Christmas in Rarotonga

'Tis the season to be jolly...and to dress up, and if Janine has anything to do with it, invariably in women's clothing!  Not that I put up much of a fight coz' I so preerrrrttty! Or as they say on Little Britain "He's Goooorrrrgeous!"

So we've had both Janine and my Christmas Doo's and both dress up affairs.  For some reason the Cook Islanders love dressing up!  Maybe it's beacuse for 360 odd other days of the year it's shorts, jandals and a t-shirt!  Janine. of course, revels in this and I suddenly become a clothes mannequin as she attempts to win 'best dressed' for the umpteenth time!

Janine's was a 'P' party and of course we laughed through the possibilities there.  One idea was a profilactic (spelling) and once I explained to Janine what that was she suggested I wrap myself in glad wrap.  In this heat though I'd melt.

We decided on Pom for me and a Plastic Princess for Janine.  Her costume was a ball gown made out of black rubbish bags, and was awesome.  I just pulled out some clothes from my closet that made me look like a pommy git!  Funny that I should have such items just lying around.  Wife did make me an English flag though.



Er yup! Waiting for burs!



the Princess and the Pom.



Mmmmwwwwwaaaaa!

 

So regal!



The event itself was a progressive dinner/'Road Trip' around Raro that took in Rebecca's beautiful beach front house for starters, the Fishing Club, Aquarius Bar, Shipwreck Bar, Kathy's for main dinner, and our place for desert.  At every venue, and indeed on the bus itself, we had a band of merry men who played guitars and ukuleles and we all sang along as best we could.  We had to wait for the bus to pick us up enroute around the island so we got a lot of of inquisative looks by passers by, some even turning around to have another look!  The bus was unfortunately delayed as the original driver turned up drunk so they had to wait for a new driver to replace the first!

Not a bad place to start a Christmas Doo!

Stunning sunset from Arorangi

"The wheels on the bus go round and round..."

The Fishing Club

The Shipwreck Bar

The bus parked on our front lawn to end the night

My Christmas Doo's dress up theme was 'Literary Characters' so after my idea of Tarzan was decided against because I wouldn't wish me in a loin cloth (tea-towel) on anyone, Janine (again!) had the great idea of going as the Wizard of Oz characters.  Janine, of course, would be the wicked witch - utilising the same dress from her doo - Matt, a colleague, and his wife Rachel, would be the lion and scarecrow, and our other colleague Danielle would be the tin man, leaving me, of course, to be Dorothy! Needless to say wife and I won best dressed couple! 

It was a fantastic night with a lot of really fun games organised by our ICT division.  I had to fly out to New Zealand that same night - in fact at 1.00am, so it was a quick trip home to wash off the paint before heading to the airport. 

"We're off to see the Wizard...!"

The Wicked Witch, Dorothy, and the Cowboy!

Party games

More party games

The boss admiring my shoes!

"You're not in Kansas anymore Dot!"

Trying to click my heals together to return to Kansas!

Gone Tropo!

George's pre-school had their end of year assembly in early December.  Here are some pictures from the event.  They remind me very much of a performance I participated in whilst I was a young fella at Vieuto Primary School in Fiji.  Like father like son!

"Hi Dad!"

Dancing Island Styles

"Check me out Dad!"

Front and centre...as per usual!

She's a tight fit down at the wharf

There is very little in Rarotonga that is more exciting than the ship coming in.  We know the grocery shelves will be full and there'll be a mad rush for the likes of flour, raw sugar, real coffee...

The wharf has been a hive of activity over the last year with it being rebuilt to fit bigger ships in, including cruise ships.  These photos show why it needs enlarging.

We were passing the wharf when we saw this ship leaving port so we stop and had to watch the process.  It literally had to turn on a dime, with a little help from 'the little tug bat that could' before it could sail out out face first.  A fascinating exercise.

doing a 360 in the port.  You can see both edges of the mouth

of the entrance.

Racing around behind the ship comes the

"Little Tug Boat That Could"

Here she comes...

The Little Tug Boat That Could gives the ship a nudge

to help her right hand turn.

And we're off!  Bon Voyage!

Cricket in the Islands

There is quite a big cricket following here in the Cook Islands, and it appears to be getting bigger through a number of new initiatives and partnerships - most noticibly with New Zealand's Northern Knights cricket team.  They've just recently finished a pre-season team building trip here where they did some coaching at schools and finished off with a match against the Cook Island national team.  Needless to say it was a one-sided affair, but a great boost for cricket here. 

But as usual in the Cook Islands cricket competes with a number of other sports all running at the same time, often calling on the same players and trying to use the same grounds.  We have already had two cases of a ground being double booked between cricket and football.  On one occasion we had to move and on the other the footballers had to move.

Yesterday we played Arorangi at Raemaru Park, Arorangi, which is just over the fence from our place.  Which turned out to be very fortunate for me as I had a rather nasty upset stomach and had to make several dashed trips home to use the facilities!  Not sure if it was a dodgy curry yesterday or something else but I was rather indisposed for our fielding effort until the diastops kicked in!  A rather regular occurence was my saying to the captain "Just popping off between overs"  I soon used up the toilet paper at the clubhouse so made a mercy dash across the fence to home to pick up some wet wipes - ahhhh!

