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08/24/2006
Surviving Survivor - Cook Islands
Survivor was filming its next series on the island of Aitutaki over the course of the last several months. We arrived about a week after they left and were happy - and very relieved - to find that while they had a major impact on the island economically, it was difficult to see where they had actually been. They had picked up after themselves quite nicely!
An article in the August 12th edition of the Cook Island News (the local newspaper) mentions that the production crew had donated eveything from a timber pier they had constructed to cartons of soft drinks and water (for the local schools). The crew also contributed more than $700 (NZ) to a rugby league to focus on the development of youth on Aitutaki and the senior students at a local school received coveted Survivor crew t-shirts.
Just about eveyone we ran into on Aitutaki had a Survivor story to tell. The folks who took us on our Aitutaki lagoon cruise had been hired by the production company to ferry people around, so we were able to see many of the locations where the episode was filmed, including One Foot Island, pictured here.
Aitutaki Lagoon is amazing. The water runs from pale to deep turquoise and the snorkeling is fantastic. On our way to our lagoon cruise, we stopped at a marine center to see some of the rehab that has begun on the critters in the lagoon. The giant clam population has been depleted over the years, and they are growing some in tanks and then planting them in the lagoon when they are large enough. The baby giant clams in this picture are only a couple of inches across, while the grown ups are a lot larger!
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Ohh..I would LOVE to go there. The water looks so serene. You take wonderful photos!
Posted by: Sherry | 09/14/2006