Raivavae, Australs – 1 April 2019
We arrived this morning in our second of the Austral islands on our cruise. Raivavae has a population of about 900 people and is a beautiful island with tall mountains in the middle of a large oval lagoon. We arrived around 7 am and the Aranui anchored offshore due to the narrow and shallow channel into the lagoon. Other smaller freight ships can enter the lagoon but not the Aranui. As a result, we had to tender in the barges to shore, a trip that took about 20 minutes and was rough at first until we entered the shelter of the reef. The winds were fairly strong as well so the barge pilot had to go slow to prevent everyone from getting drenched by the waves.
As we pulled into shore for a wet landing the front of the barge was dropped down for us to walk onto the sandy beach. We were greeted by two rows of dancers to both sides of us as we walked up the beach to shore. A Polynesian band was singing, drumming and strumming music for us and the dancers as they draped over us a fresh flower lei. It was beautiful to see the beach, music and dancers all welcoming us to their island. Within two minutes I was given a coconut and straw so that I could have a refreshing drink of coconut water. It was delicious and the perfect way to quench my thirst.
On a grassy area by the road and away from the beach two long rows of tables were set up with dozens of local fruits and island treats to taste. This island had a large number of fruits and produce in season. There were the traditional coconuts but also a variety of other items such as papaya, starfruit, bananas, banana bread, coconut bread, jack fruit, mango, sugar cane, guava, oranges, lemons and Pamplemousse. It was not hard to fill up on everything by taking only a little bit of each fruit.
We took a walk down the road where a number of artisans were selling their handicrafts. They were selling a great variety of wood carvings, sandalwood, t-shirts, jewellery, pareos, shell necklaces and intricate hats. Kirsten was tempted to help support many of the island mama’s that obviously had spent a great deal of time on their handicrafts. She was particularly attracted to a handwoven fan and a necklace that must have been made of 1000 miniature shells. I had to drag her away before long as our suitcases were already bulging and the artwork here was extremely well done and beautiful.
Our circle island bus tour started about an hour late at 10:30 am. Someone had said one of the three buses had not shown up so the earlier groups were getting behind schedule. Unfortunately, the guide was not on our bus and so one of the Aranui guides gave us a bit of a rushed tour based on what he remembered from the morning. The stops included the last tiki on Raivavae which was a rare smiling tiki. It is located in someone’s backyard and was interesting to see. We then drove through the main village which was a large pier, a few government buildings, a post office and a bank machine. It seems most of the stores on the island are not here but scattered around the road that circles the island.
We then stopped at a marae or ancient temple. It was well preserved with large heavy stones standing on end in a large rectangle. What was unique about this marae was that a grave had been placed and is thought to be the resting place of an island princess. Bodies were not buried anciently in marae’s and so it is believed it was the result of Christian teachings and adaptations to the cultural traditions.
As we completed the rest of the circuit around the island we were shown a small steep island just offshore called women’s island. Legend has it that the men and women of the island were having a competition to see who could move the largest rock from the mountain to the seashore. The women got up in the middle of the night, early in the morning and moved this large rock offshore while the men were sleeping. By the time the men woke up to move their smaller stone down the mountain, they got theirs to the edge of the shore but had already lost. The men’s rock we also saw on the beach a little further along on our tour.
Our tour dropped us off at the
same place we started. By the time we arrived, lunch was almost ready and there were over 20 singers and musicians getting ready to sing to us during dinner. The lunch was all local again with a few additions from the Aranui. The buffet lunch was served in long bamboo bowls. Taro, fish, clams, vegetables and fruit came from the island with a few additions such as chicken and beef from the kitchen on the Aranui. I didn’t realize it until I sat down, but the meal was served island-style without utensils. So I did what everyone else did that had washed up with hand sanitizer and dug in with my fingers like the locals. All of this was done with live music and singers throughout the meal. After everyone had eaten, another performance started with local island girls and one man dancing to the Polynesian music. At the end, the soccer team from Rapa wanted to perform for the Raivavae locals and so they performed the same dances and songs they ad for us previously. For their final song, the local dancers came in impromptu and the local singers joined in on the song. It was the perfect end to the Aranui’s stay on the island.
As each barge left shore to go back to the Aranui, the dancers lined up to both sides of us onshore and the musicians sang a farewell song. It was 1:30 pm and a photo perfect farewell to our stay on Raivavae.
Kirsten and I had made alternate plans to the rest of the Aranui passengers. Rather than take the 26-hour trip back to Papeete, we decided we would stay an extra two days on Raivavae. This meant that we had to pick up our luggage and make our way back to shore on the last barge back. We were back on shore by 2:30 pm with our bags. The last of the Aranui passengers took our barge back to the
ship.
Those heading back to Papeete on the Aranui had many of the regular activities and wrap up events. Ukulele classes at 3, happy hour starting at 5 pm with half-price drinks, the daily orientation at 6 pm regarding the arrival in Papeete and their final farewell dinner all together at 7:30 pm. As a final event, there was also a black and white night around the pool from 9 to 11:30 pm. Given that I rarely saw many people up past 10:30 I’m not sure the party would go that late other than perhaps some of the Aranui staff.
What makes the Pitcairn cruise sailing unique is that rather than finishing on the 13th day at 9 am, it actually continues until 6 pm due to the distance required to get from Raivavae to Papeete. All in all, the traditional Aranui cruise is 2500 km while the Aranui, Tuamotu, Gambier, Austral cruise covers 3400 km in the same amount of time.
This unique itinerary was a once in a lifetime experience where we met lots of great people, reconnected with Aranui staff that seem like friends after multiple stays. It was well worth the trip and was sad to say farewell to our friends at the end.