Suwarrow

Warden's residence - sleeping quarters are upstairs

Tom Neale memorial on Anchorage Island

Suwarrow

Harry is one of the 2 wardens living on Anchorage Islet in Suwarrow. The other is his wife, Vaini. That is a good plan for them as they are the only residents and live here for 8 months of the year. All of their supplies for that time come with them by boat from their home in the capital, Raratonga. Boats are only allowed to visit between June 1 and Nov 1, out of the storm season. As well as doing an hour's worth of paper work to check in, we had a chance to learn more about the island from them.

The previous name that we have seen in some books, Savarov, was given to it by Russians who "discovered" it. Since independence it has been Suwarrow. Captain Cook claimed it for the British. Although the Cook Islands are named after him he only found 2 of them. Currently they are a protectorate of NZ. The residents have NZ citizenship and often go there for schooling or jobs. They are Maori by ancestry, as are the Polynesians and  Hawaians. Their navigation routes formed a large triangle from NZ, Tahiti, and Hawaii.

 The crew on Pacific Eagle are Australian and have traveled around the South Pacific, not always by boat. They think the Cook Islanders are the friendliest country, although the anchorages are poor. They are also known for great singing voices, especially in the churches. Chapter 2 and Tahawus are certainly finding a warm welcome at their current stop in Palmerston. Too bad we don't have time to stop more places.

Suwarrow was made famous by 2 hermits who lived alone on the atoll for many years. Robert Frisbee was here before WW2 and the Kiwi, Tom Neale, lived here most of the time from 1952 to his death in 1977. he wrote a book about his experiences called "An Island to Oneself". There are still some structures intact from that time. Harry and Vaini's home is open on the ground level for cooking and eating and visiting. The second floor is for sleeping.

The entire atoll has less than 100 acres of land scattered around the encircling reef. Much of that is awash in heavy seas. Near the pass is the small motu, Anchorage Islet, that we are anchored behind. It is .5 nm long and .1 nm wide and the only one people are allowed to land on. The others are protected for bird nesting and other wildlife and sea life as a national park. Birds are always flying overhead, and sharks swimming by. On land the ground is covered by crabs scurrying about.