When the missionariesbanneddrinkingon Atiu, the menignored them and moved into thejungle, where, at an institution called the tumunu, they passed around a coconut cup of fermented orangejuice.
By the dawn of the 21st century, with only a tiny population of birds left on the remote French Polynesian island of Rimatara, it was decided to reintroduce the endangered lorikeet on Atiu.
Most outsiders who visit Atiu come not for beaches and sun, but to see the rainforests, the ancient coral caves and the riot of birdlife, which includes some of the rarest species in the South Pacific, such as the brilliantly plumed Rimatara lorikeet.