DESTINATION COOK ISLANDS
Wafer-thin cays and farflung atolls, white-sand beaches and lush green volcanic mountains, a slow pace, friendly people - what's not to like about the Cook Islands? Lascivious dancing and beer bashes in the bush have survived years of missionary zeal. The islands have excellent hiking, snorkeling, caving or just lazing. Get yourself stranded on an outer island and hope that freighter doesn't come back.
Map of the Cook Islands (14K)
Facts at a Glance
Population: 19,775
Area: 240 sq km (95 sq mi)
Capital: Avarua (pop 16,000)
People: Polynesian (80%), mixed Polynesian and European (8%)
Language: English (official), Maori
Religion: Cook Islands Christian Church
Government: Self-governing parliamentary democracy
Prime Minister: Sir Geoffrey A Henry
Environment
The Cook Islands are located in the South Pacific, about 1875 miles (3015 km) north-east of Auckland, 3100 miles (4985 km) north-east of Sydney, and 3610 miles (5815 km) south-east of Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. The Cooks' nearest neighbours are Tahiti to the east and American Samoa to the west, each roughly 1500km (930mi) away. About equal in total land area to the Australian Capital Territory or the US state of Rhode Island, the Cook Islands are spread across some 2 million sq km (772,200 sq mi) of sea, an area as large as Western Europe.
The 15 islands form two groups, northern and southern, separated by as much as 1000km (620mi) of empty sea. The southern group, mostly young volcanic islands, are actually a continuation of the Austral chain in southern French Polynesia. The northern group are all older coral atolls. The largest of the Cooks is Rarotonga (67 sq km/25 sq mi); the smallest is Suwarrow (.4 sq km/.2 sq mi). The landscape ranges from mountainous Rarotonga to many nearly flat cays and atolls, invisible from afar and easily washed over by large waves.
Rarotonga has the largest variety of vegetation, including coconut palm-lined beaches, citrus groves and a central jungle of ferns, creepers and towering trees. The pandanus tree, whose leaves are important for traditional handicrafts (mats, baskets, etc), is common among most of the southern islands. On the atolls of the northern group, the soil is usually limited and infertile and there is little vegetation apart from the coconut palms.
The only mammals considered native are Pacific fruit bats, which are found only on Mangaia and Rarotonga. Rats and pigs were introduced to the islands; many pigs are domesticated by tying one of their legs to a coconut tree. Rarotonga also has many dogs, some cats and goats and a few horses and cattle. There are few birds on the islands; most are in the hills of Rarotonga. Many birds have been driven out by the frequently obnoxious mynah bird, introduced years ago to control insects. Among endemic birds are the cave-dwelling Atiu swiftlet, the chattering kingfisher of Atiu and Mauke and the Mangaia kingfisher. The Rarotonga flycatcher, or kakerori, is found only on a limited area of the island and is slowly making a comeback from the endangered species list. The waters around the islands are swarming with parrotfish, sea cucumbers and humpback whales, among others.
The Cooks have a pleasantly even climate year round. The mountainous interior of Rarotonga tends to be wetter than elsewhere in the islands, though it can rain for a week straight at any time. The wet season runs from December to March, which are also the hottest months (the islands are south of the Equator), when the average daily high reaches 29°C (84°F) in February. The coolest months are June through September, when the average daily high plummets to 25°C (77°F). Hurricane season lasts from November to March, though severe storms are rare, averaging once every 20 years.
History
It is thought that 40,000 years ago the Pacific Region was totally uninhabited. Around that time people started to move down from Asia and settled Australia and Melanesia. The Australian Aboriginals and the tribes of Papua New Guinea are the descendants of the first wave of Pacific settlers. After thousands of years of migration throughout the South Pacific, the Cooks Islands were first inhabited around 1500 years ago. Actually, the oldest archaeological item found in the islands is a dog skull from Pukapuka, dated at 2300 years old.
