Nuku Hiva - Northern Marquesas Islands

Nuku Hiva was the site of Herman Melville's real-life adventure portrayed in the book Typee. In 1846, he ran away from a whaling ship, and spent some months with the "savage" Typee tribe on this island.

The literal meaning of Marquesas Islands is "land of the volcanoes".
Nuku Hiva is the largest island in the Marquesas archipelago  with 330 sq. km. (127 sq. miles) of surface area. Its beauty from the sea or in the air high above the island is truly breathtaking. The 2,100 inhabitants live in Taiohae, Taipivai, Hatiheu, Aakapa, Pua, Haumi, Anaho and Hakaui, where they work for the government, the community, the Catholic church or school system or for themselves chopping copra high in the mountains, fishing, raising cattle and other livestock or sculpting bowls, platters, Marquesan ceremonial clubs, "tikis" and ukuleles.

Taiohae is a pleasant village bordering the sea. It is the administrative, economic, educational and health center of the Marquesas Islands. The French and territorial administrators, the government buildings, police, post office, hospital, town hall, Air Tahiti office, banks, schools, stores and shops are located in Taiohae.

Sundays and holidays are just as busy as any work day, when the villagers drive back and forth along the seafront road in their 4-wheel drive vehicles.  Life is leisurely and casual, villages visit their friends, and play the  on-going game of petanque or French bowls.

Nuky Hiva waterfront

inland Nuku Hiva

Tattoo is a cultural tradition among the Polynesians.  It carries religious significance.  Tattooing is a rite of passage for children entering adulthood