Atiu
is 130 miles northeast of Rarotonga. Early afternoon we loaded zodiacs to surf
through the breakwater’s narrow opening to the beach where we were greeted by
conch blowing and drum beating warriors. The whole island turned out to greet
us, and friendly gals gave each of us a fresh flower lei. The fragrant plumeria
lei is my favorite.
We were ushered to their open-air recreation
building where we were given a feast of delicious fresh island fruit served on
palm fond woven plates. The friendly islanders put on a very good dance
demonstration for us.
Then we loaded les truck for a ride around the island. Our
transportation was literally a pickup truck with benches placed in the truck’s bed.
This is the only means of
transportation on the island. The island’s many narrow roads sometimes were
nothing more than tire-tracks. The vegetation was lush and thick. Atiu’s high
central plateau at 233 feet is a contrast to its neighboring flat islands. The
island is surrounded by low swamps and a 66-foot high raised coral reef. Dense forest grow on the west coast and low
growing bird nest ferns provide a thick green cover. The cliffs of Makatea
contain extensive limestone caves.
Atiu’s 900 residents live in five villages, in
clustered groups inland, different from Tahitians who live around the
perimeter of their islands. In 1777 when Capt. Cook discovered this volcanic
island he named it Island Enuamanu meaning land
of birds. Coffee, taro, pineapple, papaya, and oranges are grown for export
to New Zealand.
While
sipping fresh coffee at the small
Atui Coffee Company we were told. “There are two types of coffee beans grown in
the world: robusta and arabica. Robusta beans are dried in their shells
absorbing caffeine and acid in the process. Because this would be too bitter to
drink plain, these beans are combined with arabica beans which are dried
without their shells. Arabica beans are only grown in a few places, Atiu,
Kenya, and Costa Rica among them. The beans are separated by size before
roasting to produce even roasting. The size of the bean does not determine flavor; they are all the
same. The longer the bean is roasted the less caffeine and acid, as it is lost
in the roasting process. That is why dark roasted coffee has less caffeine.
From January to June the cherries are
handpicked and within six hours the cherries are pulped to expose the bean.
Atiu coffee is 100% sun dried.”
In
the center of the island we stopped where many years ago someone paced off the
island north to south and east and west and determined this to be the center of
the island. More recently surveyors repeated the process with modern
instruments and found the original marker off by only two meters!
A docent
accompanied us to several ancient sites saying, “These ancient temples are
called maraes. In times past the High Chiefs would gather
here to decide if they would or would not go to war. There are three tribes on
the island now, each ruled by its own chief. Leadership is passed on to the
oldest son.”
We
stopped at Atiu’s only hotel. Tourism is in its infancy here so its four cabins
were apparently adequate to accommodate the island’s 600 annual visitors. The
owner, an Englishman, met my wife in New Zealand more than 25 years ago. She is
Tahitian and after a holiday on Atiu in 1979 they decided to move here, arriving on
the first plane. He built the quaint and comfortable bungalows using native
woods.
Our
final stop on the island was at the small beach where Capt. Cook landed. The
lovely island would be great for a relaxing vacation, but I’m afraid a bit too
small for me not to suffer a little island
fever.
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