The Spanish explorer Alvaro de Mendana was the first European to sight one of the islands in the group - Pukapuka - in 1595. There is no record of further European contact for over 150 years, until Captain James Cook explored much of the group during his expeditions of 1773 and 1777. Cook set foot on just one island - tiny, uninhabited Palmerston - while overlooking Rarotonga, the largest. The first Europeans to sight Rarotonga were the mutineers on the HMS Bounty, who committed their crime while sailing among the Cooks.
Captain Cook inflicted the wonky name of Hervey Islands (after a British Lord of the Admiralty) on the southern group, though the indignity was softened when a Russian cartographer renamed them fifty years later in honor of Cook himself. It wasn't until the turn of the century that both groups were united under the same name.
Missionaries followed the explorers, establishing firm control over the islands' religious life throughout most of the 19th century. They imposed a rigid system of laws and penalties in which fines were split between judges and policemen. As a result, in parts of Rarotonga one person in six was a member of the force. The strongly religious bent of the legal code led to such 'Blue Laws' as that requiring any man with his arm around a woman after dark to carry a light in his other hand.
While the missionaries made Rarotonga their administrative centre, they generally ignored the outer islands, leaving them to govern themselves under individual tribal chiefs, or ariki. The ariki kept traditional island culture, language and religion alive. Where the missionaries held sway, however, the result was often widespread disease (to which native islanders had no immunities). Three decades after the missionaries' first appearance, the native population had shrunk by two thirds. Dysentery from Tahiti killed 1000 people in one year alone. Not until the early in the 20th century did a real population increase begin.
The British didn't take control of the islands until 1888, when they were declared a protectorate. After a decade of at first inept and then draconian British rule, some of the islands came under New Zealand's control. By 1901 all the islands were annexed to New Zealand. Attempts to make the islands a self-sustaining unit in the larger trade of the region met with repeated failure. Part of the reason lay with the ariki, who controlled most of the land and tended to leave it idle.
The USA built airstrips on Penrhyn and Aitutaki during WWII, but the Cooks were pretty quiet until the 1960s. The islands became internally self-governing in 1965, with foreign policy and defence left to New Zealand. In return, islanders received New Zealand citizenship and the right to come and go at will from both New Zealand and Australia.
The Cooks' first prime minister was Albert Henry, leader of the Cook Islands Party and a prime mover for independence. Although knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1974, Henry got himself thrown out of office and stripped of his knighthood for electoral fraud. After nearly a decade of seeing fragile coalitions form and crumble, the Cook Islands found some political stability in 1989, when Geoffrey Henry (Albert's cousin) became prime minister, a position he holds to this day.
Economic stability, however, continued to elude the islands. When New Zealand pulled the plug on aid in the mid-1990s, Henry announced a drastic austerity programme. He sacked about 2000 public servants, and in a country of fewer than 20,000 people that was a huge proportion of the working population. The programme forced many to emigrate to New Zealand and Australia, where they have working rights.
Economic Profile
GDP: US$57 million
GDP per head: US$3000
Annual growth: NA
Inflation: 5.8%
Major industries: Fruit processing, tourism
Major trading partners: New Zealand, Japan, Hong Kong, Italy, Australia
Culture
The Cook Islanders are Polynesians, people of the 'many' (poly) islands of the South Pacific. They are Maori people, distantly related to the New Zealand Maori. Over 90% of the population is Polynesian, with small minorities of Europeans, New Zealanders, Fijians, Indians and Chinese.
The local tongue is Cook Islands Maori, closely related to New Zealand Maori and to the Polynesian languages of Tahiti and Hawaii, though English is spoken as a second language by virtually everyone. Although each island has its own dialect, islanders can all understand each other when speaking Maori.
The islanders are reputed to be the best dancers in Polynesia - even better than the Tahitians, say the connoisseurs. Cook Islands dance is notoriously sexy, traditionally performed in honour of Tangelo, god of fertility and the sea. Any time is dance time, though you're really in for a treat during the frequent 'island nights,' when rotund women get surprisingly spry and unsuspecting papaya (foreigners) get dragged up on stage to perform.
