About Cook Islands

Scattered over a vast expanse of ocean the size of Western Europe, the Cook Islands are a castaway’s dream come true. If you’ve ever fantasized about escaping to a remote desert island, far from the hustle of the modern world, then look no further than these 15 fascinating islands, where you’ll find a thousand years of Polynesian culture sitting side by side with some of the most spectacular natural scenery in the South Pacific.

The Cook Islands are largely unspoiled by tourism. They offer a rare opportunity for people from around the world to experience a different type of vacation. It is ideal for travelers seeking more than the usual clichés associated with the South Seas, each island has its unique qualities and offers the visitor a special experience.

The Cooks are an authentic Pacific experience encased in a lifestyle that exudes warmth, happiness and respect. They are a proud people with a rich culture and a lush tapestry of traditions that is entwined with their daily lives and they want to share it with you.

History

The Cook Islands resident population of 13,000 is spread over 15 islands and atolls with a total land area of 240 square kilometers. Over 1400 kilometers (840 miles) separate the most distant islands of the country and just over half of the population lives on the island of Rarotonga in the southern group. Rarotonga is the seat of government and the centre of commerce and tourism.The Cook Islands were first settled in the 6th century CE by Polynesian people who migrated from Tahiti. This tiny string of islands, centered in the heart of the Polynesian triangle, were subsequently inhabited by those same skilled navigators who had made their epic voyages across the vast oceans in giant double-hulled canoes, or vaka, guided only by the stars.

Spanish ships visited the islands in the 16th century; the first written record of contact with the Islands came with the sightin of Pukapuka by Spanish sailor Álvaro de Mendaña in 1595 who called it San Bernardo (Saint Bernard). Portuguese-Spaniard Pedro Fernández de Quirós, made the first recorded European landing in the islands when he set foot on Rakahanga in 1606, calling it Gente Hermosa (Beautiful People).

British navigator Captain James Cook arrived in 1773 and 1777 and named the islands the Hervey Islands. Around the 1830s, in recognition of those discoveries, the Russian cartographer Von Krusenstern gave the title Cook’s Islands to the entire Southern Group. The name Cook Islands was finally settled upon during New Zealand’s rule, and was extended to include the entire chain of 15 islands.

It was the ill-fated Captain William Bligh who first brought notoriety to these islands, in 1789, shortly after making landfall on the “charming” island of Aitutaki. In what became known as the infamous “Mutiny on the Bounty,” most of his crew disobeyed his command to set sail for home and cast him adrift in one of the ships longboats.

In 1813, John Williams, a missionary on the Endeavour (not the same ship as that of Cook), made the first official sighting of the island of Rarotonga.

The first recorded landing on Rarotonga by Europeans was in 1814 by the Cumberland; trouble broke out between the sailors and the Islanders and many were killed on both sides. The islands saw no more Europeans until missionaries arrived from England in 1821. Christianity quickly took hold in the culture and many islanders continue to be Christian believers today.

The Cook Islands became a British protectorate at their own request in 1888, mainly to thwart French expansionism. They were transferred to New Zealand in 1901. They remained a New Zealand protectorate until 1965, at which point they became a self-governing territory in free association with New Zealand. In that year, Albert Henry of the Cook Islands Party was elected as the first Prime Minister.

During the Second World War, hundreds of New Zealand and American servicemen arrived on Aitutaki to build an airstrip as an allied base. The first flight landed in November 1942, opening the island up as an international gateway and when the war ended a number of those servicemen would stay on, marrying local women they had struck up relations with.

The glory years of aviation that followed the war saw Aitutaki’s expansive lagoon used in favor of that airstrip as a refueling stopover for the flying boats on TEAL’s (later Air New Zealand) fabled Coral Route, between Auckland and Tahiti. This was the heyday of truly glamorous air travel, with only one class, that being first class, reserved for the well-to-do and even a few movie stars. John Wayne and Cary Grant were some of the well-known celebrity passengers to frequent the islands during that fabulous era.

