Paul Tombleson

The cloud cover breaks to expose an orange glow reflecting off Lion Rock and the black sands of Piha beach. I’m flying into Auckland from Sydney for a short lay over before proceeding on the Rarotonga. It’s a poignant moment to see Piha… a place I once lived bathed in what photographers call the golden light. Indeed as we proceed on to Auckland the whole city and Waitamata Harbor and its islands are smoldering with a golden hue from this sunset. Seeing it from above is magnificent and I find myself counting the volcanic cones that clearly dot the landscape below. Everyone is commenting on this spectacle.

It’s 2:16am now and I see glimmering lights out the aircraft window in what has been almost 4 hours of total darkness. I can feel and hear the landing gear being deployed. It’s a smooth landing and taxi to the terminal. Both front and back doors open and the humidity mixed with jet fuel and the scent of island flowers infuse the cabin, “Welcome to the Cook Islands” says the airhostess as I leave the rear of the aircraft “I hope you enjoy your stay” she finishes with a big smile… and how right she was!

Big brother Trevor is waiting for me, but not before Jake and his ukulele croon me and Customs and Immigration give their stamp of approval. I’m back in the land of my people… I know I wasn’t born or grew up here, but all of my family lives here now so here I am.

I’m staying in my dad’s place while he is in New Zealand and its a self contained flat so I’m comfortable and close to the main house to receive a Wi-Fi signal. My sister’s family has expanded by one since my last visit, a long eye lashed grandson called Donavan Keith Kelly. Both he and his older brother Jaydan are sometimes my morning alarm clock. They form the Kelly Boys Choir in an irreligious harmony of howling on occasion. More about Jaydan later…

Little has changed here since May 2009 except it is Mango, Avocado and Passion fruit season and the trees and vines hang heavy with fruit. I find myself in the morning walking around the property picking up the fallen fruits before the pigs, chickens and dogs indulge themselves. The dogs love a ripe Avocado it’s quite the treat. I’m still partial however to picking a Papaya and having it with fresh grated coconut and Lime juice.

Big brother has a treat for me… a trip to one of the outer islands of Atiu (pronounced, Ah chew). Atiu is different from Rarotonga in that it is a coral island as opposed to Rarotonga being a volcanic. The flight is in a small 10 seat, twin prop aircraft and takes about 40 minutes. The landing strip/runway is made from crushed compacted coral and looks like sand from the air.

Once on the ground you immediately get the feeling you are  in a very isolated and slow paced setting and that is just what we are looking for. We stay at the Atiu villas that provide very comfortable accommodation. Rodger Malcolm (video) our host picks us up at the airport and we immediately connect with him and it becomes clear to him that we are not your regular tourists, but chaps looking for adventure and a laugh.

The south side of the island is very different from the rest, being the side of the prevailing wind, leaving the vegetation low and sparse. However, the rest of the island is lush with many small quiet beaches. The one thing that the whole Island shares however is coral underfoot. There is no walking with bare feet here… the coral will cut you to shreds.

Our first adventure is a guided tour of the Rimarau burial caves deep in the jungle. These caves contain skeletal remains of warriors from a famous battle between warring tribes. Marshall Humphreys takes us into an underground world of moist glistening labyrinths, long tentacle tree roots, pitch-blackness, and white bones, all beneath a banyan tree that you could walk by and never know what lay beneath.

We later trek with Marshall to the Anatakitaki caves to watch and listen to the Kopeka (Swiftlet) birds chirp their way through the darkness to there nesting sites. Unlike Bats that use an ultra high frequency system similar to radar to navigate in darkness these birds use audible sound and listen to the echo. It is a marvel of nature to stand in complete darkness and hear these birds unique to Atiu fly past negotiating the twists and turns of this cave system and find their nests. Once the birds are outside the cave they never land and catch insects as they fly, only resting on their return to the cave. However, even hidden in complete darkness the birds are not always safe from the large coconut crabs that can climb walls.

After the tour we take a refreshing dip in another cave’s natural pool complete with candles to add light and ambiance. It’s a welcome break from the heat and humidity. Thanks Marshall (video) for an informative look and listen at the islands hidden underworld.

Next morning George “the bird man” picks us up for yet another unique Atiu adventure. George is an expert in the islands fauna and flora. Indeed in the front yard of his home he was able to mimic the call of the rare Kura (lorikeet) and stop it in flight making it land in near by trees. It’s quite the treat to see and hear George in action. The birds are so in tune with him that one species of bird the Kakerori (flycatcher) would gather just by the sound of his pickup truck horn as we approached an area he knew they frequented, he also named to nesting couple as George and Mildred. George also shows us the Pacific Pigeon, and Chattering Kingfisher. But it is his ability to show  how to live off the land armed with just a machete and ancient wisdom that intrigues me the most. We finish this tour on a secluded white sandy beach. Just us, the waves, and an assortment of fresh fruit served on a palm leaf plate inside a palm leaf woven basket he cut and made just moments before while telling us one of his many stories…

Our next adventure is to try out our underwater enclosures for our Canon G10’s. Yes, I know I said Canon, and that is most likely sacrilege for a Nikon shooter like me, but, hey it’s an okay point and shoot camera and it comes with an underwater casing option! We go down to the sinkholes in the reef but the wind and waves make it impossible to see anything so we decide on the Coral gardens instead for our first shoot.