Among the notable arts and crafts in the islands are ceremonial adzes, an axe-like tool with a stone blade and an intricately carved wooden handle; woven fans, belts and baskets; feathered headdresses; and wooden seats. The Cooks are famous for their tivaevae (appliqué quilts), usually taking the form of colourful patterned bedspreads.
Cook Islands cuisine relies on local delicacies such as coconut and fish. Popular dishes include raw fish in coconut sauce (ika mata), stuffed breadfruit (anga kuru akaki ia) and Cook Islands bread pudding (poke).
Little is known of pre-European religion of the Cook Islanders, with its 71 gods and its 12 heavens - 7 above the sun, 5 below it, plus another dominion below the earth - each the dwelling place of particular gods and spirits. Missionaries' attempts to wipe out these beliefs were largely successful; today people in the Cooks are overwhelmingly Christian. The major local denomination is the Cook Islands Christian Church (CICC), founded by the missionaries in the 1820s.
Events
Island traditions are on display during Cultural Festival Week (second week of February), featuring tivaevae quilt competitions and arts and crafts displays; and Island Dance Festival Week (third week of April), with dance displays and competitions culminating in the crowning of male and female Dancers of the Year. Song Quest, held over five weeks beginning in July, culminates in a big finale where singers, musicians and performers from throughout the islands search for stardom on Rarotonga.
Beginning on the Friday before 4 August, the 10-day Constitution Festival celebrates independence with sports, dances, music, historical and cultural displays and many other events. This is the Cooks' major festival of the year. During the last week of November, floral float parades, a beauty pageant and flower arranging competitions all mark the Tiare (Floral) Festival. Dancing and other entertainments mark New Year's Eve.
Public Holidays
1 January - New Year's Day
Easter Holidays - Good Friday, Easter Monday
25 April - Anzac Day
First Monday in June - Queen's Birthday
26 July - Gospel Day (Rarotonga only)
4 August - Constitution Day
26 October - Gospel Day (Cook Islands)
27 October - Flag Raising Day
25 December - Christmas
26 December - Boxing Day
Facts for the Traveller
Visas: Visas aren't required, only passports, proof of onward travel and booked accommodation.
Health risks: Heat stroke, hypothermia, dysentery, giardiasis, hepatitis A & B, typhoid, meningococcal meningitis, cholera, malaria, rabies, diphtheria, tetanus, polio
Time: GMT/UTC minus 9 hours
Electricity: 240V, 50Hz
Weights & measures: Metric (see conversion
table)
Money & Costs
Currency: New Zealand dollar (NZ$) (interchangeable with the Cook Islands dollar)
Relative costs:
Budget meal: US$5-10
Moderate restaurant meal: US$10-15
Top-end restaurant meal: US$15 and upwards
Budget room: US$10-50
Moderate hotel: US$50-100
Top-end hotel: US$100 and upwards
You can travel comfortably in the Cooks, staying at the top-end lodges and eating at the best restaurants, for US$200 to $300 a day or more, depending on whether you hit more than two or three islands or stock up on tivaevae quilts. Moderate travel will run closer to US$100 to $150 a day, though you can get by for less if you pick your accommodation with care and do a little self-catering. Budget travellers can squeak by for well under US$50 a day if they stick to inexpensive accommodation and restaurants.
You get about 4% more for travellers' cheques than for cash. There aren't many place you can change cash - Avarua, Aitutaki and a few hotels. You're better off changing all your money on Rarotonga rather than hoping to do it on the outer islands.
There's a value added tax of 12.5%. Tipping isn't a custom in the islands, and haggling over prices is considered extremely rude.
When to Go
Any time is a good time to visit the Cook Islands. Seasonal variations are slight. Festivals may sway your plans: the big dance competition is in late April, the independence bash in early August.
