My last sleep in Futuna was the best one not only from a comfort point of view but also that all my sport and shooting was complete. I was sad to leave. Last night Aircalin moved my Wallis to Nadi flight by one day, which meant one night more in Wallis and one night less in Nadi. Thank goodness my Nadi to Samoa flight was on 24JUL. I would have liked to spend that extra night in Futuna but because the news came last night it would be impossible to change anything since nothing can be done online. I drove out to Futuna airport on-time at 9am to hand in my hire car but no one turned up until 11am when it was time to board the Twin Otter to Wallis. The day was excellent. Sun, little cloud and hardly any wind. The flight back was smooth and only at 5,000ft (half the height coming over). I parachuted at 10,000ft over Swakopmund in Namibia !!! Once again, there were only 9 of 16 passengers including a big local guy in a stretcher accompanied by a doctor and nurse. Take-off gave me great views of Alofi Island. Another smooth flight. The views of Wallis were as expected – really great with vistas of most of the western side of the lagoon. No one was at the airport to pick me up. Shock. Even after 50 reminders. Island time. I got one of the staff to ring the hotel and 30min later I was on my way. Island time. Dumped my stuff and set out for the supermarket. Stocked up on wine for the next 3 nights since no booze can be bought on a Sunday (tomorrow). It was stinking hot so I put my shopping away and headed for the port for a swim. Pretty much the same swim as before – murky water due to wind and tide and managed a 2.1km with just enough time to shower before Christophe picked me up. Christophe is the island’s only travel agent and he invited me to see his museum along with another couple from Utah USA. Only issue was this couple were on the lagoon and late. We drove to Vaka La, which is the name of the only family run business that hires kayaks, small sailing skiffs and offers small boat trips in the lagoon. I was due here tomorrow. Eventually our Utahans came in but were too tired for the tour so we postponed until Monday. Christophe took me to his office where I showed him how to get approval for restricted zones for his drone – I promised him I would help before I went to Futuna since he had helped me secure flights, accommodation and hire car in Futuna. It worked. His DJO Mini SE (three models before mine) was antiquated but we managed to get approvals. He would test it the next day. Christophe dropped me back at the hotel and I spent the evening blogging, wining, dining and netfixing…
Sunday 21JUL couldn’t have come fast enough. I had a great sleep waking at 6am for Church !!! Yes Church. Christophe insisted that I attend the only 7am Mass at the Catholic Cathedral because of its choir and presentation. He was not wrong. It was the most beautiful Islander Mass I have seen to date. A 30-person of mostly young school age kids and young adults sitting in the centre of the huge Church for acoustics. There harmonies were very islander and brought memories of the countless other Masses I had heard throughout the Pacific. Everyone was dressed in bright floral outfits with fresh flowers adorning their necks – even the men. First time I had seen full-on chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. This is very unusual in the Catholic Church let alone an island Church. Mass ended at 830am and I walked back to the hotel to change for Vaka La and kayaking. The hotel owner drove me their and I met up with the kayak guy who had booked me in. By 930am I was on the water and headed into lagoon heaven. It was very breezy but the sun shone and the waves manageable. I could not believe my eyes. This eastern lagoon is like another atoll within an atoll. A secret lagoon of every shade of blue and green and plenty of coral and deep blue fish holes (often called “Aquariums”). I visited 5 islands and made two snorkelling stops – I feature my whole trip overlaid on Google Earth for you as the very last photo in this post. My favourite was easily Island Number 3 = Nukuhione because it is in the centre and a launch spot for wind-gliders and coral. The coral here is a mini version of what I saw elsewhere but had its share of fish, shapes and some colour. I managed to see 2 Reef Sharks and several Manta Rays but unfortunately my only GoPro battery died and I had no spares. I kayaked a total of 9.5km averaging 5.1km/h with plenty of breaks for photos (as you will see) and water. This place DEFINES Wallis. This is what makes Wallis. From the island you could never tell what paradise lies here but when you enter it on water it is brilliant. Well worth visiting Wallis for. I returned to Vaka La at 330pm and decided to walk home since a nice breeze had developed and the eastern coastline from here to Mata Hutu (main town with Cathedral) is easily the best spot on the island. If I had to love here this is where I would drop anchor. I was minutes away from home when suddenly 6 barking dogs came out of nowhere and started after me. I ignored them and stared ahead but suddenly I felt a gush of warm breath against my left heel and then lots of sharp stings. I looked down and one of those bastards had his jaw around my heel !!! I swung around and kicked it with my other foot and it let go. These dogs were not strays but had come out of house with no fence. This is a big problem on Pacific Islands. People do not feed their dogs or restrain them. I was bleeding and picked up my pace to get home and put a ton of Benadine on it. Luckily I was up to date on my Rabies shots so did not need to visit the hospital. This was probably the 3rd worst bite for me since South America where most of my attacks took place whilst running. I was good. Nothing that a little wine could not fix. That evening I took it easy and slept early so I could recover from the bite and run my last 10km on this Wallis Island the following morning.
Mon 22JUL began well. Overcast and plenty of wind made my last 10km run easy. I ran my original route and did get chased by two sets of dogs but they retreated. After showering and visiting the supermarket I settled down to blogging and bookwork over croissant and coffee. Today was a rest day given it was meant to be my Fiji flight which was postponed to tomorrow. No worries. Preferred to be here than in Fiji. The day actually flew buy with many breaks and sort walks outside. I even had a nap in the afternoon. Christophe contacted me and asked me to meet him at his museum at 530pm. No worries. I finished my last Wallis post and walked the 10min over there knowing where it was. We spent 2hrs talking about the history of Wallis and the involvement of US Troops here from 1942 to 1944. Won’t spoil it here. Wait for the film. At 7pm I was back at my hotel packing an posting this blog !!! A lovely final meal and bubbly to celebrate a surprising stay in Wallis and Futuna.
I must be honest. I struggled from my research back in Oz to figure out how I would spend 12 days and 11 nights in Wallis and Futuna Islands but it has been a total surprise. I really feel close to this place. I covered every inch. The locals embraced me and I have a good friend in Christophe. I salute the people of Wallis and Futuna and present you with the final images of the lagoon that gives it a big and bright future in mainstream tourism…
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