Imagine being stranded on a desert island
Trip Start
Dec 06, 2006
1
75
188
Trip End
Ongoing
Aitutaki,
Cook Islands
Sunday, May 20, 2007
And so off we went in search of sun and typically that was the day the sky cleared up in Raro. We jetted off on a teeny plane, a similar size to one I caught many moons ago across to the Isle of Man. I got the feeling the place I was heading this time would be a little bit more glamourous. Aitutaki is a bunch of 15 islands surrounding what I'd classify as a stunning lagoon. It's so remote Google Maps doesn't know where it is, but it's about 250kms north of Rarotonga, so warmer and we were hoping sunnier. To start with we weren't disappointed with a few good days and cracking sunsets.
When we arrived we didn't have a place to stay as Papa Tom ignored my email. We got a lift around with a bloke who turned up at the airport with his minibus, possibly not coincidentally
001 sunset on the 2nd night
. As we travelled around he dropped off various parcels so he was possibly the postie, possibly just a nice man or quite possibly both. We got dropped off at Tom's and soon found out why the email was left unanswered. Tom seemed to be a little bit mental. Definitely a sandwich short of a picnic and communication between us was proving difficult. He didn't seem to understand what I was saying so in the end I pretty much gave up. In the intervening minutes we were shown a grotty room inside costing 24 a night and a beach bungalow which he said was 95 for the unit. We said we'd just go for the room but he dropped the price of the bungalow to 60 which for the cleaner place with our own mozzie free cooking and showering was a bargain. I did the honourable thing and offered Lee the double bed but she foolishly \ kindly said I could have it so I had the luxury of sleeping at full stretch diagonally whilst she took the single. Things were looking up after the mosquitoes and shabby beds of Rarotonga Backpackers.Of course the weather wasn't going to last, and before long a few storms were blowing in. I was well prepared though, as well as standard issue books, I was armed with a Rubic's cube, an IPod stuffed full of films and my secret weapon: A PSP with Championship Manager. To give you an idea of the time spent relaxing, I managed to get Accrington Stanley (who are they?) from the Conference up to battling away in the Premiership during my time on Aututaki
002 making full use of the 'vivid red' setting
. It's a managerial performance on a par with someone taking over at Sunderland when they hadn't won a game and getting them promoted as champions and what's the chances of that?I did manage to tear myself away occasionally from my footy management duties and did some one eyed goggle snorkelling near a resort not far further up the beach. The water wasn't as deep as Raro so it wasn't as good for seeing fish but the water was bathtub warm. On another day I decided it was time to go on an adventure and see if I could find out how the other half lived on the only private island. It was a fair old distance away, but I figured that 8km wouldn't kill me, particularly as I wasn't exactly busy. I thought I'd make my way there via the dizzying heights of the islands peak, which at around 100m wasn't that spectacular but did provide some views over the lagoon. I initially followed a track but veered off to see where another less trampled path lead - I wasn't really going to get too lost due to the road on the perimeter of the main island. I eventually came out at the back of a house that was being built but just wandered past and down the other side to the main road where I began my long walk.
Well it would have been a long walk but these island folk are just too nice to let people wander around
003 serving suggestion
. A pick up truck stopped alongside me and he asked where I was going, I said around to the resort and he said to jump in and took me around. Excellent stuff, more time to annoy the rich people. I took a look at the island from a distance but thought I'd get a closer look so waded \ swam around and then saw where the other half of the other half lived. We're now talking fractions, but these people are seriously loaded. There were some beach huts over the water where there was a nice deep pool for swimming and kayaking. All very nice if you can afford over $1000 a night. A little bit more than the 60 we were paying! But having said that, the reason for the premium becomes clear when you consider that their view that day was of me in my speedos...I then got back to my stuff and sorted myself out for the return trip and not far along the road I was stopped and asked again if I was alright and if I wanted a lift. Who needs an island bus service? This time I was scootered around by an Arsenal fan, who had lived in the UK for a while but was now back on the island. It was all good until I made an embarrassing exit. I said thanks and stuck out my hand to shake his hand but he went for a homeboy fist and before I realised it I was involved in an impromptu game of rock, scissors, paper as I shook his fist. Obviously this means I won the unexpected game, but I needed to try and rescue the situation so then went to rap knuckles but by then he was scootering away, clearly desperate to get away from the whitie with no street skills.
