NUKU HIVA

Updated: February 2002

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NUKU HIVA ISLAND

SWIMMING CONDITIONS:
(From Mark Burnett)
Just off-shore, it goes down to more than 3000 feet deep. Massive ocean swells, that's the problem. It's quite dangerous. There are a lot of sharks and sea life out there.

BUGS:
(From Burnett)
Beyond the ocean, there's one other thing that is a problem here. There are these tiny little biting (mosquito-like) bugs called "no-no's." I don't get bitten that much, but some people look like lepers! A couple of the survivors have been bitten very badly.
We knew about the no-no's. We do have the correct stuff, this oil, a coconut extract. It actually doesn't repel them, it drowns them. You put the oil on, and as these no-no's land, they drown. That's the solution!

WEATHER:
The weather in the area is generally divided between the dry season, from March to October, and the wet season, from September to February. Survivor 4 filming will be in the months of November through January. Temperatures during both seasons will average in the 80's during the day, and 60's-70's in the evening.

VEGETATION:
�� breadfruit, panadu, coconut trees,� limes,� bananas, vanilla.

FAUNA:
�� the limited fauna includes wild cattle, hogs� goats, chickens and crabs.

FAMOUS LANDMARK:
�� The highest waterfall in French Polynesia. (3d highest in the world)

Size:
Largest island in the Marquesas archipelago with 330 sq. km. (127 sq. miles) of surface area

Population:
�� 2,100 inhabitants live in Taiohae, Taipivai, Hatiheu, Aakapa, Pua, Haumi, Anaho and Hakaui

Languages:
�� French (official), Tahitian (official)

Location:
In French Polynesia; The Marquesan Archipelago is situated in the middle of the vast Pacific Ocean, 1500 km from Tahiti

Topography:
� Lush vegetation, impressive canyons, stunning waterfalls and beautiful beaches make up the landscape of Nuku Hiva.

Climate:
� tropical, but moderate

Terrain:
�� rugged high island with low island reefs; the island is fertile, with well-watered valleys; its highest point is c.4,000 ft (1,220 m), there are eight harbors; volcanic island with� rugged wooded terrain,� there is no coastal plain or fringing coral reef.

History:
Discovered in April 1791 by the American navigator Joseph Ingraham, Nuku Hiva was then visited by many ships which found a shelter very sure at the bottom of bay of Taiohae. Nuku Hiva was originally annexed as part of the United States in 1813, but this was never ratified by Congress. In 1842 the French erected Fort Collet and assumed control of the island.

�� The hapa, tribe living in the valleys of Hakapa and Hakahaa , accepted the reinforcement of the American commander David Porter in 1813 and that of Jules Dumont d' Urville in 1828, which allowed their head, Keata Nui, to impose its suzerainty on the whole island. David Porter thus succeeds in overcoming the tribe of Ta�pi , tribe of the valley of Taipivai. Often in war with the tribes close to Hapas and Taoua , the members of the tribe of Ta�pi were considered aggressive and wild."

Marquesan People
Most residents work for the government, the community, the Catholic church, or the school system. Others work for themselves chopping copra (dried kernels of the coconut) high in the mountains, fishing, raising cattle and other livestock, or sculpting bowls, platters, Marquesan ceremonial clubs, "tikis" and ukuleles.

In many ways, the Marquesas, because of their topology and distance from Tahiti (the center of French Polynesia) are more traditionally "Polynesian" than many of the islands further west. Old cultures and traditions survive� and the people native to the islands are exceedingly proud of their Polynesian heritage.

Religion:
Most of the people in the Marquesas are Christian and have been so since the missionaries arrived in the islands in the 1830s. Throughout the islands, however, there are many remains of the ancient Polynesian religion. Some people still practice the ancient religion, and most continue to respect the power of ancient religious traditions and sites. Two famous writers visited Nuku Hiva in the 1800's - Herman Melville and Robert Louis Stevenson. Melville set his novel "Typee" on the island.

Tikis (stone statues)
Tikis can be seen around the edge of the bays.� Tiki statues and ceremonial platforms called "paepaes" also appear throughout the forests . Tikis are representations of gods or ancestors in the old Polynesian religion. When a person sculpted a Tiki, they called the spirit of a god or ancestor into the statue and asked for its good favor. Tikis were often placed on paepaes, or cobbled stone platforms, that were often raised high above the ground. Paepaes were sacred places used for dancing and religious rites.

Tattooing:
Locals are often tattooed with tiki designs.�

Tapa Painting
primitive fabric made in tropical and subtropical countries from the soft inner bark of certain trees. It has been made and used in parts of Africa and India, the Malay Peninsula, Samoa, the Hawaiian Islands, and the Fiji Islands and perhaps reached its highest perfection in Polynesia

Local Attractions:
Muake mountain (864m), the stone and wood carvers of Taiohae, the pa'epa'e Temehea, the Hakaui waterfall (350m high), the famous valley of Taipivai with its numerous stone tikis, beautiful Anaho's bay with its fine white beach

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