And a half an hour later, out of Hanga Roa, blue, blue sky! A very robust red flower from the coral tree, (originally from Souh Africa) seen all over the island and often made into flower necklaces.
Our first stop, an un-named Moai that we spotted in the landscape.
Viahu / Hanga Te'e with a small fishing harbour and house in the distance. Fallen top-knots in the foreground.
Multiple fallen figures and top-knots.
Akahanga. Fallen figures.
Ura Uranga Te Mahina. Stone boulder platform and fallen figures...
Red scoria stone with eroded carvings forming part of the platform...
Checking out the coastline.
Looking back at Ura Te Mahina.
The cave.
Wiji admiring the coastline...
and the rock formations.
Catholisism and Rapa Nui beliefs, a combination of images.
A fallen figure, inland and face down.
Check out the arms and fingers...looking from the base back to the head.
Very tempting to just get in! A beautiful clear, calm ocean.
Looking at Rano Raraku in the distance, from the road.
Looking across the landscape further ahead to Ahu Tongariki...
But first lets get up the volcano crater to Rano Raraku!
Our first glimpse of the figures in the distance. This site is know as the nursery, the volcano Rano Raraku was the quarry for the stone from which the Moai were hewn.
This scene resembles the first pictures of the figures that I saw as a child in a book.
On the south slopes most of the Moai are upright, but buried up to their neck or shoulders in the earth over time.
Looking up into the face.
It was totally stunning, and like the book that I first saw this scene in, as a child the colours were brilliant...although this wasn't due to the 1970's techni-colour printing!
Giving some idea of scale...
Once the Moai had been carved in the quarry they were hauled upright for sculptors to carve the details of the hands and fingers that usually cup the abdomen. Basalt was used as a carving tool, only slightly harder than the rock being carved itself. No iron or metal tools of any kind were used in the construction of the Moai, as we saw in the museum.
Wiji...off off and away! How many more photo's Clairy?
Walking up the crater and looking back down the path between the amazing colours of the earth and rock.
Inside the crater is a lake and about 20 standing Moai. There were more fallen Moai, and some partly completed.
Wiji off in the distance...sorry lovely, yes I am still mucking about taking more piccy's, but this one's of you too! Lol.x
Looking across the landscape from the rim of the crater out to the tiny Maunga Toatoa.
Looking towards Maunga Anamarama and Mang Pui.
Wiji and a fallen partly burried Moai head...its enormous!
Inside the crater there were about 80 Moai in varying stages of construction.
Looking up from mid way in the crater, the cavernous spaces in the rock face behind from which the Moai were carved.
Just totally stunning textures.
In profile.
Not all Moai faces are identical, but often have similar features including a heavy set brow and prominent noses. Lips are often thin. The face often has a prominent chin and elongated earlobes that were often decorated by carvings and inserted objects...bone, shell, obsidian.
Most Moai are depicted as males, but some have breasts and vulva.
The Moai are deteriorating due to erosion and lichen damage.
Moai looking into the crater.
The elongated earlobes that resemble the recorded body modification of the Rapa Nui who made them.
Not checking for woodlice, lol.
Some carving on the ear. Final carving details and the eye details were only put in place when the Moai were in situ., hence these are incomplete, but left waiting to be moved up the slopes of the crater and out off around the island.
Looking at part of the crater with its cat's tail reed bank.
Looking at the crater proper, as some cloud passes...
At the top of the crater with two large Moai lying down.
Looking over the edge of the crater to Tongariki in the distance. Its amazing to think that the Moai in the distance would have been moved by manpower alone from this quarry.
A nice look down at the sheer drop of the top of the Volcano.
On of the larger Moai at the top of the crater.
Loving the light and shade and how they effect the sculpted Moai.
Walking along the crater lake edge and looking back, up, out of it.
Back to the entrance to the crater.
An incredible rock face.
Back on the slopes outside the crater...
The figure on the right has a inscribed depiction of a European vessel on its chest.
Nose deep.
This was interesting because we could clearly see how the Moai were made. Most Moai, like these two, were carved face up in a horizontal or slightly reclining position and rock was removed around them, leaving the statue attached to the rock by its back.
