Atiu Part 2 - Birds, Caves and Bush Beer

Well back to Atiu... after coming to grips with the place I hooked up with the local tour guide Marshall Humphreys and had a stunning few hours getting into the two main reasons I went to Atiu- the Kopeka and the Tumunu.

The Kopeka is an extremely special little bird, a bit like a swift. It's claim to fame is that it lives deep in the Anatakitaki Cave system, and flies around completely blind using a sonar like clicking noise to make sure it doesn't faceplant into any walls, stalactites or lost humans. Just amazing to see it in action.

Anatakitaki Cave entrance

Marc, hostel mate, decends the ladder into the Anatakitaki Cave led by Marshall

Tree roots that grow through rocks- solid as! You could play a tune on em if you wanted

The walk in to the cave was impressive, about an hour in the jungle through the razor like rock of the Makatea, the old coral reef. A bit of plant interpretation along the way was informative- I now know what a Noni tree looks like. If you've ever had Noni juice you know what I'm on about... not the sweetest taste in the world but a wonderful kickstart for any ailing immune systems. I know also know what respective plants to eat to ward of the flu, stomach pains and a few other ailments. The final highlight of the Anatakitaki cave was of course a dip on an underground pool, most refreshing!

Walking though the Makatea

After walking out it was leg 2 of the tour, the Tumunu. Atiu is the only island left in the Cooks that does this, sort of a throwback to the Missionary days when alcohol was outlawed. The Atiuans responded by retreating into the jungle for secret drinking sessions with a hugely potent homebrew. A bit like the Fijian kava sessions if you like. The Tumunu itself is a hollowed out stump of a coconut tree which holds the beer, which is in turn dished out the the leader of the session shot by shot. And I can assure you after half an hour of swigging the stuff you are pretty damn relaxed, they reckon the stuff is about 30% alcohol, and of course they take great delight in getting the visitors hammered. The price of admission is a friendly wave and either $5 bucks donation or some ingredients for the next batch to be brewed. It tasted ok, kind of tangy, not beer like at all, more like a mulled wine if you like. Just with a kick!

Next day, fully recovered and thankfully no hangover it was off walkies around the island- I'll get to that in Atiu Part 3, so standby!

More about Marshall and his tours can be found at his website, which I have to give a plug to! (Clickety here) There's some very cool pics of the Kopeka there too, I recommend a look!The craziest thing was 4000 odd km from home I got to go for a walk with Marshall, who knew about me through Tenure Review- it is a very very small world!