Cook Islands and Aitutaki

Aitutaki belongs to the southern group of the Cook Islands and is an “almost” atoll with a large coral reef around the entire island and several small islands inside the surrounding lagoon. We had good winds but also high waves when we sailed to the island, so it was a rough four days sailing for us. Since we had sailed a little faster than expected, we sailed the last few nautical miles with only a small headsail in order to arrive after sunrise. To get to the island, you have to pass through a narrow channel on the northwest side and this has to be done in daylight. Once inside the small harbor at the larger town of Arutanga, we noticed that we were the only visiting boat. The harbor is under construction and actually consists of a large basin that is being excavated. The excavator was in full swing and the water was completely brown from all the mud that had been suspended. We anchored in the basin and found that the depth was around 2 meters in some places and were getting stuck in the mud as Anastacia’s draft is 2.05 m. After being checked by authorities from the biosecurity, health, immigration and customs, we were able to take down the yellow Q flag and raise the Cook Islands courtesy flag. We were welcome ashore!

A little later that day, the catamaran Valentin appeared with a German crew and anchored behind us in the basin. Jürgen and Heiki were a nice couple and we quickly got along well with them. We decided to move Anastacia and instead anchor on the outside of the atoll. Now the catamaran had the entire basin at its disposal 😊. Outside the reef, the water was much clearer and we had enough protection from the waves, although the flat island itself does not provide any protection from the wind. We anchored on a shelf in the coral reef and floated the chain so as not to damage the corals or get caught with the chain. The weather forecast warned of winds of up to 30 knots during the Easter weekend so we wanted to make sure that Anastacia was in a good position. Later, the Canadian boat Timmies-Run appeared and had the same problem as we had in the shallows in the basin so that boat also had to anchor the outside reef. We had many nice sundowners on our boats...

The Cook Islands archipelago is named after Captain James Cook who visited the islands in the 18th century. Since the beginning of the 20th century, the islands have belonged to New Zealand and thus also to Great Britain but now have greater autonomy. Previously, different Polynesian dialects were spoken on the different islands but it is mainly the older generation that master the indigenous languages because it was banned for several years in schools in favor of English. Nowadays, the rules have been relaxed and a Maori dialect is now an official language on the islands along with English. Aitutaki is the second largest of the Cook Islands after the main island of Rarotonga and is an incredibly beautiful atoll that is often compared to Bora Bora. The islanders themselves say that Aitutaki is paradise on earth. About 1200 people live here and most are Christians belonging to one of the several different faith communities represented on the island. All with their own church or meeting place.

To see around, we were recommended to rent scooters. We went to the nearest rental company and booked two. I happily thought how nice it would be to drive my own scooter because otherwise we always just used to rent a scooter that Christer used to drive and where I sat behind. My experience can certainly be accommodated in a few hours of moped driving about 10 years ago, but this looked so easy! Everyone droves scooters on the island. Old and young! After a brief introduction to the few and simple controls of the means of transport, Christer drove off a bit further down the road. We had agreed that he would drive ahead of me as he was more used to left-hand traffic. I tried to follow but it was coming to an end with horror when I crossed the road. Acceleration, keeping my balance and finding the right brakes was just too much. Then I had to turn too - preferably BEFORE the ditch appeared... halfway into the ditch I managed to stop my vehicle. A lady in the car right behind me asked compassionately if everything was okay. She had seen me swaying away and was genuinely concerned. I thanked her for her concern and said I was fine. Then I realized that I was actually a traffic hazard and that there would probably be no more scootering for me. My self-confidence had taken a hit and I muttered something to Christer who quickly understood the situation and without any major fuss gave my scooter back and offered me a seat on his instead. Then he looked really pleased when I sat behind him, and exclaimed "This actually feels much safer. Now I know where I have you!" I muttered something like “Yes, yes. I can’t do everything” and so we didn’t discuss the matter anymore… For the next two days we explored the small island, found beautiful viewpoints and drove on all the back roads we could find. We sometimes stopped for coffee and lunch and had a great time 😊

Easter weekend is celebrated in a traditional way on the island, as the Christian holiday it really is, in memory of Jesus’ death and resurrection. No Easter eggs, Easter bunnies, sweets or easter witches. No feasting and lavish meals. Here you go to your church and attend the services throughout the weekend and spend time with your family. Together with our German friends, we therefore chose to go to the island's largest and oldest church on Easter Day. The church was built almost 200 years ago and is simple but beautiful. Most of the visitors from the local population were brightly dressed and the ladies wore large, bright straw hats with flowers in them. The service was a pleasant experience with many different speakers and a, not too long, sermon in the name of joy. Throughout the ceremony, there were many breaks for beautiful choir singing. Some messages to the local population with information about upcoming events were also given, as well as some welcoming words to us tourists who had gathered in the church.

After the strong wind during the Easter weekend, the wind has almost completely died down and we are waiting for the next weather window to be able to set off. We have passed the time with some snorkeling around the boat and have slowly started preparing for departure for Niue together with the Canadian boat together with the Canadian boat that has some problems with the electronics on board and is happy to join us as they are heading to the same destination.

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