Aitutaki and Niue

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Aitutaki, Southern Cook Islands

The passage to Aitutaki from Mopelia took 3 days. The winds were light to moderate and dead behind. The swell was uncomfortable. We lost VHF contact with Gryphon II after one day and found out later they had decided to go to Raratonga. We arrived at Aitutaki, with about one hour of light left to negotiate the shallow pass through the reef. We knew we could anchor off until morning. Once again we found our electronic charts were not accurate. We couldn’t see any beacons or markers, the reef seemed to be a continuous line of breaking waves and we didn’t know whether it was high or low tide. We would have to sound our way into the anchorage and leave the pass until morning. Then a voice called over the VHF. It was Arthur from the yacht, Aquarius, and he was in the harbour. He told us it was nearly high water and to look for some sticks, which marked the north side of the pass. I could see some sticks further in but nothing at the entrance. Jeremy saw a stick marking a narrow gap in the reef and in we went. We ran aground twice and the second time we were next to the pass marker. Arthur was great and talked us through the pass and into the harbour, where his crewman handed us a bowline and we dropped our stern anchor. The bowline was secured to a palm tree ashore. At last my heart rate returned to normal as darkness began to fall.

We later learned why this port of entry to the Cook Islands was marked by sticks. Aitutaki was hit by a cyclone in February and suffered 90% damage but no loss of life. When we saw all the roofless and demolished buildings and many people still living in tents, we felt humbled. Everyone was very friendly and they all spoke English. Clearing in was easy, the bank exchanged our French Polynesian francs for NZdollars and we soon found our way round the few shops. We had run out of fresh produce days ago in Mopelia but could only find tomatoes and lettuce. There was no fruit, as the trees had been flattened in the cyclone, except for a few bananas and papaya.

The next day James and Lucy on the catamaran, Snow Leopard, arrived so there were 3 British boats in the small harbour. We had a great time socialising for 3 evenings in a row. Jeremy and I hired a scooter for 2 days. We had to get a Cook Island licence, which seemed to be a formality, but the policeman looked at Jeremy’s driving licence and told him he was not qualified to ride a scooter. He would have to pass a test and pay the charge before a licence could be issued. As we had driven round the island all morning, that was enough to be qualified and a licence was issued for 7.50NZD. We were not allowed to wear crash helmets. There weren’t any. The government had decided they would have speed limits instead of 40kph in villages and 60kph elsewhere. We zipped round the island like a couple of teenagers, stopping to climb to the highest point, from where we saw hump back whales blowing and diving close to the barrier reef. We returned the scooter half way through the second day as the brakes failed going downhill. I got off and walked. Our second scooter was in better condition and there were no further incidents.

We were able to have our propane cooking gas bottle refilled in Aitutaki, but there was no laundry – just a tap near the wharf. The day before we left Jeremy washed all our towels and clothes on board and I took them ashore in 3 buckets and rinsed them at the tap. Soon everything was drying in the rigging. The next day I made a 3 day stew for our sea passage, using lamb chops, potatoes, onions, green pepper, aubergine and green beans. We had our first helping on a rocky rolly sea and all that green slop looked far from appetising. We forced it down.

Niue

The passage to Niue was one of the most uncomfortable since leaving Panama. The swell came from two directions and was short and steep with breaking waves on top. The wind was behind again and we lurched, sometimes violently, from side to side, for hours at a time. After 14 hours, I was seasick on my first night watch. Once I had recovered I took 2 Stugeron. They knocked me out and I slept solidly for 3 hours. I took Stugeron for 24 hours and then I had my sea legs again. We were going to stop at Palmeston, another Cook Island, but realised we would arrive there at midnight and have to gill about until dawn. We did not fancy doing that in the horrible swell so we altered course for Niue and arrived 4 nights later. We entered the wide bay in the dark using our radar, depth sounder and electronic charts, which were accurate once more, and our engine. The “ship’s buoy” I saw from afar turned out to be a large yacht when we were nearer. We called Niue Radio and they told us the moorings were on the south side of the bay. I stood on the bows and shone a torch. Bless Niue Yacht Club! They had put reflective tape on their moorings and they lit up like little beacons. We tied up to the nearest one at 2.20am, drank a toast to our safe arrival and went to bed.

Checking in was easy. We called Niue Radio and they arranged for Customs to meet us on the wharf. We walked to Immigration and to the yacht club, where we obtained a key for the hot showers on the wharf. The catamaran, Snow Leopard, was moored in the harbour and Gryphon II arrived after 2 days. Everyone was complaining about the swell out at sea. We hired a car, which we shared with Chris and Lorraine from Gryphon II. We snorkelled in the Limu Pools which were a mixture of fresh and sea water formed by wave action on the coral inside the reef and we walked to the Taleva Arches. These are caverns with stalactites and stalagmites along with caves and arches carved out of the coral. They were amazing. The most stunning sight of the day was on the walk to Togo Chasm. Thousands of pinnacles of limestone stretched for miles along the coast like myriads of tiny fairytale castles. Suddenly, a ladder dropped down to a sandy cove, surrounded by steep sided cliffs, where palm trees grew but were dwarfed by the cliffs. Beyond the sea battered the rocks the spray creating rainbows as we watched. This was a calm day. Wow!

Perhaps the most unusual sight was a village celebrating a haircutting and ear piercing event. Children aged between 5 and 10 are chosen by their families and afterwards food is given to all the guests to take home. Everyone donates money and the food you are given varies according to the size of the donation. We saw row upon row of taro roots and, quite a gruesome sight to our Western eyes, lots of dead pigs having their heads sawn off and their bodies chopped up into portions for the guests.

I went to the Ekalesia Niue with Yvonne and Danny from the NZ yacht, Ocean Pearl, on Sunday morning. The whole Methodist type service was in the local Niue language. The singing in harmony was a joy to hear but we could not understand a word of the prayers, Bible readings or sermon. In the afternoon, Paul and Marietta from the Dutch yacht, Nije Foam, invited us to go for a walk in the bush with them. After 8km in heavy rain followed by hot sunshine, we were glad to rest at the Wash Away Café, where you serve yourself, order your food and pay whatever you want.

All the people here have been friendly and helpful, especially Jim and Mamata at Niue Yacht Club. Apart from the 2 hour wait for Customs in order to clear out, we’ve had a great time. Our next destination is Lifuka Island, Haapai Group, Kingdom of Tonga. Cheers!