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Survivor on Aitutaki ***and on Atiu***
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Cook Islands Forum: Survivor on Aitutaki ***and on Atiu***
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Survivor on Aitutaki ***and on Atiu*** |
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Yes Kamaainak, I did not want Survivor to be on Aitutaki (actually, I don't want Survivor to be anywhere!)
We stayed 9 days on Aitutaki and except for the fact that we could not visit One Foot Island and the nearby motus, we did not see anything at all of Survivor, as if they were not there. (I did not look for them either!). Only once a helicopter flew over our house (but we could not tell whether that was a Survivor heli).
There probably were less tourists though since less accommodation was available.
A couple we met had had dinner at Tupuna's when the restaurant was invaded by a loud bunch of Survivor people who were more yelling into their cell phones than talking to each other. However, when we went to Tupuna's there were no Survivor people there, although four men arrived that looked like they just possibly might have had something to do with Surivor. But they occupied their table and were quite discrete.
Jo-Anne of Etu Moana said the Survivor people usually booze up at Samade, but we were several times at Samade and never saw anyone (we were not there in the evening though).
A lot of locals were quite happy with Survivor as it provides jobs for the young.
As Survivor makes part of the lagoon off limits, this makes fishing grounds for the locals inaccessible. The landowners of the motus are compensated for the use of their land, but the community is not receiving any compensation for the loss of the fishing grounds. The compensation the landowners receive is not put in their pockets, but is given to the community in form of donations to schools, churches, hospital, etc.
I was told that those voted out, can stay on Aitutaki till the filming is ended: they do not have to go home immediately.
Survivor on Atiu
On Atiu I learned that one of the challenges for the participants was to spend the night in the burial caves. Participants were divided in groups, blindfolded and led into the caves, without food, without water, without light. Once in the caves, their blindfolds were removed. They could drink the water from the natural sweet water pools in the caves, but often there are poisonous crabs in these pools (I saw these crabs). The pinch or the bite of these crabs are not poisonous, but when you eat them, they are deadly. Some participants, I was told, screemed with fright (how entertaining!).
On another occasion, I was told, participants were flown to Atiu for a feast as a bonus. In a shack near a beach, they had a lavish meal. As they were starving, their eyes were bulging when they saw the food. They swallowed the food eagerly, the producers of the series making sure they drank a lot of alcohol. The purpose for that excessive drinking was to make the participants sick fast and good, for that would provide for some good footage (how civilized!) The participants were carried to this shack on the shoulders of locals in carrying chairs. I visited the shack and saw the carrying chairs.
Any person using this information in a "Survivor"-context is kindly requested to refer to this Tripadvisor branch. Thank you.
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Hey Chinagazer, Thanks for the update! I'm excited they filmed on Atiu! Now I'll really be interested to watch. A night in a cave on Atiu is defenitely NOT on my to do list, boy would that suck. - - - - BB Report as inappropriate | ||||||
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hi chinagazer, well, that's fascinating indeed! Last I heard you were still thinking of going to Mangaia for a day trip, but obviously you did go to Atiu! Wonderful! I have an internet acquantance who I know would be interested in so much detail about Survivor, so I would indeed like to pass it on with a credit to you and to the tripadvisor branch. Your trip sounds so interesting, I want to hear more when you have time. I love the way you write things up. Report as inappropriate | ||||||
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LOL boogiebass, I wouldn't like a night in an Atiu cave one bit! You're already feeling like it's the middle of nowhere in the Pacific and THEN you're in some subterranean cave pool with no light! Oh man.
hi again chinagazer, I sent a copy of your post to one of the Survivor fans who is collecting information at Survivor S*ucks. He/she says thank you so much, it is great to hear such cool information.
I can tell you don't think the screaming in the cave and getting sick from eating and drinking sounds very entertaining, but Survivor is a pretty fun show I think. Not to everyone's interest, for sure.
Like boogiebass, I'm pretty intrigued by the trip to Atiu because it sounds like they did something different this time than the standard beach challenge of retrieving things underwater, untying knots, and stuff which kind of puts me to sleep.
So thanks again for increasing my interest in it all.