On another day we hired bikes and road around the island and again headed to swim in front of the rich peeps. The bike ride was interesting due to the broken pedal, a bit of a lack of gears, no brakes and one of the most uncomfortable seats in the world
004 view from the dizzy heights of the main island
. The next day was painful. For a variation on a theme, the next time we headed around (on the same bikes, ow) but hired kayaks to do some exploring on some of other nearby islands. It had started out a stormy day but by the afternoon and the time we were out there it'd had cleared up and although not a thrilling day, it was certainly a very nice way to spend an afternoon, half kayaking, half sunbathing. On one of the islands I thought I'd spotted a good place to stop but surprise surprise I found a kayak already there. Yup, you've guessed it, Germans. If it's not towels, it's kayaks.Our final day was easily the best. We booked ourselves on a lagoon cruise and spent the day zipping about on a speedboat. We were picked up from Tom's and taken along to the wharf where Captain Fantastic, it's true, he had a cap with it embroidered on introduced himself. We ended up with Captain Useless, named by Capt Fantastic, who had a bandaged foot so at various points he had some hobbling to do as he did an excellent job of looking after us. First port of call for the day was some snorkelling before we were taken and dropped off at a sand bar to explore an island whilst lunch was prepared. Yes, it was as tough a day as it sounds. They reckon that things tend to happen in threes, well with the car and losing my bag I was due to third. Unfortunately it happened just before lunch.
005 a zoom of the private island resort
I was keeping my camera in a plastic bag, I wouldn't want to get water all over it would I? So after taking a few pictures I popped my camera in the bag and it popped straight through the bottom in to the ocean. Bugger. The lunch was smoked fish, bread with a selection of fruits and to top it off, donuts! It was served on a big leaf in a basket which saved on the washing up and whilst we ate, Captain told us how some of the islands were named. We were eating on Honeymoon Island which was named after a Canadian couple who were the first on marry on the islands. According to the Lonely Planet it's not actually an island but a sand bar, which is possibly correct. All the old aerial shots (they were taken in the 50s) don't have the island on there. It's tradition that newly married couples plant a coconut on the island and there were a lot of coconut trees there so that's how it's built up. One advantage is that there were no mozzies there and Kia Orana is the only cruise company that uses that island as a stop so we could fully relax in peace whilst eating. Most companies use One Foot Island. That was named after a man who saved his sons life. They were involved in an argument over land and were chased by a group across the lagoon. When they reached the island the man realised that they would be looking for two people so he walked in his sons footsteps. By doing this, when they got there and caught him, they thought there was only him left and didn't search for his son
006 how the posh get to their private island
. His son hid as his father was killed and later came out to bury him and eventually he made his way back to the mainland where he was taken in and brought up. His family name is still on Aitutaki. One reason these two islands are famous with tourists is because you can get your passport stamped there. I've not sure of how legal it is, but I've now got stamps in there!After a cheeky dip, it was back in the speedboat to have a wander on One Foot Island where a lot of the water activities and filming for Shipwrecked took place. One of the oil drum platforms was still anchored in the water. After that a bit more snorkelling before we headed to the island where Survivor was filmed and took a look at the remains of the camp including the long drop toilet. It is one of two volcanic islands, the rest are coral atolls. The islands are known as Motu, which literally means removed from as they're removed from the main island. Can't argue with Maori logic like that. The motu are there for the islanders to use and enjoy, for a days relaxing, for holidays, anything they like as long as they're left as they were found. During filming they weren't allowed to use them for 3 months so they weren't too chuffed. Tourism has actually fallen since Survivor, maybe people are happy having seen it on telly.
Finally a speedy speedboat back to the wharf. All in all a fantastic day as promised by the captain himself. Comedy highlight goes to a kid that was there though. He was wearing a spiderman swimming costume so he was spiderman for the day. Each of the speedboats had a kid on to help out with bit and bobs and he was chatting to them. One of them said what's your name, so he replied Spiderman. No, what's your name? Spiderman. No, what's your real name? Peter Parker. You've got to admire a lad that's done his research!
