All these bad boobies are Red-footed.
After a very fast, very windy and, at the end, very boisterous 5 day passage we arrived about noon in brilliant sun for the passage into Surrarow/Suvarov Atoll. There are 21 boats here all in front of the rangers' quarters, the only place you are allowed to anchor in this Cook Island National Park. The anchorage is not as small as I feared and we are not cheek to jowl. In the first 2 hours here we had 2 as of yet unidentified sharks and a Green Sea Turtle come visit Sunrise. We took a little walk to the ocean side and saw about 15 White Tip, Black Tip and other sharks patrolling the shore. Great and Lesser Frigatebirds, Bridled Tern, Black Noddy, Brown Noddy and Sooty Tern. I took the bird guide book into the ranger's . No fruit so no Fruit-dove, never seen the Spotless Crake, knew the sounds of the Bristle-thighed Curlew but not its name, no kingfisher. There are very few species of birds at Suvarov, but what they have, they have in abundance. No mammals. There are now introduced mosquitoes which have found me already. As to our check-in, officials are always suspicious when we declare no booze of any kind, no tobacco and no meat. Here, the officials are the more serious one, Harry, and the joker, Ants. Harry is a Cook Islander but Ants was born in Australia (looks like an aborigine) and spent his life in NZ. He speaks Kiwi. After we declared no alcohol on board he comes out with 2 Hinanos (beer) and, in the most serious tone of voice, says that they are his 2 last beers but that since we are such nice people he will offer them to us. Barry says, in an equally serious voice, that we don't partake. Then I say, "You Kiwis are a tricky bunch; you knew we wouldn't take them", upon which everyone breaks out in wild laughter.
The way our brains work is so amazing. I couldn't believe how much French came back to me after 25 years. My brain just popped up with it when needed. Now my brain speaks Kiwi when talking to a Kiwi. For instance, when talking to Harry and Ants I pronounced Z as zed instead of zee. I was actually surprised to hear myself say it.
Got to go get ready for excursion to outer motus with Ants today.
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