Archive for the ‘Cook Islands’ Category
Cook Islands Vacations
Manuae – An Uninhabited Beauty in the Southern Cook Islands – South Pacific
Manuae is a small atoll in the midst of the Southern Cook Islands in the South Pacific. Today, the atoll is completely uninhabited. In the middle part of the twentieth century, a copra industry was in place on the western islet of Manuae.
Copra is the dried meat of coconuts from which producers can extract coconut oil. A settlement was in place to support this industry. However, by 1976, those that inhabited that island were gone. The island now has no human inhabitants. No boats or airplanes visit on a regular basis. To get there you need to hook up with a charter.
Manuae is now a marine reserve. Sea birds and turtles use the atoll for breeding and nesting. Sometimes, inhabitants of Aitutaki will charter a fishing expedition to take advantage of the rich fishing available off the coast of the atoll.
There are dive operators in Aitutaki that will take diving expeditions to explore the lagoon waters as well as the reefs off shore. Since the human population left, the flora and fauna have thrived without them. Visitors can find some of the best fishing as well as the most beautiful scenery. Expeditions are available from Rarotonga as well for diving, filming, and eco-tourism activities. Its untouched beauty makes it an ideal day trip.
Manuae holds the distinction of being the first of the Cook Islands that Captain Cook encountered in 1773. The first name selected for this newly discovered island was Sandwich Island. However, that distinction eventually went to the Hawaiian Island. Instead, Captain Cook named it Hervey’s Island after Lord Admiral Augustus Hervey. In fact, he named all the islands in the Southern Group after Hervey. That changed in the early 1800’s when Cook became the island group’s namesake.
Sitting atop a volcanic mountain, Manuae consists of two larger islets on the edge of the lagoon. The one to the west is Motu Manuae. The one to the east is Motu Te Au Otu. Motu Te Au Otu is the larger of the two. However, the only known human settlement was on the smaller one to the west. The highest point of land is only about sixteen feet above sea level. A coral reef encompasses the atoll on all sides. This makes boat passage impossible. The lagoon, itself, is shallow with drifting sand banks. The atoll sits about half way between Aitutaki and Atiu. It falls under the legal jurisdiction of Aitutaki, however.
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Polynesian Islands – French Polynesia
What exactly are the Polynesian islands? There is no one country called Polynesia. There is a French Polynesia and that is part of the islands in this larger group.
However, there are several other groups in the mixture as well. These include New Zealand, Samoa, Tonga, Hawaii, Tokelau, Wallis and Futuna, Easter Island, Cook Islands and Niue. There are what some call outliers such as Norfolk Island and the Pitcairns.
Not all the islands of the Pacific fit into this category though. There are groups of islands that are part of Micronesia and Melanesia that do not belong. Yet there are islands in both that fit into the definition of Polynesian.
How do you tell which islands belong to the Polynesian islands? The basic answer is those islands whose native population descends from a culture that developed in Fiji, Tonga, and Samoa about 2000 years ago. As the populations flourished in these areas, the amount of people grew too large for the islands inhabited.
This is but one factor pushed people to explore other islands for new homes. This led to waves of migrations across the Pacific to the different islands that now make up those in this larger group. They spread from Hawaii south to Rapa Nui and southwest to New Zealand. They took their language and culture with them.
That is how to tell which islands belong to the Polynesian islands. The native populations share the language and culture of these ancestors. Each island group developed individualities that make them distinct. However, the roots of their cultures come from this initial cultural migration.
That is what makes these islands so rich for visitors. They come with a beautiful root and have wonderful flowers as a result. Each island is a bit different. Some retain much of their traditions while others are almost completely westernized. Others strike a balance between the two.
The groups within the Polynesian islands come with their own versions of how the people arrived on the islands. These creator myths often intersect with reality. The leaders of the migration teams often became the mythical founders of the island.
Over time, their names became synonymous with the creator. The traditional names of the islands often reflect the name of their founder. This cultural richness reflects in the way the natives treat family and stranger alike. They provide hospitality to all that come to visit. Taking a trip is well worth anyone’s time.
South Pacific Island Vacations
Pukapuka South Pacific – A Unique Culture Preserved to Modern Day
The citizenry of Pukapuka populated the atoll for hundreds of years prior to the first European got sight of it. Alvaro de Mendana witnessed the atoll in 1595 and designated it as San Bernardo. Owed to its reclusiveness, contact with Europeans was uncommon before the mid 1800’s. The modern atoll comes with a lot of modern comforts. All the same, contact with the exterior world continues rare since air flights only happen every six weeks or so. The island rides closer to Samoan Islands than the Cook Islands capital island of Rarotonga. The flight from Rarotonga takes five hours one way.
The civilization of Pukapuka remains intact in spite of the modernization of recent years. The denizens maintain their own language, PukaPukan. The people continue to weave fine mats long familiar around the South Pacific. They also preserve their own sport of Kirikiti, a sport contributed from Samoa in the far past. Over six hundred individuals currently inhabit the island. The main settlements lie on the northern island of Wale. They employ the other islands for food yield. The uninhabited island of Ko is home to the landing strip. The island-dwellers also regulate the nearby island of Nassau. A sojourn to the atoll will take visitors away from the world they recognize.