Today, the Cook Islands are essentially independent (“self-governing in free association with New Zealand”) but New Zealand is tasked with overseeing the country’s defense. On 11 June 1980, the United States signed a treaty with the Cook Islands specifying the maritime border between the Cook Islands and American Samoa and also relinquishing its claim to the islands of Penrhyn, Pukapuka, Manihiki, and Rakahanga. In 1990, the Cook Islands signed a treaty with France which delimited the boundary between the Cook Islands and French Polynesia.

Population

Cook Islands is a self-governing country in ‘free association’ with New Zealand. Its relatively high income per person reflects the impact of expatriate residents and the tourist-based economy of Rarotonga. It masks the subsistence lifestyle of the outer islands’ population. Cook Islanders hold New Zealand citizenship and enjoy the right of free access to New Zealand.

Culture

Cook Islanders have retained a deep sense of their cultural identity. Expressed through the preservation of traditional art and craft practices, legends, songs and dance, along with maintaining fluency in the Cook Island Maori language, entwining it with bi-lingual English, they are a people who have successfully kept alive many of their traditions yet are fully conversant with modern cosmopolitan life.

They are renown throughout the Pacific for the sensual grace, beauty and flair they display in their traditional dance performances. Cook Islanders are reputedly the finest dancers across all of Polynesia. This talent is matched by the colorful costumes they wear while performing. Made using natural fibers from the coconut and wild hibiscus plants, they are ornately decorated with shells and feathers. Regular “Island Night” dance and drumming performances are held at resorts around the islands for visitors to experience, and usually include an feast featuring traditional delicacies. Each year competition heats up as villages throughout the islands take part in the Te Mire Kapa “Dancer of the Year” festival held during the month of April.

Festivals and celebrations make up a big part of Cook Island cultural life and the people exuberantly support these occasions making them into boisterous joyful events. Visitors to the country are always welcome and are encouraged to attend. Each December the Tiare Flower Festival is a fragrant spring highlight, celebrated with floral float parades through Avarua’s main streets and a pageant to choose the reigning Miss Tiare for the following year.

Gospel Day, a public holiday in October, is a national celebration recognizing the arrival of the Gospel to this strongly Christian nation. Members of the major CICC churches participate in a “nuke”, where Bible stories are dramatized, interspersed with soulful hymns, music and singing.

The culmination of all the festivals and events is the weeklong Maeva Nui Festival, held at the start of August to celebrate the declaration of self-governance in 1965. The program includes colorful float parades, drumming and dance performances made up of teams from each of the islands in the group, In addition, there are sporting and other cultural activities showcasing the fierce pride Cook Islanders have for their nation’s independence.

Carving

Woodcarving is a common art form in the Cook Islands. Sculpture in stone is much rarer although there are some excellent carvings in basalt by Mike Tavioni on view around the island or at his studio. The proximity of islands in the Southern Group helped produce a homogeneous style of carving which had special developments in each island. Rarotonga is known for its fisherman’s gods and staff-gods, Atiu for its wooden seats, Mitiaro, Ma’uke and Atiu for mace and slab gods and Mangaia for its ceremonial adzes. Most of the original wood carvings were either spirited away by early European collectors or were burned in large numbers by missionary zealots.

Today, carving is no longer the major art form with the same spiritual and cultural emphasis given to it by the Maori in New Zealand. However, there are continual efforts to interest young people in their heritage and some good work is being turned out under the guidance of older carvers. Atiu, in particular, has a strong tradition of crafts both in carving and local fibre arts such as tapa. Mangaia is the source of many fine adzes carved in a distinctive, idiosyncratic style with the so-called “double-k” design. Mangaia also produces food pounders carved from the heavy calcite found in its extensive limestone caves.