Attractions
Avarua
Avarua, the capital of the Cook Islands and Rarotonga's main town, lies in the middle of the northern coast. Until recently, Avarua was a sleepy little port, very much the image of a South Seas trading centre. The town had quite a facelift to spruce it up for the international Maire Nui festival in 1992, and it's had some development since, but its relaxed, friendly ambience remains. The focal point of the town is the traffic circle, located toward the eastern end of town near Avarua Harbour. Just east of the circle is the Seven-in-One Coconut Tree, a group of trees growing in a perfect circle of their own. Legend has it that they've grown from the same seed.
Among the reminders of the missionary era of the 19th century are the Papeiha Stone, named for the first person to preach the Christian gospel in the Cook Islands; and the CICC Church, dating from 1853 and graced with a beautiful graveyard. Over at the Library & Museum Society you can check out books from their extensive Pacific collection and peruse displays on basketry, weaving, musical instruments and photographs in their small museum.
Rarotonga is a lush, beautiful place, fringed with beaches and crowned with mountains at its centre. Two concentric roads ring the island, and most of its attractions are on or near one of them. On the western coast, Arorangi was the first missionary-built village and was meant to be a model village for the rest of the island. The main place of interest is the 1849 CICC Church, where Papeiha, the islands' first Christian preacher, is buried. Rising up behind Arorangi is the flat-topped peak of Raemaru, a good destination for a day hike.
The Cook Islands Cultural Village, on Arorangi's back road, is a great experience: you'll learn more about traditional Cook Islands culture in one day here than you probably will for the rest of your stay. Guided tours visit a number of traditional huts and include demonstrations on Cook Islands history, Maori medicine, ancient fishing techniques, coconut husking, woodcarving and dancing. The tour is followed by a feast of traditional foods accompanied by yet more dancing.
Near the southern coast of the island is Wigmore's Waterfall, where the Papua Stream drops into a cool, natural swimming pool. You can drive all the way to it, though the last stretch is rugged and calls for a 4WD, or take a fine hike from the coast road. You can continue on the Cross-Island Track to Rua Manga (the Needle), a 415m (1360ft) peak with a great view to the north-west and the south. The cross-island trek takes about 2 to 3 hours, and there are public buses at either end.
Aitutaki ranks behind Rarotonga in the visitor contest, and it lacks the sheer physical beauty of its larger neighbour, but it has charms all its own. For a start, it sits at one corner of a triangular lagoon dotted with lovely motu (small islands). And it's historically interesting, with a number of impressive marae (pre-European religious meeting grounds) that are open to visitors. Aitutaki also has one of the best 'island nights' dance and music performances in the Cooks.
Arutanga is the main village - a sleepy place with a weathered 1828 CICC church, the oldest and one of the most beautiful in the Cooks, with lots of carved wood and stained glass windows. There are lots of funky little shops, and the view of the coastline from the end of the jetty is superb.
There are some impressive black basalt marae stones near the south-eastern shore, many among the largest in the islands, each with its own name. Maungapu, on the northern end of the island, is just 125m (410ft), but the easy half-hour hike is worth it for the great view of the island and the lagoon. The lagoon itself is a wonder: dotted with sandbars, coral ridges and 21 motu - and free of sharks. Among the motu worth visiting are Maina, which has great snorkeling and red-tailed tropicbird nests; and Tapuaetai, also known as One Foot Island, which boasts a perfect beach and brilliant turquoise waters.
The airport is at the northern end of the island; there are daily flights between Aitutaki and Rarotonga. The island is popular with yachties, though you could get there via passenger freighter.
Off the Beaten Track
Atiu
Atiu may be the best kept secret in the Cooks, with beautiful scenery, excellent beaches and few other visitors. The island itself is a geological curiosity: surrounded by ring of raised fossilised coral - a feature known as a makatea - a kilometre wide, with a flat-topped, 70m (230ft) hill. As a result, the island resembles a very low-brimmed hat with a flat outer rim.
