Any Travels

The Cook Islands lies nestled between the islands of Tahiti (1 hour flight) and Fiji (3 hour flight). The easiest way to locate it on a map is to find Hawaii, and do a mirror reflection of Hawaii over the equator.

There are 15 islands in the Cook Islands, divided up into two groups: the Northern and Southern Groups.

Southern Group: Popn, Rarotonga (capital), Mangaia, Mauke, Mitiaro, Atiu, Takutea, Manuae, Aitutaki.

Northern Group: Suwarrow, Palmerston, Nassau, Pukapuka, Manihiki, Rakahanga, Penrhyn.

In its entirety, the Cook Islands has more ocean (2.2 million sq. km) than land (240 sq. km) space.

The majority of the population is ethnic Maori, followed by European.

Apart from Rarotonga and Aitutaki, the other islands are less frequently visited. A visit to islands such as Mauke, Mitiaro, Mangaia, Atiu in the Southern Group would be like taking a step back in time. The people are incredibly friendly and go out their way to please you and ensure that you never want to leave. There are regular flights to these islands. There are also weekly flights to the Northern Group islands of Penrhyn and Manihiki. Cook Islands black pearls are cultured in these islands. The other Northern Group islands of Rakahanga, Pukapuka, Nassau and Suwarrow are only accessible by cargo ship, approx. once a month.

Places of Interest:

Avarua
Avarua, the capital of the Cook Islands and Rarotonga's main town, lies in the middle of the northern coast. Avarua used to be a sleepy little port, very much the image of a South Seas trading centre, but it got spruced up for the 1992 international Maire Nui festival, and it's still looking good.

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.

Aitutaki
Aitutaki lacks Rarotonga's popularity and sheer physical beauty but it has charms all its own. 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 pre-European religious meeting grounds there.

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.

Rarotonga
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. Situated on the western coast, ?rorangi was the first mission-built village on the island.

The main place of interest is the 1849 CICC Church, where Papeiha, the islands' first Christian preacher, is buried. You can do a day hike of Raemaru, or visit the Cook Islands Cultural Village where you'll learn more about traditional culture here than you probably will for the rest of your stay.

Culture

The culture stems from the Polynesian arrival in the islands around 800AD. This was part of the great Polynesian migration. In the 11th century a famous chief named Toi built the first inland coral road in Rarotonga, called the Ara Metua. Nearly two centuries later the chiefs, Karika, from Samoa, and Tangiia Nui, from Tahiti, joined forces at sea to conquer the earlier inhabitants.

The Cook Islands culture lives on in the vibrant performance of song and dance. Cook Islanders are considered among the finest Polynesian singers and dancers and awards come often in international contests. Unlike most Western dancers, Polynesians tell a story with their bodies that matches the words of the song. Cook Islands dancing is fast, frenzied and erotic, with hip swinging and suggestive gestures.

In Cook Island Maori, there are 14 letters, including the glottal stop which is written as an inverted apostrophe: a, e, ng, i, k, m, n, o, p, r, t, u, v, ' The eight consonants (ng, k, m, n, p, r, t, v) are pronounced as in English, although non-Maori speakers often have difficulty with the ng (pronounced as in "sing") especially when it occurs at the beginning of a word. The ninth consonant, the glottal stop, typically replaces the "h" of other Polynesian dialects. In speech, the glottal stop is a brief, guttural sound preceding the vowel. The five vowels are either short or long. Long vowels are indicated by a macron, an overhead horizontal line. Short vowels Long vowels a as in above a as in father e as in met e as in men i as in i as in tea o as in bought o as in torn u as in put u as in moon In Maori speech the context is an important means of overcoming ambiguity.

When Maori words are written within an English text it is very important to include the glottal stops and macrons to avoid ambiguity and to aid correct pronunciation. The inclusion of glottal stops and macrons enables us to distinguish between: ua (rain) 'ua (egg), u'a (female) and 'u'a (thigh).

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 (applique 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.