Run by Cook Islands tours $89.
Entree:
First house owned by Danny Kelly, a Cook Islander married to a Kiwi. His
family have, for a long time, owned large tracts of land on the Island and he
is the family elder. They have been on this particular land, which is
extensive, for 27 years and, while not a farm, has a lot growing on it and
seems to provide some high level of self-sufficiency.
Here is where we are to have the entree in the big porch at the front of
the house where the family eat almost all the year round because it is too hot
inside. Unexpectedly, we are offered a glass of bubbly or passion fruit juice
on arrival.
He then takes us through his land, mostly showing us what is growing but
also talking about local culture and family life.
He shows us Noni fruit, an ugly beast which is not pleasant to eat, and
which is mostly turned into juice (it is produced commercially). It supposedly
has health properties, including, he says, cancer prevention. He shows us his
coffee plant, and talks about how coffee is produced in the Cook Islands. He
gets someone to taste it, showing it is sweet rather than coffee flavoured.
There is also a tea plant and he talks of the ritual use of the plants leaves
in skirts. We see star fruit trees, curry leaves, coconuts (with a lecture on
why not to stand under them), male/ female palms with some detail on palm nuts,
with commentary on the generally useless nature of the male of this, or any
other species. By now the Australian males have moved off to look at the
various bashed up cars that litter the site (of which they will later learn the
history and the family culprits who bashed them). While he is talking about the
plants there are kids and dogs and family members running around giving a
strong sense of what the section is normally like, and a very different tourism
experience. He spends a lot of time, and is asked a lot of questions about,
land law, inheritance and genealogy, a subject which seems to preoccupy the
British contingent, one of whom desperately looking for clarity, asks
"so what will happen when you kick the bucket". One of Danny's
sons joins in, disputing the likelihood that the distribution will be
fair.
Danny shows us a small family shrine and talks about members of the
family who are buried on the land and the significance of the land, and how
difficult it is for him as the elder to manage it on behalf of the family. It
is important enough that family members prefer to be buried where their family
live and he shows us his mothers grave and identifies the spot where his father
in law is anonymously (by choice) buried. He tells us that the Cook Island
Maori have been cleverer than the New Zealand Maori who foolishly sold their
land off cheaply to the British, and who now complain but don't really have a
leg to stand on. A few kiwi eyebrows are raised at this interesting
reinterpretation of the Treaty.
He shows us the umu/hangi which is prepared for a forthcoming meal and
talks about how it is used and then we return to the food which is laid out
buffet style. He says a long prayer and then his wife explains the food in some
detail. The dishes are:
We return to the food which is laid out buffet style. He says a long
prayer and then his wife explains the food in some detail.
· Ika Mata, Raw tuna,
marinated in lemon juice for three hours with various herbs/ spices. This is a
very popular Island dish to be found in many restaurants. She mentions how the
best tuna are sold to Japan, with very big ones fetching as much as $60k. Any
one wanting to spice the dish up it is offered tiny chillis directly from the
tree and then shown how to squeeze the juice out
· Taro root, used as
an alternative to kumara or potato
· Banana salad with
deliciously sweet bananas and added mayonnaise, curry powder,, apricot jam
She explains that we are eating what they eat, at 'my place', and that
almost all the products come from their own land. While we eat, sitting in a
big circle, the men from the family form a guitar/ukulele group.
Main Course
We move on to the next house, where the meal is run by a group of women
who introduce themselves as aunties. They are all nieces of Danny ( who is now
driving one of the buses). It transpires that this part of the meal is
run by the 'Ladies Club' who use the profits to fund holidays for themselves.
They all have day time jobs but they start cooking at 3 for the tour (we get
there about 7).
We are greeted by a seven year old son who does a 'welcome chant' haka
style. Everyone, including children, introduces themselves. Once again it is
evidently someone's house, with life running in parallel to these Thursday
night tours. They say they are offering what they would eat themselves. It is a
buffet, but there are four tables set up with table platings, wine and water
glasses, napkins etc.
We're told that the idea of the progressive home tour came originally
from Norfolk Island.
A wide range of dishes are served
· chicken with
various spices
· seared tuna
with more spices
· Mango and
sprout salad
· avocado salad
· Angry bread
which is flour pounded with coconut cream (indigenous to the Northern Island
Group)
· bread fruit
· Rakau leaf
with coconut cream with garlic and onion (the leaf has to be picked as it
opens)
· Rice
Specifically for vegetarians there is an eggplant and tomato dish and a
pumpkin dish. One of the women tells me that they realised that quite a lot of
tourists were vegetarians so they were providing for them but she was emphatic
that vegetable are an important part of their normal cuisine and Polynesian
food generally. It is a vegetarian's dream meal.
We are offered wine, water and fruit juice
They talk about the food before and after presenting it, and are more
than happy to answer questions and give recipes. For example one explains that
the Ika Mata that we ate earlier can be made vegetarian by blanching an
eggplant for a minute or so and then replicating the fish dish process.
Once again they note that most of the products are grown by themselves
except tomatoes and lettuce which are not currently found on the Island because
of the recent drought. Currently a lettuce on the Island has to be imported
from NZ and will cost $10 (as will a kilo of tomatoes)
The meal is accompanied by a slightly different family band and the
proceedings are ended with family singing the national farewell song.
Dessert
We finally move to a house owned by Tom and Larraine Marsters. She has
produced a book called Just Desserts and the food is drawn from it.
The dishes have local products and emphases but look faintly late 19th
century/20 th century high tea including
· banana cake
· fresh fruit
(though with some home made preserved pineapple)
· coconut
meringue stack with coconut custard
· passion fruit
self saucing pudding
· ice cream
She says that all the food is 'fat free', ie all the fat is free
The man of the household finishes off with an extended account of one of
his ancestors - the notorious William Marsters - who, along with his three
'wives' set up the still surviving (just) community on Palmerston island.
The by now standard ukele accompaniment is finished off with the
National Anthem.
If you go to Rarotonga, or know anyone who is going,and even if you
never do organized tours, this is a must.
