Land of the birds - Vol 16 part I
Vol 16 - Welcome to the land of the birds part I.
안녕하세요, Kia Orana, Welcome
This week I present the fourth edition in my series looking at the Cook Islands. In volume 12 I discussed the beautiful island of Aitutaki (ai·too·taa·kee).
This week I will talk about another island in the Cook Islands group that you should definitely visit.
ATIU (A·Choo)/ENUAMANU (E·nu·a ma·nu)
As mentioned in previous newsletters, The Cooks Islands comprises 15 islands stretched over the area of Alaska. The main island is Rarotonga and is the gateway to all the others. The second most well-known and visited island is Aitutaki (ai·too·taa·kee). The third well-known island and today’s topic is Atiu (A·Choo).
This week we will have a look at one of the Cook Islands’ other hidden gems.
Atiu (A·Choo) - Image courtesy of Cook islands travel.
LAND OF THE BIRDS
After Rarotonga and Aitutaki (ai·too·taa·kee), the third most popular and visited place in the country is Atiu (A·Choo). A lovely 45-minute flight from Rarotonga it’s famous for its swampy marshes, caves, historical warrior culture, strong bush alcohol, and empty beaches. Also known as Enuamanu (E·nu·a·ma·nu) “land of the birds” it’s very small in size only measuring 26.9 km2. In fact, the current population might number 400 people. Atiu is like stepping back into time. The pace of life is slow and the speed and madness of modern life are almost non-existent. It feels like stepping back in time about 30 - 40 years ago. This is essentially one of its many charms and the reasons for the increasing number of tourism-related concepts and adventure seekers. It is believed to have been first settled around 900 AD – 1000 AD and the first known European to arrive is Captain James Cook in 1777. In fact, you can go to that location today.
There are not many better options if you want to escape the hectic modern world.
I spent many vacations and time on this island as my paternal side is from there. In a sense, I’m very lucky to experience the island.
Two things that are quite interesting in Atiu (A·Choo).
BIRDS
Avid bird watchers this is the place to see. From tiny birds that live in the caves and navigate using sonar to the endangered Rarotonga Monarch (Kakerori ) that at one point had a population of 29. Also, the beautiful Rimitara lorikeet/Kura was almost wiped out for their feathers and also by rats. However, due to recovery efforts, its numbers are recovering.
The variety of birds is a bird lover’s delight. Contact “The Birdman George” for a great tour.
The Kakeori - Image courtesy of the birdman files.
Rimitara lorikeet/Kura (Cook Islands) - Image courtesy of abc.net.
BUSH BEER
On the island of Atiu (A·Choo), there are some famous drinking places called Tumunu (Tu·mu·nu), which translates to “coconut trunk”. You can find these places in each of the five villages. After the arrival of the missionaries in the early 19th-century alcohol was banned and the people resorted to secretly drinking home-brewed fruit beer. A kind of secret society where discussions were held and ideas shared over this very strong brew. It somehow survived centuries of persecution and it’s now a tourism experience. Although it goes down sweet I can confirm the next day is not so sharp.
COFFEE
Another interesting aspect of Atiu (A·Choo) is Coffee.
We usually associate coffee with countries like Brazil, Ethiopia, Indonesia, etc. Early missionaries at the beginning of the 19th century brought coffee to Atiu and it seemed to thrive in the calcium and phosphorus-rich volcanic soil. It was produced in sufficient amounts that it was exported to New Zealand, the USA, and Europe. Predominately Arabica beans and organic free from chemicals its quite a lovely drop. You can take a tour of the coffee plantations, picking, drying, roasting, packaging, etc for a small fee. Also, the tour ends with coffee, coconut cream, and pikelets at the tour guide’s home where you can enjoy stories of local life and the history of coffee. I can’t think of another place in the pacific that grows coffee like this and it’s a very unique experience.
If you ever venture to this part of the world I definitely recommend a visit.
You won’t regret it.
Atiu (A·Choo), Cook Islands, famous for its swampy marshes, caves, historical warrior culture, strong bush alcohol, and empty beaches. Leave your problems at home!
See you there.
In the next edition, I will continue with part II of this series based on Atiu. I will look at caves, warrior culture, and beaches.
This week’s recommendations
1) This week I have 2 new language expressions for followers of this newsletter. How do we say goodbye in Korean and Cook Island Maori?
How do you say goodbye in Korean?
How do you say goodbye in Cook Islands Maori?
“Aere Ra” = (Eye-ray-raah) - Goodbye
Feel free to engage in the conversation below
1) Where are some beautiful places you would like to see?
“Feed your focus, starve your distractions.”