Aside from Taunganui Harbour, where the water's deep and clear, there isn't much in the way of swimming, though Atiu's beautiful beaches are great for strolling and sunning. Many beaches are a short walk from the coastal road, though you'll have to push through the bush to get to some of them. Oravaru Beach, on the western coast, is thought to be Captain Cook's landing spot. Between Tarapaku Landing and Oneroa Beach on the north-eastern coast are the Three Grottoes, which can only be visited when the sea is calm on the eastern side of the island. Oneroa itself is a great spot for finding seashells - or finding old shoes, which seem to wash up in large numbers. At low tide, the lagoon between Takauroa Beach and Matai Landing drains out through sinkholes, which are then good for snorkeling. You can also walk out from the beach along the reef at low tide to the Coral Garden, which is filled with trapped tropical fish.
The steep road between Tarapaku Landing and Tengatangi Village passes through plantations, taro fields, pawpaw trees, makatea, littoral forest and a long wall called the Vairakai Marae, constructed from 47 large limestone slabs. When you reach the top, you can make the circuit of the island's five villages, all within a kilometre of each other. A highlight of Atiu's village life is the Fibre Arts Studio, located in Teenui in the north-west. The studio specialises in tivaevae, the colourful patterned bedspreads that are among the most famous handicrafts of the Cook Islands. You can custom order a quilt or buy one of the many other hangings, handbags and other accessories available.
Toward the south-eastern corner of the village circuit is the Atiu Island Coffee Factory, where you can watch the coffee beans being hulled, roasted and packed. You can also tour the coffee plantation and sample some island brew. Back down on the makatea there are dozens of caves, many of which can be explored. You may want to take a guided tour, though, as it's easy to get lost.
There are several daily flights between Atiu and Rarotonga, and inter-island passenger freighters sail regularly to Atiu.
The atoll of Suwarrow is one of the best known in the Cook Islands due to a prolonged visit by one man: New Zealand author and recluse Tom Neale. His six years as a hermit on Suwarrow yielded the South Seas classic, An Island to Oneself. Neale's room is still furnished just as it was when he lived there. Visiting yachties record their stay in the logbook in Neale's room. Pearl divers from Manihiki also visit occasionally.
Suwarrow is especially popular among yachties because it's one of the few atolls in the northern Cooks with an accessible lagoon. Although the lagoon is large, the islands of Suwarrow are very small and low-lying. Hurricanes have sent waves sweeping right across even the highest of the islands and in 1942 author Robert Dean Frisbie and his group survived by tying themselves to trees.
Today the island is populated only be a caretaker and his family. The only way to get there is on the extremely infrequent shipping services, or by private yacht.
Activities
With all that water, watersports are the most obvious activity. The swimming's great, especially off Rarotonga and Aitutaki. Both of these islands also have excellent snorkeling opportunities, with high visibility and varied marine life.
There are several great places for hiking. Rarotonga's Cross-Island Track and Atiu's Vai Momoiri Track are two of the best hikes, both great views and neither taking more than a few hours. Cycling is popular on Rarotonga and Aitutaki, where you can rent bikes and cover more ground.
Cavers have lots of choices, especially on Atiu, Mauke, Mintier and Mangaia. There's also good cave diving on Mauke, though you'll need to be certified and ask around for the caves' locations.
Though the missionaries managed to stamp out the practice on most of the other Cook Islands, tumunu, or bush beer-drinking 'schools', are still held on the island of Atiu. Descended from the Polynesian habit of kava drinking, the tumunu managed to survive in the bush, where islanders once brewed oranges. These days they use hops, creating a flat, warm, strong brew quaffed in an elaborate ceremony involving music, prayer and short introductions from each participant. Visitors frequently participate in the tumunu.
The Cook Islands are famous for their dancing, and visitors are encouraged to get up and get down. Friday night is the big night for putting the hips in motion, especially on Rarotonga and Aitutaki, though there are 'island nights' on most of the inhabited islands.
