We had a great time on Atiu. It was, as everyone said, quiet
and filled with natural wonders. Jackie, who picked us up, gave us a short tour
of the island and lots of helpful info between the airport and the Atiu Villas.
She made a special stop by the harbour because the cargo ship was “in”. The
cargo ship, no bigger than a Seattle power yacht, was already anchored off
shore and its contents were being loaded onto a barge when we arrived. It
seemed the whole island was out to meet the ship, and no wonder. Once it
arrived at the dock, it became apparent why everyone had shown up to meet it.
There was a new quad for Birdman George, four spanking new motor scooters,
doors and windows for James and Victoria’s new house, and bundles and bundles of
who knows what. It’s an important event obviously and an arduous process
supplying the island with its essentials.
Roger, our host at Atiu Villas, seems to be in the middle of
everything that goes on. A kiwi, he moved to the island when he married an
islander, whose traditional claim to land afforded the opportunity to return
here. On our first night, he arranged an
early dinner (great food from Kura’s on-site kitchen) so that we could all go
to the concert at the community hall. Seems the Rarotonga private English
school, where they also teach the Maori language and culture, was on a field
trip, and these 20 or so kids were putting on a song and dance show along with
their new friends from the local school. The whole island was there. I’m sure
every grandparent and parent, home stay mom, brother, sister, you name it,
showed up for the show. We had a blast. For over 2 hours the two school groups
alternated dances and songs, while members of the audience danced their way to
the stage to leave donations in a hat. With each dance the money was removed
and counted and in the end a winner declared based on who drew the most money
out of the crowd. Roger was up there, with his donation, singing along with the
tunes, and explaining it all to us. What a great night. It will be a highlight of our trip I’m sure,
and you’ll see why when I can finally post some photos.
Our last day on the island, Monday, was to be a big day on
Atiu as well. A small cruise boat
offshore was bringing 160 tourists on to the island for tours. Seems everyone
was involved. I’m guessing the bakery was putting out extra donuts, James was fully
booked for tours, and Birdman George too. Anyone we talked to was preparing for
the big day. Unfortunately, on our way to the airport Jackie described the
disaster that occurred, putting an end to it all. On the way in from the boat,
the zodiac, filled with passengers, failed to negotiate a wave and was upset,
putting some of the passengers (elderly apparently) into the water. The surf
was up, and with a rocky shore, injuries were inevitable. By the time we got
word, everyone was back on the boat, but Jackie and Roger had spent a busy
morning shuttling injured passengers and the ship doctor to the hospital. And
sadly, we were told that no one would be paid for the cancelled tours.
The good news was that we shared a plane back to Rarotonga
with about half the kids from the school tour, and had lots of opportunity to
talk to them. The teacher has welcomed us to visit, and we are putting together
a flash drive of photos and videos to drop off next week when we go.
One more island, then back here to Rarotonga for a week.
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