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Showing posts from February, 2018

Manihiki Magic - Excalibur

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Tobia & I, with Yann all eyes on Excalibur  “I don’t even know how many blades we broke!” Says Tobia Tobia first born son of Papa Tobia Kaitara while we are sitting in front of his home overlooking Manihiki lagoon. His father lives by himself in one of the bird houses or shelter built by the New Zealand government after cyclone Martin hit the atoll in 1997. See our blog entry about the shelters for more details. Straight in front of us are the remains of Tobia’s family house. The roof is almost gone but the walls are still solid. The four fishing boats tell the story of how this beautiful place has once sheltered a family and was their base to support the many mouths that needed to be fed. Papa Tobia Senior and his kids mostly lived off fishing. Still to this day the younger generation comes to ask Papa Tobia Senior for advice on what fish will bite with the next moon. What’s the best way of catching it? Papa Tobia answers with the confident smile of a man who simply kno