In the museum there are very old photo's of Moai that have a shoe heel like attachment of rock left on the back of them, so that the carvers can form a complete body shape in rough...before they were transported from the quarry.
Reclining in the rock face.
This is the largest Moai ever carved. The 21m beast laying in carving situ.
A fantastic vantage point to admire the outside slopes.
Some other visitors next to the giant Moai...
Who kindly took our piccy.
Back at the car park, a small bird of prey that we had been seeing and hearing all over the island.
Looking back up to Rano Raraku...amazing.
And onto Tongariki...where the Moai have been transported to the Ahu platforms.
This site was restored by the Japanese. It was believed that warring communities across Rapa Nui knocked each others Moai down to disempower them. This particular group also suffered the effects of a tsunami that scattered them further still.
This is part of the restoration process.
The details of the project in full.
Ahu, the stone platforms feature all around the coast of Rapa Nui...only a few were situated inland. It is believed that they were situated in sheltered coves of human habitation.
Archeologists believe that the Moai represent the clan ancestors and the Ahu was a constructed burial site.
You can clearly see the beautifully carved fingers and thumbs here. This is the only Moai with the top-knot returned.
We had our picnic lunch here just staring at the figures...mesmerising!
A rounded abdomen.
Elongated fingers.
Looking away from the Tongariki Moai to the petroglyphs.
Make-make petroglyph, a Rapa Nui deity.
Another Make-make petroglyph, as above carved into the flat volcanic rock at our feet.
A birdman motif.
Birdman from a different viewpoint.
A turtle peroglyph.
A large fish
A closer and final look at the collection of top-knots at Tongariki. Archeologists believe that they represent the male hairstyle of the time and are carved in red volcanic scoria found at Puna Pau, this material is not as hard or compacted as the rock the Moai are carved out of.
Looking out to sea...
And to the volcano Poike where cloud moved about the summit.
And off again around the island...who's little shelter is this?
Onto the next site Papa Vaka to see athe petroglyphs. We could clearly make out the giant fish, probably tuna, and a shark below.
An octopus.
I thought that this depiction was quite similar to those in Konossos, Greece...but no connection, strange.
At the Te Pito Kura site on the north coast, sadly we caught up with lots of others. The day had been really quite up until now. Oddly people felt the need to touch the stone, even though it is an antiquity. This stone is magnetic and legend claims that Hotu Matua brought the stone to the site to symbolise the navel of the world.
The Moai at Te Pito Kura and top-knots, according to local history a widow erected the Moai to represent her dead husband. These are nearly 10m long and are the largest Moai moved from the quarry at Rano Raraku.
Walking away from Te Pito Kura to the coast's edge...we saw this hexagonal lava formation.
Very windy and strong currents...
Next we popped off to the tiny beach Ovahe, hoping for a swim in the late afternoon sun.
It looked beautiful...
Massive chunks of lava had fallen and the coast line was eroding, we decided, after reading the signs, to avoid a possible landslide here and go on...shame.
No one was around, it was perfect, but bye!
Poike with its varying cloud formations on the summit.
Last stop of the day...and what a day! Anakena beach...Ooooh yes!
The lone Ahu Ature Huki, re-erected by Thor Heyedahl (who got a lot of published theories incorrect) but re-erected the Moai with 20 islanders using ropes and poles...it took them 20 days, allegedly.
We had a swim here, it was brilliant! Very windy, big waves and a few locals.
Ahu Nau Nau, that were restored in 1979 to their standing position. Coral and rock fragments were also found and Archaeologists believe the Moai were not blind but had eyes made from the fragments.
Great afternoon sun.
Anakena beach is believed to be the landing place of Hotu Matua, who lived in a cave along the beach while waiting for his hare paenga (trad. house) to be built.
A great place for a swim!
What a fantastic end to an amazing day! We only had to contend with the jeep overheating by leaving the bonnet open at all the sites, but hey...it was amazing and we got back in one piece!
2 comments:
wow, that looked really good! A lot better than roleplay in kent. keep it up. x
Stunning pbotos; we had no idea the Maoi were so big. Fantastic detail too. What a brilliant day. C&B x
Post a Comment