Weaving

The outer islands produce traditional weaving of mats, basketware and hats. Particularly fine examples of rito hats are worn by women to church on Sundays. They are made from the uncurled immature fiber of the coconut palm and are of very high quality. The Polynesian equivalent of Panama hats, they are highly valued and are keenly sought by Polynesian visitors from Tahiti. Often, they are decorated with hatbands made of minuscule pupu shells which are painted and stitched on by hand. Although pupu are found on other islands, the collection and use of them in decorative work has become a speciality of Mangaia. The weaving of rito is a speciality of the northern island of Penrhyn.

Tivaevae

A major art form in the Cook Islands is tivaevae. This is, in essence, the art of quilting with themes relating to tropical island scenery. Introduced by the wives of missionaries in the 19th century, the craft grew into a communal activity and is probably one of the main reasons for its popularity. The Cook Islands make some of the most beautiful displays of tivaevae, with precious beads woven in.

Contemporary Art

The Cook Islands has produced notable and internationally recognised contemporary artists and the main island of Rarotonga has an exceptionally vibrant contemporary arts scene. Artists include painter (and photographer) Mahiriki Tangaroa, sculptors Eruera (Ted) Nia (originally a film maker) and master carver Mike Tavioni, painter (and Polynesian tattoo enthusiast) Upoko’ina Ian George, Aitutakian-born painter Tim Manavaroa Buchanan, Loretta Reynolds, Judith Kunzlé, Joan Rolls Gragg, Kay George (who is also known for her exquisite fabric designs), Apii Rongo, and multi-media, installation and community-project artist Ani O’Neil, all of whom currently live on the main island of Rarotonga. Atiuan-based Andrea Eimke is an artist who works in the medium of tapa and other textiles, and also co-authored the book ‘Tivaivai – The Social Fabric of the Cook Islands’ with British academic Susanne Kuechler. Many of these artists have studied at university art schools in New Zealand and continue to enjoy close links with the New Zealand art scene.

Music

The music of the Cook Islands is diverse. Christian music is extremely popular. Imene tuki is a form of unaccompanied vocal music known for a uniquely Polynesian drop in pitch at the end of the phrases, as well as staccato rhythmic outbursts of nonsensical syllables (tuki). The word ‘imene’ is derived from the English word ‘hymn’ (see Tahitian: ‘himene’ – Tahiti was first colonised by the English). Likewise the harmonies and tune characteristics / ‘strophe patterns’ of much of the music of Polynesia is western in style and derived originally from missionary influence via hymns and other church music. One unique quality of Polynesian music (it has become almost a cliché) is the use of the sustained 6th chord in vocal music, though typically the 6th chord is not used in religious music. Traditional songs and hymns are referred to as imene metua (lit. hymn of the parent/ancestor).

Traditional dance is the most prominent art form of the Cook Islands. Each island has its own unique dances that are taught to all children, and each island is home to several annual competitions. Traditional dances are generally accompanied by the drumming of the pate.

The Cook Islands drumming style is well-known internationally, but is often misidentified as an example of Tahitian music.This is most uncommon as the Cook Islands have a strong connection to their Tahitian ancestry.

Geography

Located south of the equator, some 1000 kms (600 mi) southwest of Tahiti and 3500 kms (2,175 mi) northeast of New Zealand, the Cook Islands are situated in the heart of the South Pacific Ocean. A total of 15 islands and atolls encompassing a land area of just 241 sq km, the Cook Islands is spread out over 2 million sq km of ocean (that’s roughly the size of India!).

Forming part of Polynesia, this island nation is divided into two groups; the Northern Group of islands, all coral atolls, and the Southern Group of islands, all of which have volcanic origins. Penrhyn Island, Nassau, Pukapuka, Manihiki, Rakahanga and Suwarrow are all part of the Northern Group, while Rarotonga, Ma’uke, Mitiaro, Aitutaki, Mangaia, ‘Atiu, Palmerston Island, Manuae, and Takutea form the Southern Group. Manuae, Suwarrow and Takutea are all uninhabited islands, with Suwarrow designated as a national park. Rarotonga is the largest of the Cook Islands, while Aitutaki is the smallest island.

