Aitutaki is one of the Cook Islands - a group of 15 little islands. With a total population of approximately 13,000 people - they have their own Maori language which is widely used, the school system only intorduces English in Grade 3, until then Maori is the official language.
Aitutaki is not widely visited by yachts, not only is the so filled with coral bommies that it is un-navigable by anything other than a dinghy, there is very little space in the anchorage, and the only pass into the lagoon shallows to 1.7 metres which effectively stops most yachts from entering. As is the case with most of the atolls, it is way too deep and rough to anchor outside the reef.
Aitutaki harbour - we are in the middle of a raft of 5 yachts, three are shallow draft catamarans, and like ourselves, the other yacht has a lifting keel so is able to enter the shallow pass.
The yachts are tied to palm trees and rocks on shore, each other, and also anchored. Leaving is going to be quite tricky!
The main income on the island comes from tourism, mainly in the form of kiteboarders - there are two areas in the lagoon where conditions are excellent, Ian did have a couple of lessons and did manage to get out of the water with the kite but not for long. Much like our time in Maupihaa, our planned 3 day visit to the island ended up becoming over a week due to the strong winds and 4 metre swell out side the atoll - excellent for the kiteboarders who had already mastered it, but a bit too much for the beginners. Unfortunately our visit to Aitutaki coincided with some newly introduced and undocumented rules - we were not allowed to use our dinghies, paddle board or kayaks to visit the lagoon independently, instead we were required to use water taxis that only did specific day trips at Galapagos prices which was not exactly what we had in mind. Hopefully the situation will be clarified, otherwise we will probably be amongst their last yacht visitors. Not ideal for an island that relies so heavily on Tourism for it's income!
We did hire scooters and visit the island - there are very few roads - we went to the highest point on the island, Maungapu Lookout, a height of 124metres with superbe views over most of the island.
The views were stunning - lush green grass, turquoise water in the lagoon, the outlying little Motu and the outline of the reef. A local told us it was the most beautiful lagoon in the world, hard to judge but it would certainly make the short list!
We took the unsealed road to the end of the island where we met this young mother with her baby and her sister - they had been fishing from the shore.
We also visited the Aitutaki Marine Research Centre where they are rearing giant clams in concrete ponds and then placing them back in the lagoon - to try to help the recovery of the species in the lagoon - unfortunately the clams still form part of the traditional local diet which is not helping!
There are lots of churches on the island, and Sunday worship is a big part of island life and includes wonderful singing in the Maori language. Interestingly there are loads of individual graves and mausoleums on the island - it would seem that you can keep your loved ones in your garden or in their favourite spot on the island.
During the Second World War the Americans built a runway on the island as part of their Pacific Defences - we noticed the Graves of WWII veterans on the island, and the runway is still in use today.
The trip to the outlying 'Honeymoon Island' motu (by water taxi) was definitely a highlight - there were Red Tailed Tropic Birds nesting on the ground, they appeared totally unaffected by the kiteboarders and other visitors to the island.
The kiteboard school has put out some open wooden boxes for the birds, but they also nest on the ground amongst the palm trees - their are no mammals on the islands, and no dogs at all on Aitutaki so the ground nesting birds are left in relative peace.
Despite the irritation of not being able to go into the lagoon water unless on an official 6 or 8 hour tour, we have enjoyed out time on Aitutaki, we have watched a traditional dance show which included fire danciing which was a lot of fun.
The locals have been wonderfully friendly, we are leaving with a gift of a massive bunch of bananas and a couple of papaya, but despite their generosity, this is not a place to linger - the cost of living is truly astronomical. Almost all supplies are brought in by ship which is too large to enter the lagoon, containers are laboriously unloaded onto a barge which enters the harbour where it is unloaded by crane - the ship comes every few weeks and the whole unloading operation takes several days.
The supply ship can not even anchor as the water is too deep outside the reef, and the barge, powered by a couple of large outboard engines, continues shuffling back and forth during daylight hours.
And this is what £60 buys you on Aitutaki......life in paradise doesn't come cheap!
We will be leaving later on today, heading for Beveridge Reef, 450 Nm away. We expect to be at sea for 4 nights, and have just heard that a 54ft Catamaran has hit Beveridge Reef in the last couple of days - the yacht is a write off, but fortunately all the crew are fine and a rescue is underway from Nuie, the nearest island, which is about 130 miles away.
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