On one such dash home Janine said "Hell, you don't look so good!"  I sat on the throne and literally became drenched in sweat, hot and cold at the same time.

So in spite of that, and the heat, I was very pleased to bowl 5.3 overs and took 3 for 20.  Actually, I would have to say it was the best I bowled all season, swinging the ball both in and out at will.  The two-piece ball and the humidity certainly help that.  Perhaps it helped my concentration levels and kept me focusd.. I remember in my younger days when I enjoyed a drink or two that I always seemed to bat better when hungover.  Maybe it was that tunnel vision it provided.

Chasing 168 to win we made a slow but secure start but then our batting took on a familiar pattern to much of the season and we fell away to lose by quite a bit.  The diastops had thankfully kicked in but I was drained and I think my score matched the 'runs' I had o make to the loo - 6.  

The Cook Island players have a knack of coming in off a couple of paces and slinging it down at a deceptively quick pace, and more often then not they are accurate.  If they could learn to swing the ball they would be even more dangerous.

All in all an interesting day.

Here are a few pictures of the day.

Preparing the pitch for the game

The run-up...

...the delivery...

...the stare, maybe a little verbal...

Trudging back to my mark, contemplating;
"In swinger, out swinger, slower ball...mad dash to the loo!"

front leg locked, head up, looking at the target...nice!

"Jeez it's hot!

Resting between overs at fine leg, cheeks clenched!

The openers favourite shot!

Another rather unsuccessful stint at the crease for yours truly!
I certainly had the runs, but not in the manner I would've liked!

Turtles breeding at Rakahanga School & swimming with Sharks

Here is an excerpt from an email I recieved on Monday of this week.  It's from the principal of Rakahanga School, a very small island of some 70 people and 4.1 sq kms.  The school has about 14 students.  I was up there recently to facilitate a Northern Group Principals Workshop at the same time as the senior students Life Skills programme was on.  One of the modules was run by a really fascinating guy, Dr Michael White, on the protection/life of turtles.  He is currently working and living on Penrhyn Island doing a stock take and study into turtles.  I got to learn a little about the turtles and their predicament, hence why this is interesting to me.  Whether it is to you or not, I don't know, but it certainly provides another wonderful example of the very real learning opportunities afforded these isolated children.  I've asked for Tuhe, the principal, to try and document the occasion with photos and keep me it touch. 

Dr Michael White facilitating the Turtle workshop to senior
Northern Group students.

"...I was wondering if you could pass on a message to Dr White who ran the Turtle's Workshop in Manihiki for the Northern Group students.

A turtle has laid and buried eggs in the sand, underneath a 1 metre high pandana bush on Tuesday 27 September. A second turtle lay and buried eggs 25 metres from the first spot, also underneath a  1 metre high pandana bush today Monday 10 October.

It was our Rakahang policeman who actually found the buried eggs and showed me on how to place a 100L metal drum cylinder above the spot where the eggs were. He said to then cover the drum with coconut branches, this should prevent inquisitive students from accessing and damaging the eggs.

The policeman also said that because the eggs were on school property that the school has the authority to do what's best for the eggs. The students had been informed earlier this morning that a notice had  been placed on the notice boards around the community that Turtles eggs were not to be disturbed.

I was wondering if Dr White had any other suggestions on how we could ensure that the eggs and the turtles that hatch from these two batches reach full maturity..."

This is the beach beside Rakahanga School, and where
the turtles will now hopefully be breeding.

Incidentally, on two occasions whilst up on Manihiki and Rakahanga I was privelged enough to see turtles.  Once was whilst I was kayaking in Manihiki Lagoon.  I was paddling towards what I thought was a lump of coral, but as I approached it swam away.  I followed it for awhile before it had had enough of our little game and took off at a great rate of knots.  The other occasion was whilst I was mackeral fishing on Rakahanga.  This involves going beyond the reef and jumping into the sea with mask and snorkel on and using a very small rod and line with a hook with no barb on it.  The guys we were with would put pulped coconut in their mouths and dive down to the bottom and let a little coconut out.  This would attract the mackeral.  The divers would then entice the mackeral to the top by letting out more coconut at ever decreasing depths.  Once at 'catchable' depth more coconut would be released around our hooks and when we had one on line we would flick them onto the boat in one fluid motion.  The divers also used their spear guns to catch big black trevalli, a real delicacy!  Whilst fishing I noticed a gleaming movement on the sea bed and recognised it as a turtle.  It was beautiful!  I dove down as deep as I could, and as long as my breath would last and followed it.  I was fearful of the divers taking to it with their spear guns!  Thankfully they didn't.  what a wonderful experience to catch a glimpse of such a majestic creature!