For geologists and those interested in geology, this island group is a wonderful place to visit, as here you can find nearly every type of oceanic island. Rarotonga is a high volcanic island, while Aitutaki is known as an ‘almost atoll.’ ‘Atiu, Ma’uke, Mitiaro and Mangaia are all classified as raised atolls and have an amazing geographic topography, with Rakahanga, Manuae, Palmerston, Manihiki, Penrhyn, Suwarrow and Pukapuka all known as lagoon atolls. Both Takutea and Nassau are classified as sand cays.

The Southern Group of Cook Islands is actually a continuation of the Austral Islands chain of French Polynesia that was created from molten lava that escaped from a fissure in the earth’s crust. The Northern Group of coral islands are fascinating to visit mainly because they lie so low that during a storm or cyclone, waves can wash right across them.

The geological landscape of the Cook Islands group is differs in the Northern and Southern island groups. The Northern Group is characterized by low lying coral atolls surrounded by outer reefs encircling lagoons, to the verdant jungle clad peaks of Rarotonga and raised makatea coral islands of four of the Southern group islands.

The Southern group islands make up nearly 90% of the landmass in the entire group and each of the 15 islands were formed through volcanic activity. Over time, a number of the islands sank below sea level, leaving a coral rim to form the distinctive lagoons that the Northern group are known for.

While Rarotonga is considered only a young island in geological terms, a number of the Cook Islands have existed for a very long time. Mangaia, the most southerly in the group is considered to be the oldest island in the entire South Pacific.

Climate

The average annual rainfall is around 2,100 mm (83 in.), more rainy months are those between December and April, the less rainy months are those between June and October. Anti-mosquito repellents are needed especially during the hot and humid season (December-March), especially on the island of Aitutaki.

The average annual temperature of the sea-water in Rarotonga is 26°C (79F), with maximum temperatures of 30°C (86F) in February and minimum temperatures of 22°C (72F) in August. With a climate similar to that of Hawaii, the Cook Islands have sunny tropical weather most of the year.

Getting Around

Air

Air Rarotonga is the only domestic airline to operate in the Cook Islands. Its office is located at the Rarotonga International Airport from where you can make flight bookings as well as buy tickets. Air Rarotonga flies several times a day between Rarotonga and the atoll of Aitutaki; while to the other Southern Islands flights are on a weekly basis. Also flying out to the Northern Islands of Manihiki and Penrhyn, do keep in mind that Air Rarotonga does not fly on Sundays.

An important point to remember is that air tickets purchased outside the Cook Islands are more expensive than those bought in-land. But the downside to this is that very often flights are completely sold out. A great way to economize while flying here is to avail a super-saver fare, which offers a discounted round trip between Rarotonga and Aitutaki. You can also purchase air passes and package deals from Air Rarotonga to make it easier when you are traveling between islands. Air Rarotonga flies to all the Southern Group islands; however in the Northern Group, it only flies to Manihiki, Penrhyn and Pukapuka.

Ferries/Boat

If you are interested in touring the various Cook Islands by boat, be prepared for a lengthy journey. While most of the Northern Islands are served by ship only, the trip can often be a very long one. There are no fixed boat schedules and the weather needs to be taken into consideration. At the moment two shipping companies provide inter-island cargo and passenger services to all the islands except Palmerston, Manuae, Takutea and Suwarrow. It usually takes a day to travel from Rarotonga to any of the Southern Group islands; however, a journey to the Northern Islands takes roughly 3 days.

Drive

To get around the islands of Rarotonga, Aitutaki and ‘Atiu, you have plenty of rentals cars, four wheels drives, motorbikes and bicycles for hire, but on Ma’uke and Mitiaro your only options are cycle and motorbike rentals.

Driving Laws

Driving here is on the left side of the road and you will need to get a Cook Islands drivers license to get around. On Rarotonga a bus service is available that travels around the entire island.

Walking

Most of the other islands do not require any rental transport to get around, as they are small enough to cover on foot.