Cruising Aitutaki Lagoon

Shortlived Despair

The noise outside in the early morning was either rustling of the coconut fronds or rain … we couldn’t tell.  It was windy and gloomy with patches of blue.  Then came a loud knock on our front door followed by advice that our lagoon cruise with Kia Orana had been cancelled.

We lay in bed wondering in despair how we’d fill in a whole day, especially if the weather was bad.  As the weather brightened we thought we’d go to reception to arrange an alternate provider for a lagoon cruise.  By the time I got there, they had cheerfully rebooked us with Bishop’s Cruises.

Apparently, the other guests with Kia Orana cruises had been put off by the weather which meant that we were the only remaining customers and hence unviable.

Gorgeous Aitutaki Atoll

As it was still a bit windy, the cruise took us to Akaiami for snorkelling.  This is apparently a change from their normal spot as Akaiami is more sheltered … this suited us fine as it is also the island where the passengers from the Tasman Empire Airways (TEAL) flying boats were accommodated in the 1950s.  The water was clear and there was enough marine life to satisfy a short snorkel.

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The water in the atoll itself was a gorgeous turquoise but not crystal clear.  Instead it was like a suspension; it was milky but still brilliant turquoise.

Along the way, we saw a couple of turtles.  It is amazing how quickly they dart past on the surface as we’re used to seeing the float past while diving.

We were dropped off a huge expansive white sand bar.  There was a gentle slope  on one side of the sand bar giving hectares of clear warm wading water over white sand.  On the other side of the sand bar, the slope gave way more steeply giving plenty of beautifully clear (not milky) and cool azure waters.

We waded from the sand bar to One Foot Island where lunch was served.  There was enough time for more swimming and snorkelling before we headed back to the main island of Aitutaki.

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The Aussies, The Malaysian, The Alaskan and The Cook Islander

While on One Foot Island, this elderly woman (a fellow customer on the cruise) came up and wanted to pay me for the postcard on sale … I’m so dark now  so I look like a Cook Islander!   She soon realised that I was only a fellow customer.

Later, she asked if I was from Alaska … yes, Eskimos or Inuits do look Oriental.  But it was my Alaska T-shirt which made her think that!

I’m quite sure she’s a New Zealander … perhaps from a less cosmopolitan part of the country and haven’t seen many Asians before.

But then she could have been Aussie … I mistook an Aussie couple for Kiwis at the start of the day.  They were saying how they were too many mozzies in a certain part of the island, when I mistook him for saying there were too many Ozzies.  I soon realised my faux pas.

Our accommodation at Paradise Cove.

View from our accommodation at Paradise Cove.