Atiu Part Three- Coffee and Leaving

The Edge of the Deep Blue Sea

Well I only had a grand total of three days on Atiu and it wasn't enough. Reading the visitor book at Are Manuiri it was notable that even people who spend weeks and weeks there think they didn't give it enough time!

For the last day and a bit I did a lot of walking. Plenty of wildlife- local doves, kingfishers, even one of the worlds rarest parakeets, the Kura, which has just been reintroduced to Atiu. No humpback whales though, unlike the day before I arrive. Scariest thing was probably the crabs- big ones, little ones, fiesty ones, chicken ones. You do not want to accidentally step on a Coconut Crab while hopping round the Makatea- these things know how to husk and open coconuts with their bare claws!

Makatea at Oneroa Beach

For the last night Marc and I went down to Roger Malcoms bar and watched Canterbury win the Ranfurly Shield off Waikato- something I wasn't expecting to do on a tiny island 4000km from home! We won't mention the fact that the Shield is gone already...thats a whole other tragic story!

It was a bit of a sleepless night the final night, which meant the Coffee Tour with Juergen was fantastic timing. And Andrea's Art Studio was particularly inspiring, my wall hanging is in the post as we speak. Thanks guys for your hospitality!

Tony and Juergen

It was with great reluctance that I left Atiu....but looking back a month later it is still indelibly marked on my mind (and I still have some imported coffee left!)

I leave you with a couple of website links to look at if you want to know more about Atiu. I completely recommend it!

Juergen and Andrea's site

Roger and Kura's site

Be sure to read the fine print when leaving Atiu airport customs....(click pic for blow up)

One more post to come on the Cooks series...the return to Rarotonga. Walks, climbs and the mighty Tumunu restaurant...standby!

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!

Atiu Part 1- A Slice of Forgotten Paradise

Nothing could have prepared me for Atiu. No amount of reading websites, books, talking with the old man, nothing at all could have given me a clue of what I was in for when I left the Pacific Resort and jumped on that Bandeirante Aircraft and headed a few hundred kilometres ENE from Rarotonga.

First look at Atiu

This is the stuff South Seas legends are borne from. A 27 sq.km island in the Pacific Ocean, population approximately 600, down from 1000 a decade or so back. Half the numbers are lively and boisterous kids, many of whom are raised by grandparents. I guess many of the working age folk gravitate to Raro or NZ, leaving a bit of a generation gap. I understand its actually Cook Island custom for the first born to be given to the grandparents. The people there are just so friendly and giving, after just a few hours on the place my initial shock of no longer being at a resort had worn off and people were saying hi to the highly conspicuous honkey boy from Christchurch as if I'd lived there all my life.

View from Are Manuiri- Home for 3 days

The island itself consists almost entirely of a raised coral reef, that at some point was shunted up out of the sea by tectonic activity. This exposed fossilised landscape is locally known as the makatea, and I tell you what you wouldn't want to walk on it barefoot, or fall over, you would easily do serious damage- and given Atiu is primarily a subsistence economy island with limited infrastructure I suspect you really don't want to bother the health system too much there!

Oneroa Beach, no not the Waikeke one!

The populace all live within 5 'villages' in the centre of the island that really feel like one, which in itself is unique. Each village seems to have its own rugby field, tennis court, and church. The churches are definitely the flashest buildings on the island, without a doubt.

Zion Tapu

No one seems quite sure why they abandoned the coast, but the history of the island is one of fierce warriors and proud folklore, and even cannibalism. No doubt all this was assisted by the impregnable nature of the makatea for any potential invaders. Today this means the 4WD track around the coast is a stunning remote experience walk, with crashing surf over the relatively young coral reef and lagoon, with bountiful fruit and food on display (yes I picked my own pawpaw, bananas and coconuts as is the Atiu way) and a diverse wildlife of pigs, poultry, birds, humpback whales and highly territorial crabs -yes I was chased by a few big ones, including the ubiquitous coconut crab- about the size of a dinner plate!

The Coral Garden

Talk about back to nature. Home on the island was in Areora Village nestled among the locals at a hostel named Are Manuiri. It was laid back and I had company in the form of an ex truckie from the US named Marc, who is on a mission to become a fully-fledged Cook Island resident. Good luck to you my friend and thanks so much for the impromptu Gun N Roses concert!

Anyway thats it for this installment, standby for Atiu Part 2- Cave Birds, Bush Beer and the Ranfurly Shield!