Getting There & Away
Air New Zealand is the only international airline serving the Cook Islands. There are several weekly flights between Rarotonga and Auckland. Travellers from North America typically connect in Honolulu or Tahiti; those from Asia connect in Fiji. There's an airport departure tax of just over US$10.
There's only one regularly scheduled passenger ship, the small World Discoverer, which originates and ends up in Los Angeles, USA, and stops at Rarotonga, Aitutaki and Atiu. The most common way to arrive and depart by sea is by private yacht.
Getting Around
The round-the-island bus is a good way of getting around Rarotonga. It plys the coast road in both directions, originating in Avarua (though you can flag it down anywhere). It runs during business hours on weekdays, half the day on Saturday and not at all on Sunday. There are also taxis available on Rarotonga and Atiu.
You can rent a car on Rarotonga, Aitutaki and some of the other islands, but nothing would be more than a half hour away. The real advantage is with 4WDs and sturdy motorcycles, which can get you to some of the more out-of-the-way spots and up the steeper roads. You'll need a local driver's permit (available from the police station in Avarua); driving is on the left. Keep your wits about you on Friday and Saturday nights, when there's heavy drinking going on. Bicycles are a good way to get around and readily available for hire.
The fastest way to get between the islands is by plane. Via 18-passenger turboprop planes, Air Rarotonga connects the main island with most of those in the southern group and several in the northern. The longest trip takes about 4 and a half hours; the shortest are under an hour. You can get 30-day 'Paradise Island Passes' for around US$50 per sector.
You can also get between the islands by private yacht or passenger freighter. Rarotonga, however, has a small harbour, and if your ship is too large you'll most likely have to get to land by lighter - which is how you'll get to shore on every other island save Penrhyn, the northernmost island, the only other one with a wharf. Getting to the outer islands can be a challenge, as ships make it out there infrequently and there are no firm schedules. You can snatch a few hours here and there if you want to keep going with your ship, but if you decide to get off for a longer stay be prepared to wait days for the next boat.
The airport on Rarotonga is on the north-western coast, just a few kilometres west of Avarua. There are car hire agencies there and taxis are available. Aitutaki's airstrip is at the northern end of the island; there's a bus connecting the airstrip with town, and there are places to hire cars, motorcycles and bicycles at several places around the island. There's an airstrip on the northern coast of Atiu, a short drive from the five villages. Motorcycles and bicycles are available for hire at a few motels.
Recommended Reading
- Richard Walter's Prehistory of Mauke: An Ethnoarchaeological Report weaves together traditional stories about sites on the island with archaeological observations.
- Years of the Pooh-Bah: A Cook Islands History, by Dick Scott, is a recent and readable book, lavishly illustrated with historical photographs.
- Alphons MJ Kloosterman's Discoverers of the Cook Islands & the Names They Gave gives a brief history of each island, the early legends of each and a record of its European contact.
- History of Rarotonga, up to 1853, by Taira Rere, is a concise account of the arrival of Christianity in the Cook Islands, particularly in Rarotonga, with sketches of the various participants in the islands' history.
- If you can get past the pro-missionary slant, books like the Reverend William Gill's Gems of the Coral Islands and William Wyatt Gill's (no relation) Cook Islands Custom are interesting 19th century accounts island life.
- Paul Theroux's The Happy Isles of Oceania: Paddling the Pacific has a chapter on a trip to Aitutaki.
- Robert Dean Frisbie wrote about living and trading in the Cooks in The Book of Puka-Puka and The Island of Desire.
- One of the best known residents has to be Tom Neale, who wrote of his life as the hermit of Suwarrow in An Island to Oneself.
- Cook Island Politics: The Inside Story anthologises 22 writers and their takes on the islands' intrigues and shenanigans up to the late 1970s.
- Local tales are recounted in Cook Island Legends and The Ghost at Tokatarava and Other Stories from the Cook Islands, both by local writer Jon Jonassen.
- The islands' famous quilts are examined in Lynnsay Rongokea's Tivaevae: Portraits of Cook Islands Quilting.
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