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Our 45 minute 18-seater Air Rarotonga flight from Aitutake to Atiu went smoothly and without incident. At the one room airport you will most likely be greeted by representatives from the 3 guest houses. If you don't have a reservation already, just ask who has a room available. I stayed at the Are Manuiri, which was the only budget GH. Jorgen, originally from Germany, keeps his small 3-room guest house very clean and provides you with fresh coffee from his coffee plantation. You can easily cook your own meals in the well supplied kitchen. There's no TV and you can only pick up one Rarotonga AM radio station, so don't expect to be doing a lot at night. In fact, don't even expect to keep up with the world news. Just relax and enjoy being isolated and totally away from it all!
I went on the Kopeka Cave tour, which was quite interesting. Be forwarned that you need to wear solid shoes, and you walk for about 20 minutes over very sharp coral to reach the cave where you are greeted with a 3 meter ladder! The caves are quite slippery in places, so go slowly and carefully. While I was there one women slipped and dislocated her soldier! The tiny Kopeka bird when flying in the cave's pitch blackness uses clicking sounds, like bats, to navigate. Afterwards we partook of some local bushbeer. I also took George's Nature Tour, which was an educational and pleasant way to spend a morning bird watching and bushwacking. You can also ask George to arrange a special tour to the "Marae Orango" (sp?), the traditional pre-Christian sacrificial site, and to the "Rima Rau" 500-person burial cave. The old stone walls of the Marae are overgrown and there is no signage explaining what you are looking at. Both are quite interesting and there's no way you can find them without a guide. Also, you'd be walking on someone's private property, so don't even think about doing it on your own. You can rent bicycles or motorbikes to get around the island. I did some bicycling along the 'round-the-island' road and for much of the way it's nothing more than a dirt track through lots of weeds! Take a lot of water, too, as the heat and humidity are brutal. Atiu has lots of wild pigs and stray dogs, but they were all harmless. There's also chickens running around everywhere, but like on Aitutaki, not an egg to be found. Strange!! There's a small sandy beach about 30 minutes walk from the Are Manuiri GH, and though there is coral and rocks, you can go in for a dip and cool off. You can also go down to the main port and swim in a sea water swimming pool. For coffee lovers there's a coffee tour and you get to sample the local product at the end. The island has electricity 24 hours a day thanks to a relatively new generator plant. Everybody, including the locals, boils the water just to be safe. The roads are only sealed/paved in the town, and the rest are dirt. Provisions may be slim on the island, and the main store will become short of supplies if the boat doesn't come in. When I was there the island had run out of flour, so there was no more bread. I lived on cans of curried beef, spaghetti, cheese, and crackers. You can also eat expensive dinners at the Atui Hotel. Everyone on the island is very friendly and helpful, and it's a great place to do absolutely nothing but read a book and relax. The locals putt-putt around on their motorbikes, obviously in no rush. I mean, it's not like there's a lot of places to visit, or that anywhere can be very far away. Bring you ear plugs, as always, for at dawn the minah birds and roosters create an unbelieveable din. We're talking a truly ear-splitting racket. If you want to simply see the sights, you can probably squeeze everything in with just a 2 day visit. If you just want to get away from it all, stay a week. Comments? E-mail me at [email protected]. I hope to be adding pictures in a month or two when I have my film developed! Return to General Cooks Info *** Aitutaki Info *** Rarotonga Info *** |
