Amazing Aitutaki ....

Kia Orana .......... Aaahhh, a still, blue sky day, devoid of the typical winter winds blowing at this time of year ..... my tummy ever thankful, as I loaded my little pack on the small prop plane, along with nine other excited passengers, ready for what I had been warned could be a bumpy ride ..... surprise!!! ..... it was a very very pleasant forty five minute flight into what has been called "heaven on earth" in travel magazines and certainly all the brochures in Rarotonga....how could I resist? ...... As the lagoon, all 45 kms. of it, appeared below us, with those awesome turquoise colors shimmering, I found I was literally holding my breath....as beautiful an island and atoll as one could ever imagine, smack dab in the middle of the blue Pacific! It is just the most amazing sight I have ever viewed from an airplane.....as if Rarotonga wasn't just a little dot in the vast Pacific, here now was Aitutaki, an even smaller dot but oh my, it is just breathtaking or breathholding in my case! I will try and post a picture taken from the air, as we approached but I doubt it can do justice somehow....some things are beyond words or even pictures but they help :)

After the hoopla of landing, unloading and such, what is totally noticeable immediately is the stillness, with the exception of a gentle breeze and the whisper of the surf......a place surely where it will be easy to just "be" ..... something I like to "do" :) It is a mere 220 km from Raro, and is one of the Cook Islands chain, but a world away from everything ....... I hung my pack at the Pacific Resort, an amazing litle place, about 12 huts lining the lagoon shores ..... a world on it's own!! ..... but do let me say here, there are mosquitos and little moth type flies everywhere!! This may be a result of Cyclone Pat that devastated the homes, fruit and vegetable crops on the island just a short four months ago in late February ...... new little creatures seem to have taken over .... possibly they are looking for fruit as well!!, or more likely, the lizard, gecko population was decimated due to the cyclone ...... these little creatures keep the bugs at bay in just about every tropical climate! :) Another interesting bit of creature life I discovered were the sea cucumbers, lining the shores of the lagoon area around my hut ...... hundreds of them everywhere, making me less resistant to swim or walk in the water (I don't like squishy) ..... thankfully these little guys did not exist in the larger lagoon area, where the cruise boat took us! They are about 6 - 8 inches long and literally look like a bent cucumber ..... totally harmless ...... the locals gather them, scoop out the insides that are eaten raw. A delicacy apparently. Pass. These little guys are apparently helpful to the ocean ecology, cleaning the lagoon ..... taking in sand at one end and dispersing it from the other :) Apparently, you can cut them in half, throw back in the lagoon and they will regenerate and grow back .... hmmm, must look that up on google when I get a chance ......

On my first day, I drove the whole island, and that at a very leisurely pace as it is only a handful of km. around ........ I was so saddened to see how much damage the island had sustained. Virtually 85% of all homes were either damaged or flattened, the churches dotting the island, all undergoing extensive repairs and white tents, donated by the Red Cross and New Zealand in particular, line the yards of every single home....it is where the locals have been sleeping as the repairs progress ..... the progress is slow and despite the initial quick response of New Zealand the day after the cyclone hit in Februrary, things amble along pretty much on island time now. The population is around 1,300 and everyone seems to have taken it all in their stride ...... patience and a basically cheerful attitude seems to be the order of the day. Just about everything has to be flown in or shipped, including all their produce now, brought in from Rarotonga ....... it may be another several months before they can even hope for their own crops .... hence, very expensive to eat on Aitutaki .......

