentions and they took us all the way to the dirt track which was the beginning of our hike. In case any one wants to follow in our footsteps the start of the hike is to the right of a store on the main road at 17 31.26S 149 46.91W.
Following the track was fairly easy. We did make one wrong turn but by asking locals the right way to go we made good progress. Initially the trail was along a 4×4 track but soon it narrowed to a path over the rocks. Our initial milestone was the saddle between the Vaiare and Cook Bays at an elevation of just over 1,000ft. Even though the sun was on our side of the climb we were sheltered by the trees so we kept reasonably cool as we made our way up.
When we reached the top we were presented with a choice between left and right. In the end, the right turn took us to an excellent view point (and not a lot further) where we rested and ate some of our fruit taking in the scenery around us. We figured at this point we were about half way and the rest of the trip would be all downhill into Cooks Bay.
This illusion was maintained for some time as we made our way down the other side into cooler surrounds. It took Helen’s comment about how nice it was to be walking downhill to end the spell because almost immediately we began climbing again. The path now seemed to make it’s way along the inside of the great rim wall that surrounds Cook and Opunohu Bays. Despite the unexpected additional effort we really enjoyed this part of the hike. We passed through varying vegetation, sometimes climbing under fallen trees, through bamboo thickets frequently along a narrow ledge on the side of steep slopes. At times it felt like the rain forests of Costa Rica without the rain. At one point I came close to emulating the scene near the beginning of Romancing the Stone as the path support gave way under my weight and I ended up falling down the slope. Fortunately I caught my feet in some vegetation and I grabbed hold of the edge and this stopped be from going further. Ben was able to help me back up onto the path.
At one point the path seemed to stop at a fallen tree. Beyond the tree there was no sign of the path continuing. We searched around the area beyond the tree for about 20 minutes but could not find where the path continued. We went back to the tree and I decided to climb upwards and soon found the path onwards.
We eventually came to another left/right choice. The path to the left (I guess) would have taken us to the Belvedere lookout. The path to the right looked interesting as there was a lot of blue sky visible. Following it we came upon a promontory overlooking both Opunohu and Cook Bays – a much better view point than Belvedere. It had log seats to rest on and was shaded by three pine trees. The spot was called 3 pine summit.
There was another path down from the summit which took us through cultivated land. At one point the air took on a sweet smell. As we were discussing what it could be we came upon a pineapple plantation. As we made our way down there were frequent forks in the tracks. Choosing the right way to the bay was not too difficult but looking back it would have been impossible to find the right way to the trail head. We now see why the guidebook we have says you can only do this trek in one direction. When we passed some ripe papayas alongside the road we couldn’t resist sending Ben up for a few. It’s been a while since we’ve acquired fruit for ourselves so we’re looking forward to eating these.
We eventually made it down into the town of Pao-Pao where we bought some cans of cold soda to refresh ourselves. It was still a way to go to get back to the dinghy but we made it – 5 hours after we started the hike in Vaiare.
We had thought about going to the Fruit Juice Factory for some more tastings of the liquors but noone was in the mood for it. We all wanted to get back to the boat, wash the mud off of us and ready dinner. Being Ben’s first Friday aboard we had curry. The evening ended with another movie and an episode of 24. We all slept well.