Aitutaki is a volcanic island surrounded by a barrier reef which contains one of the world’s largest and most beautiful lagoons. The lagoon is hook shaped with the main island on its NW and about 45 km in circumference. Inside the lagoon are 15 small islands (Motus).
Aitutaki is one of 15 islands in the Cook Islands, a north-south chain of islands and atolls lying in the central South Pacific surrounded by vast expances of open ocean. The Cook’s land mass of 240 square km is spread over 2.2 million square km of its territorial waters.
The main island in the Cooks is Rarotonga, the main tourist destination about 260 km SE of Aitutaki. While Aitutaki is remote it is serviced by daily flights (except Sunday) from Rarotonga and by interisland ferries. Unless you are seriously sea hardened don’t even think of using the ferries as they are very basic and travel in the rough open ocean pretty much broadside to the prevailing wind and waves.
Robin and I visited Rarotonga on the way from the Tuamotus (French Polynesia) to Tonga on our own boat but were not able to enter the protected Aitutaki lagoon’s shallow boat entrance due to our draft. Only small boats or catamarans are shallow enough. So, one year we flew to Aitutaki from New Zealand to experience the lagoon. It is absolutely gorgeous and while tourism exists it is currently at a level that does not spoil the experience. Rarotonga is accessible from Auckland, Honolulu and Los Angeles.
The Cooks are safe, hospitable and associated with New Zealand; its islanders are NZ citizens and the country uses NZ dollars. Its governance is separate from NZ but NZ is responsible for defence and foreign affairs and provides significant financial support. These ties date back to NZ’s and Cook’s British colonial past.
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