Today (2JUL) was Aitutaki Day. This tiny atoll is 264km north of Rarotonga and takes 50min flying a SAAB 340B twin prop to get there. I was up at 7am and went through the normal motions of packing and re-fuelling and returning the Yaris at the airport. By 830am I was sitting alone in an outdoor covered “lounge” blogging away while I waited for my 1030am prop plane to Aitutaki. Thank God my Mac was still alive as I had again strapped my most powerful powerbank to it. Aitutaki is only one of 8 of the 15 Cook Islands that you can fly to. The first European to land on it was in fact Captain Bligh of the infamous Bounty in 1789 just 17 days before the mutiny. Captain Cook never came here. The flight to Aitutaki brought back many memories of working in Leeton since it features a SAAB 340B aircraft. I was asked for a window seat at the back so I could photograph the atoll on approach as I have done with every atoll I have ever visited. The check-in guy suggested left side but I had worked out right from the plane spotting geek app I have that shows wind directions at every airport – aircraft always land INTO the wind. I was correct and hugely pissed off. The entire right side of the aircraft were glued to their windows and I just picked my bum !!! First time I have missed a landing shot. For me it was a crap way to start the visit but I put it behind me with two bottles of wine that night !!!
As I walked out of the small shack of an airport I noticed a huge placard with my name on it. What a surprise. I was mot expecting the hotel to pick me up thinking I would need to catch a cab. My lady driver “Em” put a huge fragrant floral wreath around my neck and within minutes we had driven half the island to the Rinos Cabins right on the water. Em pointed out all the food and liquor stores en route. I was set. My cabin was upstairs and again more like a studio apartment with a big room sporting a balcony facing the water, a kitchen and separate big bathroom. I was happy. No aircon but a huge ceiling fan that did the trick. Em helped me book a daylong lagoon snorkelling tour for the next day and booked a scooter for the day after when I would swim and shoot the island. Then I was off to the main village of Arutanga only 1km away. I started walking and much to my surprise and older lady on a scooter offered me a lift – how nice. It was sunny with ample humidity and heat. The main village is run down and simple. I visited the following places in it: Tourist Office, Public Park, First Cook Islands Christian Church (1821), Cultural Hall, War Memorial. I ended up at the Police Station to get my on-the-spot scooter licence but was told to come back at 8am the next day.
The main island of Aitutaki is just almost the same size as Nauru with a similar length of coastal road but what sets it apart is the size of the lagoon which is just over 4 times the area of the main island. It is very green but lacks the high rugged ridges and spires of Rarotonga. It is definitely flat like most atolls.
I then proceeded to walk 1.4km to Baxters Waterworld, the best Supermarket on the island. On the way I heard very loud drumming and singing. It was coming from a very big building that turned out to be a sports gymnasium for the local Araura High School. Inside was a 20 person “orchestra” and I estimate 300 sweaty dancing kids of all ages and sizes. Turns out they were learning and practicing Polynesian Dancing and they appeared to love it. I got a lot of fist punches and nods of approval as I feasted on filming this very natural and unstaged bonanza. Can’t wait to show you in the film. I stayed for a while before reaching my food and wine. I bulked up for the next 3 days and had to catch a taxi home since my spoils were way too heavy.
Once back I watched the sunset from my very own balcony and steeled down to some wine, olives and samosas (since the smallest cheese was in 1kg blocks !!!). Groceries are frightfully expensive here. $15AUD wine in Oz costs $25AUD here. A $1.10AUD tin of beans back home costs $3.90AUD here. That night I cooked some lean rump and a 4-bean chickpea salad in pasta sauce and dined to Netflix and plenty of wine to forget my plane stuffup.
The next day (3JUL) was Lagoon Day. But not without a run. It was a great dawn run. Great views. Cool breeze. AND NO DOGS !!! I was told there are no dogs on the island and it is true. There are however plenty of goats but at least they do not chase you !!! It was a photo finish to get ready for my 9am pickup since I had to use Em’s hot spot to load my authorisation certificate from the cloud onto my drone. Aitutaki unlike the whole of French Polynesia published their airport exclusion zones and I was able to get permission the night before to fly. Bliss. It would have been a major disaster for me if I could not drone this atoll especially missing the opportunity to do so on the aircraft in. I would get my revenge on take-off returning to Rarotonga.
