Hiking Mount Auorotini (Duff) and Mount Mokoto

One of the hikes done in our two weeks on Mangareva ⛰️

I wrote last week about our 2 week stay on Mangareva in the Gambier Islands. While we were there we did some hiking, and one of the main highlights was summiting the two mountains there.

The tallest mountain in the Gambier Islands is Mount Duff (Mount Auorotini in the local language) standing at 441m tall, closely followed by Mount Mokoto right next to it, at 423m.

Here’s what I noted down the day after.

It’s an early start before sunrise.

We make some coffee and sandwiches to take with us. Here, if you don’t go and get the bread by about 5am, it’s all gone.

We set off, followed by our two dogs (more on the origin of these dogs in last week’s newsletter!). Turns out the lady dog’s name is Kuraiti, which might translate to Little Red. Old Man Dog has been promoted to Officer Old Man Dog because the local kids told us he’s an ex-police dog. I’m afraid he’ll get stuck up the top of the mountain and we’ll have to carry him back down.

The hike starts through piney forest lined with raspberry bushes that we pick as we eat. The walk isn’t crazy hard. For the most part it’s shaded, the ground soft and covered in pine needles under our feet.

Breakfast at the top of the world.

It takes us a while to reach the summit of Mount Auorotini (Duff) and by then the sun is up. We eat our sandwiches at the top and drink our coffee. The view is magnificent towards each side of the island, but the drop is steep and makes my stomach go. In the distance we see rain falling on the ocean, a rainbow. Paradise birds with their long white tails wheel down below and we try to spot a nest with no success.

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You can see the other islands in the distance, the corals, the sparkly turquoise water. It’s narrow, just big enough for the two of us to sit and snack. Kuraiti gives me a heart attack standing as close to the edge as she does.

Then, onto Mount Mokoto.

We come to a crossroads. Both dogs are still with us. After eating a juicy mango, we decide to climb Mount Mokoto. It looks like a kilometre round trip to go up to the summit. We figure that at least if we don’t make it back to the mountain on another day, we’ve done the two.

Unlike Mount Auorotini which has trees and rocks and feels a bit shaded, Mount Mokoto is more exposed. The sun beats down on us as we trudge up the incline.

The view here is exquisite as well, but we can’t stay long in the strong sun.

Then comes the descent.

It’s bloody steep. I cling to the rope and slide down the dirt track on my bum. Martin lightly skips down like a mountain goat. I internally curse his innate grace as I awkwardly crab-walk down a particularly rough patch.

You’d think the descent would be a relief after the hike up, but I can honestly say I prefer going up to going down. Up is all cardio strength. Down is slippery and annoying.

At the bottom of the mountain we come out on an unexplored road, one that leads into town. My feet are aching and I’m ready for a sit down. We decide to buy our doggy companions a good dinner (Old Man Dog is really slowing down by this point, but still with us).

We get back, I peel off my socks, then we sit at Jojo’s for a well-deserved beer and plate of cold sashimi. Somehow it’s only midday, and we’ve already climbed two mountains.

August art download - All along the watchtower

Coming up soon I’ll be taking you on a tour of the islands where we saw cathedrals, vanilla plantations, and a lonely watchtower. The watchtower was built out of coral by missionaries for the purpose of looking out for ships that would sometimes kidnap people for the slave trade. A lonely spot with a hard history, but so very beautiful at the same time.

If you’re a free subscriber (or not subscribed at all) and you’d like access to the download, consider supporting my work by becoming a paid subscriber. You’ll get one free download per month along with the satisfaction of knowing that you’re helping me make more art.