Part 2 – The Continuation of our Trek

Arriving at the refuge at around 2:00pm, we set ourselves up at the refuge. After freshening up from our walk we shed our heavy backpacks and mud covered shoes, and headed straight for a welcome soak in the river.

We then set ourselves to slowly organizing the camp. As one of us lit a fire, 3 others started the evening meal. The rest of us went to check out the river bed in the hopes of finding bamboo poles to make fishing rods. We finally found some in the clearing, and back triumphant to the refuge… the set to fishing !

Sitting along the cliff with fishing rods pointed to the sea, we savored a quiet moment, appreciating the beauty of the area. Below us in the water, two small blacktip sharks were making our fishing game a challenge. In the cove, the sunlight dissipated quickly interrupting this fishing session. Our catch of the day ended us to be 5 fish. As meal time came around, we boasted a menu of chicken, grilled fish, corn on the cob and fresh fruit. A real delight, we shared a simple and friendly moment among campers.

After such a meal and a good day of walking, we enjoyed a quiet evening warming our feet by fire was tops. Although I didn’t count on the boundless energy of my friends, one of them decided to go shrimp fishing by the riverbed, an activity traditionally done at night in the islands. This sparked my interest as something I’d always wanted to do. I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.

Thus, around 8pm, we went for shrimp fishing armed with a headlamp and a « Patia » (small harpoon). The method seemed simple: flush out the shrimp with the light, approach discreetly and harpoon it with a quick movement. After about two hours, we were back to the camp with fifteen good sized shrimp. Tired, melted into our sleeping camp.

The night was short and punctuated by the snores of our comrade as opposed to the quietness of our natural surroundings. There weren’t even any mosquitoes. What luck!

The next morning passed so quickly that everybody was already enjoying breakfast. The shrimp provided a welcome addition to our « Tahitian » breakfast. The warm weather even allowed us a quick “dip” in the river. At around 10am, we started our return walk with “sealed” bags and full stomachs. The path, « conquered » the day before, the return seemed easier. We arrived at our destination around noon; just in time to meet up with the boat to take us back. Our voyage left us a beautiful souvenir of a great view of the Tahitian peninsula from the middle of the lagoon. The « Te pari » hike provided us a taste of a real adventure escape !