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Hey KamaainaK, I really hope you love Atiu as much as my wife and I did. I also hope to hear a really good report when you get back - espeaially about the Survivor Atiu stuff. I hope survivor shows the Atiu coast, because it is absolutely beautiful - I can't wait to go back. I read on Thorn Tree your staying with Marshall? That would be great - He is a great guide. Although I really enjoyed Atiu Villas, Marshall would be a great backup plan. Have a great trip! - - - - BB Report as inappropriate | ||||||
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Hi boogiebass! What part of the Atiu coast do you consider most beautiful? We won't have as much time to explore as I could wish. We are staying with Roger & Kura, actually, we had already booked by the time we spoke to Marshall, but I was passing along info he had given me to the TT person who wanted budget accoms. Wonder will the whiskeybugs be out in force? Chinagazer, we're trying to figure out which cave tour to do, especially as an alternate to Anatakitaki, did you and your companion do separate ones? Can you recommend one? boogiebass, which tours did you do? (I read your original trip report on TT but it seems that the threads from earlier this year have disappeared.) Report as inappropriate | ||||||
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Hey KamaainaK, Staying at Atia Villas, an excellent choice. We stayed in Villa 6, the view from the deck was great. Make sure to have Kura cook for you every night, so good! Our favorite tour was with Marshall - the Kopeka bird cave, very fun hike, plus there is swiming in the cave. Birdman George was also excellent, great to hear things from a local. We did a coffee tour, but that was boring (at least to us). Since we did not have a compus, I'm not sure what side was our favorite. When you leave Roger's place make a left - that road will take you right down to the ocean (although its not paved, so if you are on a scooter, be extremely careful - watchout for mud, loose sand, sharp rocks, coconuts and coconuts palms on the road). Once you hit the shoreline from this road, the coast on the right and left is stunning - I really liked this spot (and it is the closest shoreline to Roger's place), but there are lots of great spots to explore. Be sure to really look at the Makatea, check out the 120,000 year old coral patterns. The Atiu report is in the first link in the Thornetree (South Pacific FAC) Here are my Atiu pics again: community.webshots.com/myphotos… Now I want you to take even better ones (and share them) Have a great time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! - - - - BB Report as inappropriate | ||||||
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hey boogiebass, read your great trip report again, noted the whiskeybug preventative strategy, pictures are truly fantastic and your captions so funny and creative. We're going to rent the Suzuki, forget the scooters. Did you see any of these toxic crabs chinagazer mentions? There are at least six tours we'd love to do and only time for two or we won't have time to explore the island at all. That's why I'm trying to get a feel for them. We'll probably do one cave and one nature/island tour. Birdman George pics are wonderful. Looks like he could teach the Survivors a lot. The production should have hired him to show them his survival secrets! Report as inappropriate | ||||||
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DH and I were just talking about "Survivor" the other day, and it occurred to me that on all the previous editions, they contestants had to stay nearby. We were saying we should have applied and been really awful, so we could just get voted off right away and have a free month on Aitutaki :) Report as inappropriate | ||||||
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Hey KamaainaK, How many days are you on Atiu? We were there for 3 nights and it did not seem like enough. Renting the car will be great - there is a road that circles the coast, take that road, and whereever there is an opening or trail, take it down to the water. Make sure to have very good reef shoes, walk the tide pools, being very careful not to step on too much stuff. Our favorite beach, where we took the clam and puffer fish pics, there was a small climb down a 10 foot cliff. The one crab picture in the Atiu pics, is the toxic crab. They come out mainly at night. I remember Birdman George telling us those crabs are deadly if eaten - we saw one on his tour. Have some good bug spray. The Whisky Bugs are seasonal, so you may not see any. Ask Roger is you can pick a Pineapple (if they are in season) The 2 tours, Marshalls and Birdman George are well worth the money - PA's on Raro was also great, but strenous When do you leave? - - - - BB Report as inappropriate | ||||||
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Hi boogiebass, more great tips from you! We're leaving on the 19th but it'll take us ten days to get to Atiu. We have to fly through Tahiti to get to the Cooks from Hawaii now, as Hawaiian Air is the only carrier to the SP out of Honolulu these days. Sadly, we are only on Atiu two nights and less than 48 hours unless the plane gets delayed. We only have one full day. That morning we're doing the Island tour with Marshall. We're not as young as you sugarmooners ... then in the afternoon I would like to explore, so we're wanting to try to do a short cave tour the afternoon we get in (3pm check-in at the Villas) ... we'll see. It might be too much. We want to do one of the two closer caves, Rima Rau or Raka's, and I was hoping chinagazer would read this and let me know which one she chose! We're skipping the coffee tour but planning to buy coffee. We love Atiu coffee. We can do a coffee tour right here at home. Funny about the pineapple you mentioned, as we have one ripe in our yard just now I think we'll leave any ripe ones for those who aren't able to grow them at home. Fresh pineapple sure is amazing. They don't have a season. The individual plants can make pineapples at any time and they take months to ripen. Nature works hard to make a ripe pineapple! We'll drive around the island the morning before we leave, for sure. We have the tides all marked; maybe we'll get to see the Coral Gardens. I'm confused about the toxic crabs. Are they living in pools or are they land crabs like the ones at Crushers on Aitutaki? Report as inappropriate | ||||||
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