Azure Coconut

Step 1 - Catch the fish. Frederick & Isaac showing off with their catch on the jetty When you live in Manihiki you will learn two things. 1)Appreciate probably the most incredible seafood of the world. 2)Be proactive about dinner planning. There are no restaurants in Manihiki, so when you are getting an appetite, you better make sure that you are prepared. Going down the road and picking up a takeaway is not an option! Don't even think about pizza delivery. It is not going to happen. There are also no supermarkets in Manihiki just a few little shops. Tukao has two shops that sell about the same general supplies - sugar, flour and rice - as well as basic food items such as cans, juice, soap and chips. Plus you can always get the latest news at the shop, especially when you meet shoppers who came all the way from Tauhunu (20min boat ride)!   Step 2 - Clean the fish in the lagoon. While cooling off at the end of the day. Getting back to our dinn...

Our Tree House The locals call it Fare Ngōio, the bird house, because common conception on the island is that those buildings are just large enough to house birds. But for us it is our new home away from home! We have to warn you though, our castle is not child friendly and comes with many possible hazards, such as steep staircase, unsealed concrete floors and windows that have no glass. Despite all of that it may be just because of these differences that we do love it so much - it feels like living in a very comfortable tree house! Location, location, location: our house is located at the northern side of the lagoon in the center of Tukao, Tukao being the smallest of the two villages in Manihiki (82 inhabitants in April 2017 for 152 in Tauhunu). From the window of our bedroom we have the most wonderful view of Manihiki lagoon. Every morning we wake up to the sunrise! View from our bedroom The house is one of 74 shelters that have been funded by t...

The Famous Red Tractor Five weeks ago our little family was setting foot on this beautiful island of Manihiki. This means that it's been at least five weeks since we've last eaten a salad, bitten into a juicy orange or enjoyed the crick crock sound of a carrot.  We started writing about our incredible time in such a remote place about two weeks ago. It makes us realize that this adventure is real. It will confirm once we are back to reality that this wasn't just a dream. It is also a way for our families and friends near and far to be one step closer to us by following our stories. Manihiki is just an idea for most people, the Black Pearl Island. The current Prime Minister's Island. Unlikely the home of a French - German family of 4 with their habits!  Well, amongst those readers of ours, there is a good Samaritan who knows what it's like to live in the outer islands, the Pa Enua. As beautiful, incredible and fascinating as this island is, as delici...

Yummy Vene Vene There is my house. And then there is Rachel's house. She lives with her brother Isaac and her Mama and Papa. Her parents are in Raro. Rachel likes to eat lollies and pick crabs on the beach. And then there is my house. Maman always says to wash my hands. She wants plein de bisous. Sometimes I don't want to have heaps of kisses. Papa says to wear my Hausschuhe in the house. He takes me on adventures. When I look outside I can see Rachel's house. And I can see our tree. It is just in the middle. I call, Hi Rachel! And I say, Maman, I go Vene Vene! I put on my shoes. My favorite shoes are the blue ones. They are caterpillars. I also wear my hat. There is a lot of sun here. In Raro I don't wear clothes. But here Maman says I need my shorts and a t-shirt. Just like the other kids. I don't understand why. I like wearing no clothes. So sometimes I only wear my shorts. Rachel meets me at the tree. It is in the shade, it...

Main Road - Coming from the Center. Left towards the airport. Right towards the school and wharf (and home!) It is strangely calm in Manihiki today. Usually we wake up to the sound of an outboard motor of someone going out trawling for tuna with the sunrise. But today the lagoon stays quite. The coral roads are empty. Tukao feels like a ghost town. What is going on? Today Friday 12th May 2017 is a big day for most of the people of Manihiki and Rakahanga. It is the wedding of Trainee and Anasity. Close and extended family, from near and far will be attending the wedding of the year in Rakahanga. Manihiki has a current population of 234 people. The island council conducts a monthly census and they accounted 82 inhabitants in Tukao and Tauhunu 152 in April. Rakahanga, it's neighbour island located 44km north-west of Manihiki is even smaller, with a current count of 59 people! So when about 70 people move from one island to the other, it feels like an exodus. L...