“Teking” Lagoon Cruises are better than “Bishop’s” since the former limits passengers to 12 in small easy to photograph boat whereas the latter operates a huge catamaran with 1000 gringos on board doing nothing else but getting into your photos !!! We sailed at 930am and returned to port at 330pm after 3 snorkelling stops (30-60min each) and walking on 4 islands. The Aitutaki Lagoon is everything Lonely Planet says it is – GORGEOUS !!! Why ??? Because it contains every shade or hew of blue, green, turquoise and aqua there is !!! Because the depth of the water within the lagoon varies so much it creates a colidascope of colour. The morning was very cloudy and windy but by the afternoon there was ample sun and the wind had notched back two clicks. The first snorkel had coral, not a lot, not that great but specialised in GIANT TREVALLY FISH – huge bastards swimming in packs right near you just like the Reef Sharks of the Marquesas. Loved it because it was different – first time I had swum with huge fish. Just nearby was a wreck of a ship called THE ALEXANDER which was a large fishing vessel and busted up into many pieces due to a cyclone back in the 1970s. The second snorkel had much better coral and lots of it but also specialised in something I have only seen in Samoa – GIANT CLAMS !!! Big Mothers. Some up to 2m across. One thing I did not do is put my hand in their mouth though I was tempted for a good film shot !!! From here it was dry land. Small island reefs called MOTUS in the local dialect. The first was MAINA TI and next to it is the world famous MAINA or better known as HONEYMOON ISLAND. Aitutaki is world famous as one of the most exotic destinations for honeymooners !!! We actually had two on our boat. What was I doing here then ? I was in it for the photography, filming, running, swimming and droning. Aitutaki was made famous by the US Airforce, which occupied the island in 1942 and built a runway for military purposes. This runway was the catalyst for tourism, which now abounds in this place. Thanks USA. We had a delicious BBQ lunch on Honeymoon Island. No sex. Just food. Delicious BBQ Swordfish, BBQ Chicken, BBQ Eggplant, BBQ Zucchini, BBQ Sweet Potato, Coleslaw, Leaf Salad, Potato Salad and get this Curry Papaya Salad – this is an Aitutaki specialty and terrifically delicious going very well with the BBQ stuff. Our next snorkel featured the best coral in the lagoon – not as colourful as French Polynesia but much more dramatic in that the coral grows as huge clumps or underwater islands. It is like an underwater Grand Canyon with purple sides and fish hiding in caves. Best shaped coral I have seen. What also makes it dramatic is how close it is to the surface of the water creating reflective patterns – the surface acts as a mirror underwater. Then you have these strange little brown fish that guard the coral (and claims) and actually bite you !!! I filmed many trying to shoo me away. They are either “soldier” fish or “jealous” fish. Either way they are a lot of fun to joist with. The photos tell all. Our next dry land visit was TEPUAETAI ISLAND, best known as “ONE FOOT ISLAND”, which is the setting for a local legend in which a father saves his son from corrupt water police back in the late 1800’s. This is the most popular spot where all tours converge since there is an anchored ship that is all bar – yes – drinks. Even though it is teaming with tourists the watercolour and sand banks are to die for. From here it was a by-pass of AKAIAMI ISLAND that was a seaport for a flying boat service called TEALE in 1951 from New Zealand servicing all the South Pacific Islands until the late 60’s when the jet age took over. TEALE went on to become Air New Zealand…
I was glad to be back at the cabin. I was thirsty for wine and a shower to desalinate me. Another fine sunset and a dinner of salt and pepper squid and veggies to clean the gut for tomorrow’s scooter, swim and drone of the island. Aitutaki is turning out to be one of the finest atolls I have been to and I have been to many…
