PARADISE

TRAVELLER
Waterfalls, legends and surf
OUR REGION
welcome in Pohnpei, the gods will
make it rain when we arrive at the
ruins. Guess what? It rains.
There are ruined tombs, bath
houses and temples to see. We
peer into pits, too, that the guide
says were used as prisons.
We frequently shelter next to the
ancient walls as the welcoming
rain tumbles.
Pohnpei is one of the rainiest
places on Earth and has 42
spectacular waterfalls fuelled by
the massive precipitation.
Kepirohi Waterfall is one of
the most beautiful. It has good
swimming and is easily accessed
with a five-minute walk along a trail.
For a challenge, you can try the
Six Waterfalls Walk that is a six to
eight-hour round trip along jungle
trails and across rivers.
Tourism authorities think the
World Heritage listing of Nan
Madol last July will considerably
boost interest in the island as a
holiday destination.
Surfers and divers, though, have
been coming here for years.
For surfers, the big attraction is
P-Pass. That’s short for Palikir Pass,
a fast-peeling, right-hand reef break
that has attracted the world’s star
surfers, among them Kelly Slater,
Andy Irons, Stephanie Gilmore,
Mick Fanning and Sunny Garcia.
P-Pass quickly developed
a reputation as a big-wave
destination when it became
popular in the surfing world in the
early 2000s; however, the founder
of the Pohnpei Surf Club, Allois
Malfitani, says the massive waves
only hit a handful of times a year.
“From two to four feet it is
perfect and user friendly, not for a
beginner but good enough for an
intermediate to advanced surfer,”
he says. “Once it goes five to six
feet you enter another level of
surfing with fast take-offs and
down-the-line barrels.
Rust buckets … (from top,
clockwise) abandoned Japanese
tanks; Nan Madol ruins; Allois
Malfitani surfing at P-Pass on a
mellow day; the sushi restaurant
and bamboo bar at the Mangrove
Bay Hotel; a general store selling
local fruit and vegetables.
36 Paradise – Air Niugini’s in-flight magazine