This is a lot harder than it looks, the fish are moving and the current and waves keep shaking us around, making it tough. And after a few hours of fighting the elements, seeing blood in the water from cuts caused by coral on our legs we ascend the coral gardens with smiles on our faces. We pick up a Noni fruit off the ground next to the car and rub it on the cuts, yes folks we are going native!

We are genuinely sorry to leave Atiu. The hospitality, the scenery, and the spirit of the people both past and present are locked in our consciousness. The flight back to Rarotonga comes with the same flight instructions to all passengers as when we came… “Have a seat, have a nice flight!”

Life back at the Kelly compound is the same and while the slow pace of the island remains it is still a mystery to me how there is still never enough time to get things done. I remember my dad saying that a busy day was one where you only had just enough time for one nap.

The hot weather is still in force and  Jaydan that cute little rascal is another force and on the loose. He is the only kid I know who can greet you with a smile and be destroying stuff all around him at the same time. This boy truly has an on/off switch and when that switch is on its pedal to the metal! Yet he is lovable, affable and affectionate. If ever a picture was worth a thousand words then here it is…

We have been getting reports of bad weather brewing north of here with the possibility of it turning into a Cyclone (hurricane) and moving this way. But for now it is more fruit picking, swimming with my underwater camera, eating my sisters great cooking, listening to the Kelly boys choir, meeting all kinds of characters, agreeing to having a free chest waxing (don’t ask please… and I have new respect for women putting up with that pain)  listening to hilarious stories about my brother from his work colleagues and indulging at the end of a hot and tiring day without a nap, with a Hokey Pokey ice cream cone.

It seems the tropical depression up north has turned into a cat 2 Cyclone with the sweet name Nisha but as I will come to see there is nothing sweet about her. The island is starting to shut down, the harbor is being emptied of ships, shops are boarding up, roofs are being tied down and there are no interstate highways to flee on, just a road out front of the house that no matter which direction you drive you will be back here in 20 minutes.

This looks serious so Jayne and I do what all would do when a cyclone is coming… we go to the islands only Indian restaurant and have a leisurely lunch. Then some last minute shopping on the way home, but Nisha has other plans. Halfway through the checkout process the power goes down taking out the checkout computers. We rush off to the only other supermarket and manage to get some things while the power remains.  On our return home we find the compound boarded up and the wind and rain up a few notches. A quick call to Trevor and he is on his way over to pick me up so we can go out and meet this bitch and take a few snaps… Jayne asks if we think we are reporters from CNN?

We quickly learn that hard pounding rain is painful on the face and not great for camera equipment, but, we mange a few shots before dark. The seas are getting high, the coconut palms are flexing and the rain is now horizontal. Time to go home and hunker down. Trevor dubs me Anderson Cooper, but I must admit after the beating I took I look and feel more like Larry King.

The night brings uncertainty and all reports say Nisha will hit with full force around 5am the next morning. Things are hitting the side of the house and the howling winds gets stronger. I fear the louver windows that I have closed will break from the pounding. I turn on a flashlight and see that the pounding on the windows are the cats trying to get in. Normally the cats jump through the louver windows at night and this night they really want in. Their wide-eyed squashed faces against the glass make it all the more terrifying… What can I do but let them in.

It’s 2am and the wind has dropped, 4 cats and I are lying in bed. I’m the only one awake it seems and I’m thinking we are in the eye of the storm. It turns out that Nisha turned away to the west at the last minute and we are spared. The morning light brings relief and a huge haul of fruits on the ground ready to pick up!

The following day I catch a flight back to the USA and snow, snow and more snow awaits me in North Carolina. I hate winter… and besides there is no choir to wake me in the mornings and no fresh fruit outside to pick up!

Later…

For more images see my website Atiu Rarotonga

Yes, I’m here in Aussie and loving it! Janette picked me up at the airport and we headed off to Manly, which sits on the northern side of Sydney Harbor requiring us to use the harbor bridge (known here as “the Coat Hanger” for it’s shape). While much has changed along the city skyline, Sydney remains one of the world’s most iconic harbor cities.

Arriving in Manly I’m reminded of its unique location having on its eastern side the Ocean and the western side Sydney harbor. Janette lives on the harbor side and it’s nice to be back with the sounds of the lapping waves, throb of the ferries passing on the half hour and screech of the penguins at night… and that view!

