Kate’s Next Chapter

Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness – words the Founding Fathers took seriously. So what better way to honor US Independence Day than exploring a new land and pursuing some serious happiness? We did just that by heading out to Ngardmau Falls.

Ngardmau is one of the states on Babeldoab (Palau’s largest island). It is known for having stone monoliths and the tallest waterfall in Palau. For those curious, the “ng” in Palau is pronounced like a nasally n. Many words start with this consonant blend.

From our apartment in Meyuns, it’s about a 40-45 minute drive to the falls. A month into living in Palau, and I still haven’t gotten used to the beauty around me every day. I’m hopeful that won’t ever change. The drive was breathtaking. Pictures from a moving car don’t do it justice.

We arrived, sunscreened up, and started the hike.

Brief pause for history lesson. Palau only became an independent nation very recently. In fact, tomorrow is the 45th Constitution Day. Another post about its rich history later. But what you need to know now is that it once was under Japanese control. During this time, the administration built a railway to help with mining efforts near the falls. Then, in 2011, a monorail was built to transport tourists who didn’t want to hike to the base of the falls. Neither is in operation today, but you can still follow the railway.

The first part of the journey was very basic, and I didn’t get my phone out much. I had our Canon digital camera, but learned a valuable lesson: always check your battery before you decide to carry said camera on a hike. I think I took 5 pictures before it died. But I sure did carry that camera the whole way.

At a certain point in the hike, the trail splits. You can take the regular path through the forest, or the creek path. The pictures below should let you know which path we chose (and I’m guessing none of you will be surprised).

To be honest, there are times it reminded me of Red River Gorge. And RRG was one of my happiest places. So it’s no surprise that happiness found me fairly easily here.

A little bit further, and there it was: the waterfall. PS – click on the pics for full screen viewing. You’re welcome, Mom.

After time at the falls, it was time for the hike back.

Did I mention before the hike to the falls was all downhill? And that I was still sweating profusely during it? You ain’t seen nothing yet….

After the stair climb from you know where, we followed the rail back to the start of the hike. Round the bend and….

We finally made it out. And were greeted by some friends.

Overall, a great experience. Highly recommend. And, TLC, you were dead on with the No Scrubs thing, but I have to disagree with your opinion on waterfalls – we SHOULD go chasing them.