Day 55: (7 July 2011 (-1 in time zone)):
- Woke up to get ready for forest walk @ 8:30am. Asked Alexa to knock to wake me up, but I had to knock on her door to check she is awake.
- Weather a bit cloudy. Some big clouds. Apparently rain on other side of island.
- Jack asked to do tour by tourism office when prev. guy stopped. prev guy didn’t wear shoes. How is this possible on sharp coral?
- Story about hotel guy do tour, give made-up names, etc.
- Quick stop @ Matavai to pick up 4 others.
- Drive through the grave road portion to Havalu. Rain, puddles on road.
- Happy to see forest floor is only moist. The water drains quickly through porous rocks & caves, into the ocean. This is why there are no rivers on Niue, but plenty of springs. Niue also sits on a giant “water lens” and some say it’s shaped like a mushroom. Not sure is true.
- Jack stop & explain things & tell stories every few steps.
- Nice hearing rain on leaves. A few heavy spurts, but cleared up later.
- Highlights: “tiwali” tree roots “twisted tree.” A few big trees. Banyan like trees. Some caves. Jack tell us how to catch uga. No uga today, but Kololi girls said jack pulled out an uga for them on their tour.
- Jack’s story about a person getting sick & die, even NZ hospital can’t find what’s wrong. Hunting strangely big uga at “his secret spot,” people suspect he died breaking the tapu. Forest tapu beyond ancient walls. Apparently 2 tourists found wall, Willy doesn’t believe, so had them take him. Took entire day, but found the wall. Ira thankful for Jack’s stories & keeping tapu going. Say in Niue, legends are “stories,” where in Maori culture, ledgends are seen as chat has actually happened.
- The plant warriors use for their headdress & that turns to toffee/sweeter in the lu.
- Apparently many people have never been forest. Some have been lost & found.
- Taste water from vine: can just pour it out! Taste the new fern leaf.
- Strange fungus growing up trees & killing them. Ask Jack if this is new, he says he “thinks so” and he’s “never seen anything like it before.” I’m also concerned about the creeper vine in dump covering everything. Apparently someone brought it in as an ornamental plant (from NZ?) & it “expleded,” so the guy ripped it up & put it in the dump.
- Show us ebony. Says Niuean ebony is harder & blacker than other kinds. Only trees growing on rocks develop the black core.
- Say Niuean people different. There is a seed that Niueans can eat but others will get sick. Also say Niueans immune to asbestos since they work with it and no one get sick from it yet. Others make impressed sounds, but this is just statistics & due to small sample size.
- Black army ants bite some people while in forest. Apparently very painful. Me careful to not stand on areas with ants after.
- Take us to see his studio. Give us bananas. Some people buy carvings. Both pendants & larger sculptures. Say now make mostly pendants since more tourists buy. Also, make only ebony now, since can’s sell other materials for as much, but same effort. A hairpin following natural root curve with a penis on one end. When someone ask for price, say was holding for someone (Some local), but it’s been a while, so sell it anyway. Forgot who. Say touched by millions at World Expo in SH, as he was there for Niue. Say lots of people at World Fair. Story from Brian about the Chinese guy we saw, live in Niue part time. Only Chinese (Other than Mr. Li who work at Matavai?), so gov. send him & his gf. But they broke up in SH, and gov. had to send someone else as the guy didn’t feel like doing the World Fair anymore.
- See the designs for Jack’s pendant displayed in case.
- Stone house: one of the oldest houses (live in by a missionary?).
- Go back too late for Alexa’s snorkelling trip. I would have asked to join too. Too bad for missing it, as there were 3 whales on that trip. Saw cool photos @ airport.
- Nap back from tour.
- Take quick bike ride to Tomb Point. Nice view, but much blocked by trees.
- Go to wharf. One of the familiar tourist families there for a swim. Nice view of rocky coastline. Easy access to other side of reef. Clear waters, see fish, wavering in waves.
- Go with Alexa to take photos of sunset at Utuko.
- Guy fishing or octopus hunting?
- Convinced myself to try a sea cucumber. Ira mentioned export market had been thought of. Some Niueans eat it, but they prefer the smaller kinds, more tender.
- Find & pick up, wash. Stuck on rock when placed there far a while. Lots of tiny suction cups on one side. Ask Willy on way back see him: he says he reckons it’s edible.
- Kill with boiling water: scrunch up then slowly releases. Guts clear & filled with sand. On advice of older ladies, threw guts to chicken: although maybe throw in wrong place. Ladies saw chickens eat dog turd the other day. Chickens eat everything.
- Sea cucumber skin thin & kind of looks like the dry ones from Chinese stores when curled.
- Add butter, wild ginger from forest & Jack’s tour (although tastes more like weird tumeric). Tough, tastes terrible, bitter, a tiny bit like sea squirt. Throw out. Pasta now just with tinned tuna from bread store, picked up earlier.
- Curious how the sea cucumbers from stores are so different. Species? Prep.?
- Start using fly spray & close window/doors. Apparently Ira loves fly spray, some bring for her from NZ. Less/no mosquitos. Sleep better.
Photos available at: http://marklitraveljournal.blogspot.com/
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