Subscribe in a readerMoai Mitai
The Peace Boat anchored off Rapa Nui
Oh, the sacred sight of land! The Peace Boat anchored a mile off the exposed coast of Rapa Nui, Easter Island. The weather and swells cooperated and tender boats shuttled tour groups to the island 8 at a time. I hoped I would be just as lucky the next day when I had my chance to get off. So, for a day I just hung out on board and watched the coast near Hanga Roa. A Rasta local came on board to teach the Japanese how to stone carve for $30. The day’s highlight (other than just relaxing beside the pool) was the stonking cultural performance that night by a Polynesian cultural group. It rates as one of the best I’ve seen.
Rapa Nui cultural performance
The next morning, the gods were smiling and the GET teachers were able to get off the Peace Boat at last. From the boat I had organised a dive with 3 Japanese friends. We prepared our gear and headed back out to a site in sight of the Peace Boat. The visibility was exceptionally good as major currents don’t flow to Easter Island carrying plankton. We saw some nice morays, big yellow fin tuna, a school of jackfish and a turtle amongst the hard coral on the volcanic sea floor. Down at 20 meters there was a surprise - an underwater Moai. It was, of course, a replica. How else would an ancient 6 meter Moai get out to sea? I read on the web it was made for Kevin Costner’s flop ‘Rapa Nui’, though the dive master told us it was dropped down there by a local as a remembrance.
Underwater Moai
On dry land our dive master turned guide and we headed off to Rano Raraku, a kind of quarry from which the original Moai were carved centuries ago. It’s a strange place and the remnant of an extinct volcano. Wild horses drink in its crater lake. Dozens of <a href=”http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moai” target=”blank”>Moai</a> are scattered in the vicinity; the ones that never made it to their intended resting places. Now, some stand half buried, others have fallen and many more remain unfinished, part carved from the mountainside. Most are about 6-8 metres tall, though the largest is unfinished and a whopping 21 metres. No metal tools were used to create the Moai, instead they were carved using stone on stone. How the Moai came to stand at their various resting places around the island remains a mystery, though 3 theories stand out: a) wooden rollers used for rolling the Moai down the mountainside b) a ‘V’ shaped sled to slide the Moai, and c) Aliens. All are theoretically possible 
Moai being carved from the rock
The view from Rano Raraku’s perilous cliff top looked out across the barren land to the ocean and the 15 standing Moai of Ahu Tongariki. Standing at the foot of the ahu the Moai are impressive. Facing inland, the Moai are the “living faces” (aringa ora) and representations of chiefly, deified ancestors. Although many Moai are similar, few or none are the same.
From Ahu Tongariki we headed to the white sands and green palms of Anakena beach. Here 7 more Moai stand proudly on the shore. Behind their backs nice surf breaks near the shore where I had a bitofa body surf. The last group of Moai we visited were exceptions, facing out to see. Possibly they watch for islanders sent out to sea by the king in search for new lands.
Ahu Tongariki
***
Back on the Peace Boat, the joke is I look like a Moai. An honour, I think. It’s something about my ‘high’ nose and ‘longer than Japanese’ face. (Its funny in that many Japanese think foreigners all look alike just as kiwis think the opposite is true). Anyway to put this myth straight, or rather for a laugh, I organised a Moai Mitai (look-a-like) contest with CCC Yuko. We took some pics of willing passengers and juxtaposed them with Moai shots on the computer. There was a big vote and CCC Yuko and I tied for 3rd. Nakahara-san now has the honorific ‘Moai’ after his name and I nicknamed Yuko ‘CCC Moai’ too.
There are many events and happenings everyday. We held awareness events on AIDS day, and celebrated Human Rights day on December 10th with a number of different events, movies and discussions topped with a toast to freedom. I did my bit in the Culture Festival; Aotearoa represent! We demonstrated the Haka, Maori stick games, touch rugby and boat cricket. We had a manabi night raising money for reforestation projects in the Galapagos (think drag). We’ve just had the Summer Festival, Yukatta contest and a Polynesian night. At the Summer Festival participants could stand on the preverbial soap box and below anything they wished. There weren’t many takers, and most were just to wish for a boyfriend or say Happy Birthday to a friend. I got the crowd to bellow out a FREEDOM call, ala Mikey Havoc. Fleeeedooooooooooomu! Speech contests are coming up and mine is going to be in Japanese. And tomorrow is the ship soccer tournament. Christmas is a busy time of year, and the boat life is no exception. It feels like I’m coming down the home straight now to be with family for Christmas in Auckland. It’s a great feeling.
(For more photos click the ‘Photos’ link at the top of the page)