Lot's Wife Ponds

The explorers with view of ponds below

The way up from the top!

Some of the only yellow sand on island

The way down from the top!

 One of the “wonders of St Helena” are the Lots Wife Ponds over on the south side of the island which are named after the giant rock formation known as Lot's Wife which tower over them.  These ponds have been in my mind since I first set foot on the island as there is a spectacular photograph of them in the Tourist Office. 

They have been formed by the sea cutting out a platform from the cliff and eroding a number of natural pools, some deep enough to swim in.  This is an important point, remembering that there are few places on the island where one can get down to the ocean and even fewer where it is safe to swim.  

The swimming was secondary for me; it was the potential photographic opportunities which inspired me.  
 
I had heard from locals that the walk to the ponds was best taken with company, preferably someone who had been there before.  The walk is graded against other walks on the island as 6/10 in terms of difficulty which didn’t sound too bad!  So why am I writing this five  hours after returning home and still my legs are tingling and thinking I may  have to be carried to my desk?

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Walking to the Ponds

The walk is around 3 miles each way of which 50% is uphill.  The terrain is the bare volcanic rock which is spectacular for the myriad of colours it comes in, although keep focused as it’s quite treacherous underfoot!  

Although not perfect for picture taking, the light grey sky meant temperatures were bearable, imagine the heat from these rocks if the sun was streaming down on them all day!  

Around 20 minutes up the first section of the journey my breath was starting to become more pronounced and from then to the top I had to rest every now and then.  My companions included two children, one only five years old who zipped up the rocks like a mountain goat.  I was mortified!
Views are spectacular and the sea crashing below can be heard even at the highest elevation.  Nesting Booby birds were one of the highlights, we came across one pair nursing their offspring.

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Boobie birds with their chick

 Reaching the ponds involved scaling down a long rope which deposited you on a deserted beach with streams, rock stacks and the ponds.  It was well worth the pain
(although I think I was the only person feeling any!)  .

Arriving in this surreal landscape I was taken by the fact that we were the only visitors that day.  If this was in the UK the place would be teeming with photgraphy buffs and sightseers.  I think this place is always going to be like this unless they change the access to it which in many ways I hope they dont.  There wasnt a scrap of rubbish on the beach nor any noise other than the crashing of the waves.  A gentle warmth radiated from the dark rocks making the idea of a swim pretty tempting.

After an hour or so relaxing with a picnic and taking pictures we headed back up the rope ladder and made it back up the rocks, past the Booby birds, endemic plants and down the other side.  

Boy was I glad to see the vehicles.  The pictures I have taken don’t meet the standard of the one in the Tourist office which means another trip, I best  get into practice!

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Climbing down to the ponds

First view of the ponds

One of the larger ponds with the sea crashing over on the far right