There were a handful of "no- speed" bikes available from the "hotel" and after paying a fortune for a day's car rental, decided to leave the one little car available at the resort, for others to enjoy :) ....... I pedalled or walked into "town" daily, basically a corner or rather, a roundabout, with a bank/post office/telecom combination, a little store, coffee/souvenir stop, and the ubiquitous church ...... I shopped for the odd grocery item, enjoyed a coffee, chatting with locals ..... the shelves were often low on goods and for some items, non existent. I learned to do without ....... I kind of like that actually ...... we can be such a wasteful society ..... everything one could imagine buying, is available on virtually every street corner in any modern city!! On my first day, I had befriended Tigger the orange striped cat that roams the resort ....... I made the "mistake" of putting milk out on my first morning (mini bar milk price of $10 for a small container ..... yikes!) and like clockwork, this beautiful feline came by daily ..... did find the same size container for $1.40 in the stores the next day, still feeling somewhat guilty feeding it to a cat until locals told me most of them do not drink milk and are indeed lactose intolerant.....mostly the milk is used with coffee and for tourists! .... yes, tourists who fall in love with the local wildlife!! Tigger was my constant compansion as I walked the beach in the mornings or while reading a book on the patio, where he would curl up on my lap, happily purring with a tummy full of milk. I was in such a relaxed mode, (island mush perhaps :) that I totally forgot to take pictures of my little friend, or indeed of Aitutaki in general. I am probably the only tourist who does this regularly ....... oh well .... will write (type) the memories down instead :)
Bishop's Lagoon Cruises, a local outfit, captained by Awesome, Wonderful and Beautiful (so tacky that it was perfect!! ........ I think they are just tired of tourists being unable to pronounce their Maori names) takes tours into the lagoon and the tiny uninhabited islands that are scattered throughout, and what a treat that was! Sometimes I hesitate doing these "touristy type activities" but it is so different in the Cooks somewhow ..... always feels more like you are taking a trip with family than a commercial venture....possibly because tourism, although a major source of income in the Cooks, is still tiny by comparison to the mass tourism of the Caribbean, Mexico, Hawaii, Thailand, Malaysia etc. ...... but surely it is the enthusiasm of the hosts that charms one ..... they love their jobs and it shows in the attitude! Right in the middle of this stunning lagoon is a small sand bar....white soft sand in the middle, probably no more than a few hundred feet of land!! Amazing, simply amazing ...... we snorkled/swam in the lagoon, abundant with colorful fish of many varieties, giant clams and played and walked in the soft sand on these impossibly beautiful remote little islands. There are a number of large turtles that live in the lagoon, best viewed from the boat as we puttered along .......... Later in the day, somehow, magically, a grilled fish lunch materialized on uninhabited One Foot Island (they must cart the propane and supplies with the cruise daily, including the beer ..... there is a rusty old barbeque perched in an old multi-use shed which converts into a restaurant for lunch, a souvenir shop (a dozen items on display :) ) and post office, complete with a stamp of "one foot island" for our passports!!!) After lunch, washed down with the local Cook Island Mututu beer, I strolled about this little bit of paradise, working off lunch but even exercise becomes paced to island time. Yes, "heaven on earth" might be stretching it a bit, but not by much!! Just a spectacular day in every way. On board, I chatted with a couple of cheery ladies travelling together, Paula from England and Julia from Australia (we were probably the only non-honeymooners on board!!) ..... we agreed to meet up later in Rarotonga. A Sunday service at the local Christian church completed my stay in Aitutaki ....... Not crazy too much about the "fear of God " sermons preached both in Maori and English, but I so love listening to the singing and this time, because the words were projected on the front wall of the church, I sang along in Maori .... strangely, I find the language relatively easy to pronounce and read .... something to do with the most prevalent Maori "r" sound being similar to Finnish. I was approached after church by several ladies asking if I knew Maori, given they noticed me singing all the hymms with them!!? Too funny ...... I forgot while singing my heart out, how a tourist is scrutinized in a small community and certainly a small church!! .... silly me, of course they would have noticed!
Back to Raro, where I felt as though I was re-entering a thriving metropolis ..... from virtually no cars on the road in Aitutaki to dozens on Raro, well yes.....so it was! :) Ka Kite Aitutaki, Kia Manuia Raro, Love, Seija