The 4JUL could not have come at a better time. I was looking forward to getting my scooter license for here and for Rarotonga. I was at the cop shop at 8am but the officer turned up 815am and told me to come back at 9am despite his college telling me to show at 8am. So after a quick brekkie I was back at 9am. Crickets. 930am and still crickets. Island Time. A local lady van driver Joanne turns up with gringos who also wanted a license and kindly offered to get my license on my behalf and deliver it to my hotel. I kindly accepted so I could head for my swim since the tide was running out and the surrounding reef is shallow at best. She said not to worry about scootering without a license since no cops pull people over so I headed out to Ootu Beach and Bay where I swam. Even at just after high tide the water was waist deep but I managed to get a good 2km swim in. The water was milky green but not clear since there was wind. After my swim I scootered back to my hotel but no sign of my licence so I headed to the cop shop since in 30min I would loose all hope of getting it – you can only get it 9-1130am and it was now 11am. Lucky for me the same officer was there and gave it to me on-the-spot for $2AUD. No test. No drive. In Rarotonga you have to wait 2hrs, do a written test, do a demo drive and then pay $35AUD. So glad that Avis lady told me to get my license here – she save me. I now had a license to scooter here and back at Rarotonga – I was pleased.
It was now noon and time to scooter Aitutaki main island. The sun was out but the wind persisted. I visited the following places: Piraki Lookout, Mt Maungapu (Highest Point), Vaipeka Village, Neibaa Store, Vaipea Church, Tautu Wharf, South Road (Drone Flight), Reureu, Tina & Co. My favourite was My Maugapau and the best bay is still Ootu where I swam. The distant Motu’s (mini islands in the reef) looked spectacular, not to mention the colours of the lagoon. The main island only took me 3.5hrs to circle with multiple stops along the way. The island interior is very lush and thick with vegetation unlike the atolls of French Polynesia which are very narrow and only filled with mainly palms. Here you get everything. And people grow stuff. The soil is volcanic and supports anything that can survive the heat and humidity. I returned to my hotel with extra wine since tomorrow is a public holiday celebrating the islands self-governorship and the liquor stores back in Rarotonga might be closed so I would carry this wine back on the plane tomorrow.
I settled down to my final sunset and evening in Aitutaki and as I watched the sun set and sipped my wine I declared this atoll the second best I have visited so far after Tuvalu. Only reason Tuvalu is ahead is that it has a more swimmable lagoon with beaches and adequate depth even at low tide and Tuvalu for me has the best coral I have very seen, even better than The Great Barrier Reef. Why ? Because the coral in Tuvalu looks like God just made it – I was looking for a price tag !!! It looks brand new and like someone had just spray-painted it every colour in the spectrum. Aitutaki coral is nowhere near this but its lagoon is definitely more colourful and picturesque than Tuvalu. Tuvalu has the added advantage that it is far away and hard to get to so has hardly any tourists which keeps its islands (motus) and coral completely unspoilt. There are no lagoon tours in Tuvalu – you need permission from the government for a fisherman to take you out there one on one. Love it.
Well done Aitutaki. And what they say is true. You have not visited or seen or experienced The Cook Islands until you have been to Aitutaki. If you are short on time then skip Rarotonga and spend every waking moment on Aitutaki…
AITUTAKI MAIN ISLAND FACTS:
Area: 18sqkm or 3,365 football fields
Dimensions: 6km by 3km
Coastline: 28km
Population: 1,782
Highest Peak: 124m
Claim to fame: First airport & Christina Church in the Cook Islands, No dogs, Season 13 of Survivor was shot here and Lonely Planet voted it has having the most beautiful lagoon of any atoll on the planet.
I got my way. I sat in 11F taking off from Aitutaki and captured the shots I should have got coming into land 3 days earlier. But you want to know something shocking ? My drone film and photos were heaps better than the aircraft shots !!! Now that is Justice !!!
Aitutaki is GORGEOUS !!! Don’t take my word for it – just feast on the photos…
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