section in the middle of the island with
limestone caves, hidden deep within
the bush covered makatea. Some caves
serve as past burial chambers and most
are on private property, so it’s very bad
manners to go exploring on your own.
Don’t worry, there are some thoroughly
entertaining guides on the island who
have permission to take you. Besides,
you don’t want to get lost in the jungle
or take home a curse. Other caves are
subterranean with cave divers reportedly going down to depths
of close to 50 metres.
If you only visit one cave on this island, make it Anatakitaki
Cave.
Despite what I said earlier about going barefoot, you will need
shoes for this once in a lifetime experience!
My visit to Anatakitaki Cave began with a trek through lush
rainforest, corridors of makatea, giant ferns and unfortunately,
two medium sized angry looking crabs that although metres
away, were still too close for comfort. Marshall Humphries
was my guide for this tour as well, an Englishman who runs a
local bed and breakfast with his wife, Jeanne. Jeanne was born
and raised in the Cook Islands and is a respected artist. She is
the daughter of Tom Neale, who famously lived on the island
of Suwarrow for a number of years as a hermit, authoring the
book, ‘An Island to Oneself.’ I was pleased to later find her
artwork in our favourite restaurant on the island of Aitutaki,
The Boat Shed.
Anatakitaki Cave is a national treasure and boasts three caverns,
stalagmites, stalactites, and a natural cathedral. Perhaps more
importantly, it’s home to the Kopeka bird, a very rare swiftlet
unique to this island. It makes its nest in the pitch black caves,
using a sonar clicking sound to navigate. When it does go
outside it never lands, just flitters from branch to branch. The
absolute highlight for me was the freshwater cave pool that you
can swim in by candlelight.
Alarm bells rang as to the water temperature when after lighting
the candles, Marshall didn’t go in any further than ankle deep.
I got to waist depth and nearly lost courage. “You didn’t come
all this way to let some cold water stop you”, I whispered to
myself and before I could talk myself out of it, plunged down
up to my neck. Once I got my breath back, I ducked my head
under the water just to top off the experience and emerged
feeling truly blessed to have this once in a lifetime experience
of submerging into a freshwater pool, inside a pitch black cave
lit by candles, on a remote and truly uniquely beautiful island.
Not many people can say they have done that!
for kicking around in the water, but if
you pull on some reef shoes, it’s a lot
of fun exploring them or just sitting in
amongst the marine life. It’s perfect for
curious kids and there are hermit crabs
galore to race when they need a break
from the water.
The harbour is the best, if not the only
spot to have a proper swim. The local
kids are more than happy to show you
how to do backflips from the concrete walls into the ocean
water below.
If you do find another warm body in one of these stunning
coves, it’s usually a local fisherman standing barefoot on the
edge of the coral reef casting his line into the deeper waters
of the South Pacific Ocean. If you stand on the sunset side
of the island around dusk, a local fisherman is an enchanting
silhouette against the pastel coloured sky as the sun sets.
A pile of discarded sea urchins gives away the coves popular
with locals. Once you get past the spiny exterior (there is a
technique to it), the edible section of the insides can be eaten
raw, although they can be used in cooked dishes as well. I didn’t
get the opportunity to try it myself, but I’m told it’s quite lovely
sautéed in butter and lemon juice.
The town, consisting of five small villages, is located in the
middle of the island with an unsealed outer-island track that
circles the island. Even though you can circle the island in less
than an hour on a scooter, it’s a lot more fun if you spend a
whole day doing it. Pull in at anything that vaguely looks like
a track through the dense foliage, and walk down to your own
little stretch of sand nestled between the rugged makatea.
Although Atiu is the third most visited island in the Cooks, it
still only receives less than 50 visitors a week. This is exactly
what makes the island of Atiu so wonderful.
The natural geography of Atiu makes it worthy of a visit alone,
but the incredible hospitality of the locals is just the icing on
the cake. I urge you to skip the usual South Pacific destinations
and try one of these lesser visited islands. The opportunities to
relax are still abundant and these memories are special. These
memories will last a lifetime.
There are well over 20 white sandy coves nestled between
the cliffs of Atiu’s coastline. The islands small population
ensures that these little pockets of paradise are completely
deserted. The fringing reef is shallow and not deep enough
Atiu • Cave
Escape Magazine
39 Tour