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the stars. I remember still those nights, sitting on a coconut log
besides our little camp fire, with the old black billy hissing and
bubbling on the tripod. We seemed so isolated, so remote, and yet,
for a brief instance the next day, Akaiami would be the only place
in the whole Cook Islands where we would be so very close to the
outside world. We were, for a very short time, an international
airport.
“I used to sit there, beside the fire, looking out at the lagoon. I
can remember one particular evening – it was late – maybe 11
pm and I should have been in bed. I remember reclining on a
pandanus mat that Mama had set on the beach for us to sit on,
listening to the gentle lapping of the wavelets on the shore. The
magic of the night kept me awake. The air was warm and balmy
– not hot, not cold and each breath of wind was like liquid silk as
it brushed your skin. The lagoon was lit by a dying moon, in the
last days before rebirth. The stars seemed unusually bright, and I
could see a haze over the mainland of Aitutaki – four or five miles
to the West. I can remember thinking then of all those people in
the cabin of the flying boat – rushing towards us in the night in
their wonderful machine – suspended in the dark between the sea
and the stars. Are they thinking of us here on Akaiami? They will
come. They will land – and for a few, brief sunlit hours, they will
see and experience the exotic beauty that is our home. Then, with
a reluctant step, they will once again board their big sea bird, to
travel onwards – this time into the bright blue sunlit vault of the
sky that has become the new day, to Faa lagoon and the bigger
romance that is Tahiti island.
“The big seaplanes usually landed early in the morning around
9 am not long after sunup. They had been traveling through the
night from Samoa. The TEAL staff would be on the alert. And
when the first radio contact was made with the aircraft a shout
would go up, and everyone would man their stations. We all
would strain our eyes to see her, vying to be the first. Then, there
she was, a speck, gradually becoming larger and larger – then a
huge seaplane lining up with the water landing area in the lagoon.
Lower and lower she would come, until she appeared to be just
skimming the wavelets. Then, like a big graceful swan, she settled
on the water and gently losing speed, taxied up to the mooring
buoy. In the peace of Akaiami, I can still remember the deafening
roar of those big engines, and the silence that followed when they
were stopped. It just seemed to make the stillness much greater
somehow.
“The TEAL launch would ferry the passengers to the wharf. As
children we would stand on the beach, to see the passengers, and
if we could recognize anyone who was famous. Some famous film
stars did come through sometimes, although as children we were
so isolated in our Aitutaki world that we would not recognize
them. I do remember how big a man Crown Prince Tupou was.
To us children, he seemed huge. I also remember a very small
man – a dwarf. We in Aitutaki had never ever seen a dwarf before,
and we were fascinated. Us children followed the dwarf along
the beach, so he stopped, and made us line up and sing while he
conducted, much to the amusement of the other passengers.
“Later my Auntie, who worked for TEAL told us that the airline
had to put in an especially large seat for Prince Tupou at the rear
of the plane. The dwarf was no problem!
“The passengers and plane crew were fed in the TEAL
guesthouse – they swam and sunbathed and explored - the plane
was re-fuelled, and then it was time for them to carry on with
their journey.”
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