Hola
Day Three
We decided to get up early and see the sunset at Tongariki.
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| The white dot on the left hand side is the planet Venus |
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| Ahu Tongariki at sunrise |
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| The travelling moai at 8 am |
After sunrise we travelled towards the North coast. The landscape was interesting, we could see the volcanic nature of the island and some wonderful vistas.
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| The view west towards the hill known as Maunga Anamarama |
As we travelled westward along the North coast we saw some interesting sites. The first sire we visited was Pu O Hiro. Pu O Hiro is the site of the trumpet of Hiro (a rain god).
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| Trumpet stone |
On its surface there are a series of small fertility petroglyphs...
and natural holes...
Blowing into the small hole at the top makes a sound like a trumpet and encourages fish to swim towards the shore... or so they say!
The next stop was Papa Vaka, a petroglyph site. Here are a selection of the petroglyphs.
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| Tuna and shark |
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| Octopus |
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| The largest petroglyph on the island - a 12 m canoe |
Along this coast there is much evidence of human habitation and more platforms.
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| The cairns are known as Pipi Horeko and are like the cairns used in the Lake District and Scotland (markers) |
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| More Pipi Horekos |
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| Hen house |
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| An empty platform |
The next stop was to see Ahu Te Pito Kura and Te Pito O Te Henua. The Moai at Ahu Te Pito Kura is the largest Moai ever to have been stood on a platform (10 m in length and >100 tonnes in weight). This Moai is the last to have been seen upright by an European (the French explorer Abel Du Petit-Thouars in 1838).
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| Ahu Te Pito Kura |
Also at this site is the so called Navel of the World stone.
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| The large stone in the centre is the Navel of the World Stone |
No one knows why the stone has been placed here but there is a legend that suggest the stone was brought with the first Polynesians that colonised the island. This can't be the case as the stone is the samee as many others found on the beach below the Ahu.
Next stop - the beach at Ovahe.
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| Ovahe beach |
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| I saw 3 ships come sailing by... |
Interesting patterns in the sand...
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| and on the rockface |
Next we visited Anakena the main beach on the island and the site of Ahu Nau Nau. This beach is believed to be the landing site of the first Polynesian colonisers.
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| Anakena beach |
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| Ahu Nau Nau - Front view |
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| Ahu nau Nau - Back view. Notice how the head of an older Moai has been used in the platform. |
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| Ahu Nau Nau - Side view |
The sand has preserved these Moai and so the fine detail has been preserved.
There are other platforms at the site. This next one is a platform with a single Moai.
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| Ahu Ature Huki - the first Moai to be re-erected |
After visiting Anakena we returned to the campsite via Vaitea (the central prairies of the island). We were surprised at how much the landscape was like Britain. What do you think?
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| Scotland? |
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| Trough of Bowland? |
After our early start we were happy to sit back and watch the sunset...
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| Sunset at Ahu Riata |
Don't forget to check out the 4th instalment in a few days time.
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