It wasn't long however, before another majestic creature caught our eye, illiciting a whole other flood of emotions!  A shark appeared from the dark depths, cutting its way towards us at alarming speed.  Tracey, a colleague from Rarotonga who travelled with me to Rakahanga, literally flew out of the water and into the boat at break-neck speed!  For some reason, which wasn't bravery I can assure, I stayed in the water, transfixed by this beautiful, sleek, graceful, and fast animal.  I was advised after the event that it "wouldn't bite" (?!).  Once the cry of "Shark!" rang out the boys started banging on the side of the boat to scare it off, and indeed it did turn on its tail and dissappear as quickly as it had appeared.    

What a magical place the ocean is, I am now quite determined to do a diving course during my time on Raro - it would be a shame to miss this opportunity.


The shark in this video was filmed by me while I was swimming in the Manihiki Lagoon.  It was a little saand shark.  The one I saw at Rakahanga was so much bigger!

Diving for black trevalli, just please leave the turtles alone!



"Keep an eye out for sharks"

"Did someone say shark?!"

  

Manihiki and Rakahanga Trip, 2011, Part 5

The Perils of Island Life

 

A quote from the following website http://www.fsu.edu/~trauma/art3v4i1.html regarding Manihiki. 

THE DAY THE ISLAND WAS ALMOST WIPED OFF THE MAP

Tropical Cyclone Martin struck the northern group of Cook Islands on the afternoon of Saturday 1st November 1997. It came from an unexpected direction with very high seas and winds gusting up to 90 knots. It had the greatest effect on Manihiki, a string of low-lying coral atolls around a deep and 5 km wide lagoon with a population of about 630 settled in the two villages of Tauhunu and Tukao. No weather-data gathering facility was nearby to give precise records, but eyewitnesses reported the crescendo as lasting about 30 minutes, during which time the biggest wave surged above 30 metres and cut a 200 metre swathe which left widespread damage in its wake. The final tally of casualties showed that eleven people were dead, 9 were missing, and many were injured. Housing was flattened, public facilities destroyed, crushed coral roads washed-out, and virtually all of the off-shore accomodation and equipment relating to the lagoon pearl-fishing industry was destroyed. Small boats, demolition timbers, and household contents were strewn everywhere, and sheets of cast-iron roofing were wrapped like tape around high trees. Sunken debris littered the edge of the lagoon to a distance of about 30 metres.

The full text of this website makes for fascinating reading!

The aftermath of Hurricane Martin remains visible 14 years after the event.

As an indication of how vulnerable these islands are, here are some vital statistics:

Manihiki:             Population:         356

                            Land Mass:         5.3 sq. Kms

                            Location:             1084kms north west of Rarotonga

Rakahanga:         Population:         141

                            Land Mass:         4.1 sq. kms

                            Location:             1200 kms from Rarotonga

You will note from the website that the population of Manihiki at the time of the hurricane was 600 odd, and now it is 356, if that.  After the evacuation of Manihiki due to the hurricane, many decided not to return.  There was actually talk of abandoning the island all together. 

Talking with locals on Manihiki I was told that some of those people that were swept away ended up on Rakahanga, some 30 odd kilometres away.  I work with several women who were directly affected by this cyclone.  One was swept away with her husband and survived somehow after drifting at sea for days but they lost their daughter.  Another woman said her family clambered into a boat and thankfully a rope get snagged on a pearl line under water and kept them from being swept out of the lagoon. 

As is mentioned in the website, and as I heard first hand from locals, these types of incidents are seem by some on the islands as God's punishment for various indiscretions.  In this case the greed and over indulgence in the pearl industry.  As a further example of this mentality I have a colleague now, who previous to working at the Ministry, worked at the national college here - Tereora College.  She stood one day at assembly to say the prayer and concluded by saying that the recent Japanese tsunami's were brought on themselves through their own indiscretions and was God's way of punishing them.  Incidentally, this same woman was the one mentioned above whose family was saved from being washed out to sea.
This attitude is very real and prominent in the islands, and whilst it may be easy to scoff and turn to science as an explanation, there is some mystique, and sense of karma in the idea...! 

And you can't help becoming caught up in it, whether you choose to or not.  On our arrival on Rakahanga we were greeted with the customary kaikai and speeches, and whilst in Maori, were later translated for us and one of the dignitaries had said that "now that these good people had come to visit our island we can expect rain!"  If you've seen the news recently you will now that Tuvalu and Tokelau are both in a state of emergency due to lack of water/rain and the NZ armed forces are delivering water to them.  It was no different here and rain was seen as a blessing brought about by God's favour!  No pressure!  Thankfully, on the morning of the Monday we were due to leave it rained quite heavily.  Regardless of my own beliefs on the matter, it was a nice, heart warming, feeling, firstly to be thought worthy of God's blessing, and secondly to receive confirmation of such by delivering rain to this island, and its people, and somehow 'repaying' them for their incredible hospitality.

Here are a few photo's that highlight just how at the mercy of the elements these pearl farms are:

The outhouse is great isn't it! Precariously perched on the throne!

Look close and you can see a shark.  I actually swam with
these sharks, just like Jacques Costeau!

The owner of this pearl farm is Asian and apparently has his own jet!

 

The original foundations of the building can still be seen, but was
not rebuilt after the hurricane.  This belonged to our hosts on the island,
Rangi and Mataio Jackson and is now used as simply a work station.