Manihiki and Rakahanga Trip 2011, Part 4

Kai Kai time!


...and eat...



While the dignitories eat...






                                                                                                                                                           


The community provide the entertainment,
and wait for us to finish!

The first several days of our stay included lavish ‘kai kai’s’ every evening to welcome all the visitors to the island.  Kai kai’s are feasts and man can they eat!  The tables were full of food and there was barely enough room to fit a plate to eat off.  I over indulged in my first few days on the island and soon discovered that if I didn’t want to go home a whale I’d better take smaller portions!  But it wasn’t so much the size of the portions but rather the content that was also an issue.  Although delicious, the food was very starchy and high in cholesterol and fat.  There was arrowroot, taro, pancakes of various varieties (my favourite being uto panckes, which is the middle of the coconut when the nut starts sprouting and the milk has turned to a fluffy, meringue type consistency – awesome!), an assortment of fried fish – in fact we ate fish nearly every night – and plenty more besides. 

The routine would go something like this – speeches, more speeches, and still more speeches, all in Maori, except for when I replied, then grace, and then we, as guests, together with the community dignitaries, would assemble around the tables and eat while some of the ladies would wave cloths around the food to shoo the flies away.  The other community members would sit around the periphery and watch us eat, or sing, or play drums until we were done.  Once we were, and had left the table they could then approach and eat themselves.  There was just so much food that the leftovers would’ve fed them for days.  Although I have to say they were good eaters! 

Our transport for the first journey from Tukao to Tauhunu

Now, as Manihiki has two inhabited islands – Tukao and Tauhunu – we were required to attend kai kai’s on each island to welcome visitors, as well as one put on by the returning team who attended Constitution celebrations in Rarotonga, as well as the official opening of the Life Skills Programme.  There were kai kai’s for Africa...in fact if there had been a kai kai for Africa it would have solved some of the starvation problems they are facing!  There was even one arranged for a 6 year old boys first haircut, apparently a big deal!  I politely declined this invite!

Organising the seating arrangements.

I was staying on Tukao so we had to catch the barge to Tauhunu for their function(s).  This was something to experience.  On the first occasion we were to catch the barge, which was a flat decked vessel that we simply placed plastic chairs on for seating and loaded up with food for the occasion, and a motorbike!  Being sheltered, the initial part of the trip was fine leaving the wharf at Tukao.  But as we moved away from the shelter of the bay we soon experienced the strong winds that frequently buffet the lagoon, and Tauhunu in particular.  The waves got up and the barge started to pitch with the swell.  Thankfully we were going slowly so there was no fear of calamity, other than getting wet.  Kai kai over we once again boarded the barge for the trip back, this time in the pitch black.  Now there was no way of telling when the big waves would hit us and it provided for an interesting first half of the trip.  

and we're off!

But as the winds died and we hit calmer waters the students on board began singing, which sounded beautiful, and when combined with the star-lit skies and gentle sway of the boat, took on an almost surreal atmosphere.  But, as always in the islands, drama is never far away and sure enough, one of the engines failed and our already slow trip became almost stationery!  Help was at hand by way of a large speed boat which took half the passengers from the barge and delivered them back to shore, while we, being somewhat lighter now, were left to crawl back into the bay under the power of the remaining engine.    

The Tauhunu side was invariably windy and rough,
leading to a number of exciting adventures!

Our second trip was even more eventful, and scary!  This time the barge wasn’t used (I imagine the engine hadn’t been fixed) but rather a smallish, open motor boat that  I would guess it would be 2.5 – 3 metres in length.  Again, we packed it to the rim with food and people and set off.  The familiar winds struck us mid trip and we needed to shelter under a tarpaulin to stay dry as this boat was faster, but smaller, and felt the waves so much more than the barge.  For the return trip, now 9.30pm, our passenger numbers had somehow doubled to 16 and yet the ‘captain’ insisted we were all able to fit.  Now I must say here that one of the Principals attending the principal’s workshop had TWICE drifted at sea for weeks on end in boating mishaps and lived to tell the tale.  This was a man who lived and breathed the sea and salt water ran through his veins.  He had often travelled in a boat such as this 75 nautical miles through the night between the islands of Kiribati.  Fait to say then he knew a thing or two about boating, so when he shook his head and said “no, no, no...”  I began to get worried.  Now the wind, if anything, had increased in velocity and the weighed down boat struggled to leave the wharf amidst big waves, strong winds and a screaming engine that sat too deep in the water.  Thoughts of my family played through my mind – my beautiful wife and children – I knew they would provide motivation to keep afloat and swim to shore should the boat sink.  I only hoped that if we tipped I was not under a throng of people.  I was also reassured by the fact that there weren’t large sharks in the lagoon, and those that were “wouldn’t bite”.  Thankfully, the captain saw sense and turned back after about 25 metres of our trip.  “We will do two trips” he indicated.  So another gas tank was added and the passengers were split in two groups, with women and children first.  They duly set off into the darkness...

Rangi, our host, had indicated that I should text her mid trip and she would meet us at the wharf to bring us home on the truck.  I texted her about 45 minutes after the first boat left to say that we were doing two trips and that I’d be late but there were passengers on the first boat that were staying at her accommodation.  She texted back, alarmed,  saying they hadn’t arrived at her house as yet!  This caused me some anguish until I saw the empty boat drift into view ready for the second trip.

As usual the first half of the journey was rough, but soon mellowed out to smooth waters and we actually raced home at break neck speed under a full- moon lit night.  It was quite magical, and although thoughts of my family still swam through my head it was for different reasons now – I wish they could’ve been here to experience this with me!

Needless to say I slept well that night...

To be continued.