The title says it all! Chickens chilling in Manihiki Courtney and Tim have been debating about the dents in the soap that was lying outside of the dive shop, by the water tank. It is convenient to have a bar of soap outside, close to rain water, to wash your hands after work, after filleting fish, after swimming, after building a fire for a BBQ, or just because. Consequence though is that the soap gets damaged in the process. Are those marks from gravel and little rocks? Or from the kids playing with it? Maybe from crabs cleaning their pincers? The discussion has been going for a while. If you've lived in the islands, you will know that chickens are everywhere. They eat your left overs at a cafe, they wake you up in the middle of the night, they leave droppings in your house. But we still kinda like them.   More chickens finishing our Nimata (drinking coconut in Manihikian) What we didn't know about them though, is that chickens do eat soap. It is a ...

KWAI   Every few months, Kwai sails to Manihiki. This pirate looking sailing vessel departs from Hawaii and trades all over the South Pacific. Kwai built in 1950 as a herring fishing vessel in Bremen, Germany (70km away from Tim's hometown!!!) with a short ketch rig to keep her steady on the grounds. She is 120’ long on deck, 179 gross tons and carries 250 tons of cargo. In 1963 she was sold to Norway and ended up in the sand and asphalt trade. Island Ventures Ltd purchased her in June 2002. She had had a fire in the engine room and aft accommodations and the main engine was seized. The survey showed the hull to be in excellent condition and she was re-powered with a rebuilt GM 12-71. During the summer of 2002 KWAI was fitted with all necessary navigation electronics and safet y gear and, registered as a cargo ship in the Cook Islands (!), sailed for Aveiro, Portugal. About t...

Manihiki has more azure lagoon than actual landmass. We truly are in the middle of the South Pacific. It's tropical, it's colourful, it's blue. Manihiki's people are very welcoming, living a strong community life. Fish and other seafood are here in a never ending abundance. The lagoon has 30 degree water temperature. There's a constant southerly breeze to provide some cooling. Fresh coconuts (nu - the young drinking coconuts) are everywhere to be seen. This is our new Little Paradise! Why are we starting this blog? Life has given us the most incredible opportunity of truly experiencing one of the remotest locations on this blue planet - Manihiki. One of the 15 Islands in the Cook Islands and its biggest pearl producer. We are a German/French family of four. Tim is 36 years, Hotelier, PADI Dive Instructor and Ocean Enthusiast. Lucile is 31 years, Engineer in Food Technology, Entrepreneur and Fashion Designer. Our two tamariki were both born in Raroto...

Yann's favorite run way! I guess this sunset was still a bit too bright! Courtney and the family enjoying a nice "Feierabend" drink, amazing German word for "After work". Though litteraly it means "Party Evening". Don't you love them! The centre of our life here in Manihiki is the dive base in Trainee Samson's seeding house. To be precise, the seeding house's jetty is the navel of our world! Trainee is a Pearl Farmer, Great fisherman, Captain of Vaine Tauhunu - one of the boats for the #ManihikiLagoonCleanUp - and Band Master of the local band. His seeding house is located in the village of Tukao and overlooks Manihiki's lagoon. Courtney showing off with her catch of the day - getting those Yellow Fin Tunas ready for dinner! Most importantly, we finish our work days here, sitting on the jetty, discussing the presidential election in France, who went out fishing and caught what and...

It is 7am and we are off to one of our craziest adventures! Air Rarotonga is the local airline, servicing most of the 15 islands with an estimated landmass of just 240 square kilometers, in the Cook Islands. Beautiful small aircrafts that connect these islands over an area of close to 2 million square kilometers. We flew up to Manihiki in a Embraer Bandeirante prop machine, a strong small aircraft. The emphasis though is definitely on small. Probably the smallest that we have ever been on! There is no looking back! Friends are dropping us off at the airport in Rarotonga. It is 6am. We meet the other passengers whose main topic is the weight restriction on the flight to Manihiki. We are allowed to check in 10kg and one small piece of carry on. We are on our way to spend four months on one of the remotest islands on this planet, have a 2.5 year old and a three month old baby with us and not even close to having enough room for the little one's nappies. Ho...