This morning we planned to motor from Chepenhe to Doueoulou, the bay that we originally anchored in when arriving in Lifou. We want to take our gifts to the chief.
Before pulling the anchor and while eating breakfast we watched a huge catamaran, likely 70 ft, anchor next to us. We also watched a pair of dolphins swimming in the distance. By 9:00AM we raised the anchor and said good bye to Chepenehe. It was a quick 1 hour trip to Doueoulou, we were anchored by 10:30. We decided to wait until after lunch to go see the chief. Unfortunately there were showers passing from about 11AM until 6PM. Luckily we found a window of time, around 3, that was mostly dry. We dinghied to shore and walked down the main road along the water. The shoreline was pristine.
Our cruising guide showed us where the chief’s house was, but we asked a few people along the way just to confirm. There were a number of native conical houses along the street. We pass some ladies sorting palm ferns which were likely destined to be used for a new roof. Nearby were pens with pigs. We have seen only a few cows on Ile des Pins. Otherwise we haven’t seen any livestock. Here are some pictures.
We arrived at the chief’s house. The support poles on the entrance gate to his house were intricately carved.
We saw similar carvings on “totem poles” in Chepenehe. One thing that we have missed is learning about the Kanak culture. If we had been more organized we could have arranged an island tour from a local guide. Next time!
The chief’s property include a conical house what we consider a typical house and a graveyard out back which we think contained the graves of past chiefs and their wives.
There was a lady on the porch at the regular house who yelled “Bonjour.” We went over to talk to her. We think she might have been the chief’s wife. Her English was very limited. She said the chief was not there and wouldn’t be back until tonight. She said she would give him our gifts. We offered our full stores (having thought we’d have a few more chiefs to visit). It included several bags of tobacco and some knitted sea creature toys that I made for the local children. She was very impressed and appreciative.
We said au revoir and walked back to the dinghy. It started pouring just as we got back so we motored back in the rain.
Later in the afternoon we prepped to leave for the mainland in the morning. You’re probably sick of sunsets by now but here’s another one.
Here is a map of our route.