While Manly is a built up area it is surprising the pockets of bush land that are close by and easily accessible. We took an early morning walk through an Aboriginal sacred area above Shelly beach and found many landscape faces watching us as we traversed the sandstone-walking track. It’s not only the ancient spirits that watch us… large primeval looking lizards lie and take in the early morning heat and watch lazily as we past close by.  Birds call out there territorial songs and honeyeaters flit between flowers on banksia trees. The bush is alive and the sun is barely up. Australia is truly unique in its landscape, animals, birds and bush. And of course there are the Aussie themselves, truly a breed apart… but I better be careful as I’m a Kiwi born interloper.

Christmas day comes and goes with a visit to (ex) in-laws home for dinner and festivities and a long catch up with family and meeting the new children born after my moving away in 1995. A day or two later we are off North about 200 clicks to the sleepy harbor village of Pindimar situated on the North shore of Port Stephens. While it rained most of the time we did get to have a day on the water courtesy of our host Russell and Jenny. Jumping off the back of the powerboat boat in clear shallow water…  enjoying an Aussie pie lunch, and following dolphins across the bay and walking through the mud among hundreds of blue crabs moving like armies on maneuvers all before the New Year’s eve celebrations’. Janette and I spent the night hours leading up to midnight playing with lights while taking long exposures.

It was in the Blue Mountains a few days later however that struck me as the unrealized place missing from the travel brochures. We see Sydney and its Opera House on the harbor- the white sandy beaches stretching forever up and down the coastline all postcard perfect (and trust me they are!) but the Blue mountain just West of Sydney which form a natural barrier between the coast and the outback are the haven and playground for those who need to getaway and be reminded of nature’s grandeur and power, both spiritual and material. And reminded I was, of just how nature commands the world and that I’m just a tiny spark in the scheme of things.

After arriving early at Wentworth and parking the Land Rover at a friends place, Janette took me down a path to something I didn’t know existed called “Charles Darwin Walk”. Yes, it is named so because old Charlie walked here all those years ago and found it interesting. Jumping ahead for a moment… In my humble layman’s opinion Mr. Darwin, I concur with your finding in this instant!

The first inkling of something magical is the sound you descend into like an early morning mist in a valley. The insects grow louder as we move down the twisting dirt track. And after stopping to re-tie a shoelace I hear water gently running. The running water it turns out is the one constant note held throughout this experience. Once at the creek your world of fauna and flora is transformed into a cooling green wonderland of ferns, moss, long grasses and flowers but the sounds are getting louder, not only from insects but the Black Cockatoo’s playing above in the tree tops and screaming and yelling like little kids running free on a picnic. Indeed the sounds are deafening at times and the only thing stopping me from covering my ears is the serenity I feel inside… like a shot of morphine for pain… the pain (sound) is still there but you just don’t care. Somehow the deafening sounds are all part and parcel of this magical walk and we surrender to it and our cameras are clicking. It really is a magical walk and one totally unexpected. The experience is also heightened by the fact that Janette has her Nikon D40 and is relishing this time shooting unencumbered with a fellow photographer.

I don’t get to shoot with other photographers very much so it was very interesting to later compare shots and see how many are of the same or similar subject and how many are different, good stuff! The creek finally turns into Wentworth Falls, which it turns out, are a series of falls each one with a different feel and sound from the other.

The Sun is getting higher in the sky and therefore hotter so we decide to turn back and retrace our steps and see this hidden valley that Darwin once contemplated from the now opposite perspective. We are not disappointed and find ourselves stopping in longer intervals to take it all in.

Next stop is the Crystal Palace as I came to call it. Patrick and Liz live in Leura next to the National Park and are the perfect hosts and tour guides. Their house is an energy-generating powerhouse created by thousands of crystals. Or in the words of Liz…”I tend to think of it as Superman’s Fortress of Solitude…”. Yes folks thousands of them BIG and small and ALL shapes and sizes.

After a refreshing lunch we go off on a guided tour of the many majestic vista’s that tourist never see. Patrick is a continuous stream of info so naturally I loved it.

Liz in her long purple dress,  blonde flowing hair and mystical air made me think of Druids and Merlin. Sometimes, I would look to see if her feet were really touching the ground as she sometimes appeared to float along in front of us. It turns out she is indeed well grounded (hehe).

This time spent viewing the Blue Mountains around the Three Sisters landmark area was inspiring and recharging to the soul. Janette and I had a memorable day in these special Mountains with very special people.

Sadly the day ends and so does my trip a few days later to Australia and I’m at the airport catching a flight back to New Zealand then on to Rarotonga for the final leg of the journey. Stay tuned!

For more pictures click on my Aussie pic’s or website Pearlphotography.biz

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