Pukapuka is a region of the Northern Cook Islands. It is really among the most distant occupied areas on earth. The location is in reality an atoll in the configuration that is approximately three-sided with three main islands. The acreage of the atoll is barely over one square mile. All the same, that small measure of land has had dwellers for at least two thousand years. The citizenry of the atoll have conserved their singular culture in spite of contact with the exterior world. Owed to its remoteness, almost all tourists go around the island all together. The population speaks a dialect that is singular to the small atoll. Almost all speak some English nevertheless.
Owed to the scarceness of resources, the citizenry govern life on the Pukapuka atoll with strict preservation in mind. Settlements move from one island to the next on a regular basis to protect the resources on each one. The citizenry protect the trees by not cutting them down without express license. They protect all origins of food. Birds and seafood continue untouched until they are grownup. Foodstuffs stay on tree and vine until they are mature. This affords the islanders more command over their world. Waste is an uncommon affair on the island.
Cook Islands Culture
Modern expressions of Cook Islands culture are bringing new dimensions to the people of the islands. Traditionally dance was a way to celebrate at festivals or parties. Dance was also a traditional expression of religious meaning.
Today, with the introduction of Christianity over a hundred years ago, dance has lost some of its religious meaning. However, the elders on each island still carefully pass down the traditional dances to each new generation. It remains an anchor of their culture. Parties and feasts would not be complete without dancers. Sponsors hold dance competitions all over the islands. Visitors often get to see them at the hotel shows held throughout the week on major island resorts.
Along with dance, music is an integral expression of Cook Islands culture. Each island has its own collection of traditional music that continues to the present day.
Joining this collection are hymns and religious music introduced when Christianity came to the islands. Many visitors marvel at the singing that goes on in church on Sundays. The competition seen in the dance is also present in the music. Many competitions bring singers from different islands to compete against each other. Musicians also express the music through modern and ancient instruments.
Art continues to evolve and reflect the diversity of Cook Islands culture. Each island has a growing population of artists developing modern styles of painting. Woodcarving is a holdover from the older days that provides the ability for modern artists to reflect both traditional and modern themes. Carving in stone is not as common as wood, but there is a strong niche there.
Each island produces items that reflect their local traditions as well as those with modern touches as well. Many continue to work in fiber arts such as weaving mats and other items from the dried fibers of palm leaves. Many wear hats each Sunday to church made from finely woven examples of these fibers. Others produce traditional mats and baskets.
Fiber arts have evolved since the introduction of missionaries to the various islands. Traditionally, tapa cloth was a choice gift upon occasions of matrimony or other life events.
The tivaevae has replaced this. Westerners would be more familiar with them as patchwork quilts. However, the designs coming out of Cook Islands culture have no resemblance to the quilts of the American frontier. The colors and designs reflect their culture completely. They use both patchwork and appliqué techniques.
Cook Islands – Where they shoot TV Series Survivor
The Cook Islands, where they shot Survivor, has a population around 20,000 individuals. Increasingly people choose to visit these islands annually. Aitutaki is among these jewels.
Almost all visitors come into the capital settlement of Arutanga on the chief island of Tautu. The demesne known as Aitutaki is in reality a series of islands and isles that sit about the rim of a three-sided atoll. Aitutaki, the main island, rides on the northerly point of the triangle.
Coming away its east side sits Ootu Peninsula that goes to the south east commencing the east side of the triangle. A series of isles lines the east side that ceases at the motu of Motukitiu. The southwesterly point of the trilateral is the motu of Maina. Three of the islands are volcanic: Aitutaki, Moturakau, and Rapota. The rest are motu, or coral reef islands.
The Cook Islands, where they shot Survivor, is distant. When taking flight into Aitutaki, most arrive on a commuter flight from Rarotonga. The flight strip is on the northerly point of the chief island. Most of the fittings on the island are also on the chief island. Each of the islands encircles a lagoon of intense aquamarine. This characteristic is one of the most often-shot features of the island atoll. There is entree for smaller boats to get in the lagoon on the south sides and bigger ones along the west side. The lagoon furnishes the picture perfect edition of a tropical island nirvana. With palm-lined beaches overstretching pure waters and sandy beaches, it is beautiful.
The Cook Islands, where they shot Survivor, are little and easy to voyage. Getting about on Aitutaki generally comes in the mold of cars or scooters. Visitors can get a license for motoring on the islands at the station house in Arutanga. They can hire motor scooters and cars by several lease agencies or at their hotel desk in some instances. There are cabs available but they run to be expensive. Getting from island to island often, calls for a boat, but a lot go with driver connected.
The Cook Islands, where they shot Survivor, has exceptional places. A call to One Foot Island is a need. Tropic blue waters and beautiful clean sandy beaches encircle this island nirvana. A lot of individuals cast a mailing-card in the letterbox, among the most distant in the globe. Visitors also call on Aitutaki Lagoon Resort and Spa. This hangout extends day passes to individuals not abiding there. These passes give them use of gear for snorkel diving, kayaking, windsurfing, and biking. Visitors can likewise employ the health spa facilities.