Cleone - CLEONE in Suworrow Part 2

Yesterday's tour of the atoll with John was fascinating.  We all assembled at nine thirty in our dinghies - or as near nine thirty as a group of yachtsmen and their crews could make it.  Then, led by John and his whole family in their aluminium dinghy, and with Cleone and her crew in the van, we made our way across the lagoon in a long crocodile.  The colour of the sea varied from indigo to azure, and we passed a number of small islands, some smelling strongly of guano (bird shit).  Finally we reached One Tree Island - mis-named because there are a great deal more than just one tree - where we parked up the dinghies tied together in two long ragged lines.  Carrying rubbish sacks and bottled water, we then walked from One Tree Island to its neighbouring Turtle Island, which is in the same reef, but separated by an expanse of water shallow enough to wade.  One Tree Island teemed with birds.  There were huge flocks of Sooty Terns, White Terns and Black Noddys which make there nests, or rather lay their eggs on this island.  They are careless parents, and everywhere the fledglings hopped about waiting to be fed.  How on earth the parent birds found their own and did not end up feeding any old chick, goodness only knows, but as the Editor pointed out, his wife never seemed to have difficulty finding the right infant amongst a large group of them, so perhaps it's the same with Terns.  Frigate Birds and Boobies flew above the island, bringing back fond or other memories of our Bernard.  As we went, we gathered up debris on the foreshore.  Bottle tops, water bottles and fishing gear where the major crop, but interestingly Caretaker John said that there was considerably less flotsam than usual, maybe the result of the major storm that swept through this atoll last winter.  But every dinghy gathered at least a large sackful of this rubbish, and John's boat was also filled up with larger items; fishing nets, lengths of warp, plastic floats and even a wrecked aluminium tender - a product of New Zealand!

We waded across the reef to circumnavigate Turtle Island, where there are no turtles.  It is one of the largest islands in the atoll, and probably John's favourite.  As he said, it would make a great place to live - the view is stunning, protected from the sea but with surf booming on the reef around it - but it is completely enclosed within the reef with no access deep enough for even a dinghy with an outboard.  Turtle Island is fertile, with many palms and other plants.  It is infested with Coconut Crabs, large enough to be a good meal for two (and they are reportedly delicious) which burrow their way underground all over the island and in amongst the trees.  You can find their nests just by walking around in the tress - a soft spot means you're on top of one, and beware if its claws get you, because you are in for a painful time.  Rats and termites are also prevalent, so as well as its isolation, there would be other challenges for any humans who felt the need to establish a home!

Completing a circumnavigation of even so small an island brings a certain sense of achievement, and we were pleased to get back to the boats, particularly as we had stashed our water in our dinghy rather than bringing it with us.  Suitably refreshed, we set out back across to lagoon to a snorkelling site recommended by John.  As with all the other sights in this atoll, this was a stunning place.  We anchored on a plateau and swam across and around it.  On the edge, the lagoon dropped away to over thirty metres in depth, and there were walls studded with caves and marvellous corals.  And the whole teemed with fish.  Sharks swam lazily in the deeper waters, with mahi-mahi and other bigger fish, the odd ray flew sedately by and their was a huge variety of the sort of multi-coloured fish you normally only see in tanks in living rooms at home.  But by now we were getting tired and hungry, so after an hour or so we set off back for a cold beer and some lunch.

This morning has been a time of make-and-mend.  Elizabeth has repaired the sail cover, the Skipper has refuelled and re-fixed a fitting on the mast, Will has given the cockpit an overdue clean, and Norfy has been paying our dues and giving the domestics a bit of elbow grease.  We've stopped work to look at a shark circling the boats (he looked hungry, too, but Elizabeth was not happy to donate even a part of a leg to him) and to snorkell over some passing sting-rays, and to enjoy a quiet cup of tea in the sunshine.  We are due to set off for Nuie on Saturday at noon, but some of our friends are having to leave early.  We have said farewell to Akoya and Chantelle this morning, and Asolare is winding up to leave at around lunch-time.  And one or two others will be going tomorrow.  But we are going to leave when we must and with great reluctance. 

You can't get to Suworrow other than on a yacht.  If you don't know how, you'd better start learning to sail now (it's not difficult, or most sailors could not do it).  At the same time, make friends with a yachtsman with a proper ocean-going yacht (there are more of both around than you'd think), save your pennies and book time off work or away from home.  You CANNOT miss this wonderful little jewel.

All well with us, best wishes to all of you.

James, Chris, Elizabeth and Will

Cleone
Suworrow
Cook Islands