  Cook Islands
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 443 Cook Islands Tips.753 Cook Islands Photos. Cook Islands Pages by worldkiwi
| Page Views: 21,178 Last Visit to Cook Islands: October, 2005 | A South Pacific paradise by worldkiwi - last update: Oct 8, 2005 |
| One Foot Island - Aitutaki |
Between 23 September and 05 October 2005, I was lucky enough to spend two weeks in the Cook Islands, a small semi-independent island country scattered across a vast space of the South Pacific - almost 2 million square kilometres!
A four hour flight from Auckland will land you on Rarotonga - the country's main island. The capital, Avarua, is located on the north coast of Rarotonga.
A group of 7 of us rented two beachfront houses for a week on Rarotonga's west coast. In the second week, three of the group returned home and the four remaining flew north to the spectacular island of Aitutaki. Aitutaki is famous for its beautiful and stunning lagoon that stretches for kilometres. This picture shows a small slice of the paradise that can be found in Aitutaki, Cook Islands.
The Cook Islands make a great destination to get away from the hustle and bustle of life. It's a place to totally relax. Don't go there planning to do much more than laze on a beach, swim in crystal clear waters, or read a book in the shade of a tree. Thankfully, most of the country seems untouched by mass tourism, so you won't be surrounded by swarms of yapping tourists. You will meet some of the most friendly people in the South Pacific, so learn the local greeting - Kiaorana, and enjoy a little slice of paradise!
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| On O'otu Beach after a 4 hour kayaking exploration |
|  | Things to do in the Cook Islands - a summary. Spend some time on Rarotonga, the main island. While you're there, make sure you visit the Punanga Nui market on a Saturday morning, browse the shops in Avarua, swim or kayak in/on Muri Lagoon, catch the public bus around the island, maybe walk the cross island track, walk along the beautiful beach that stretches the entire south coast, watch the sunset and maybe some humpback whales from the west coast.
Spend some time on Aitutaki, a stunning jewel in the South Pacific. While you're there spend as much time as possible on or in the beautiful lagoon. Take a lagoon cruise with Bishop's Cruises, hire kayaks from Ranginui's Retreat or the Samade Bar on O'otu beach and paddle out into the lagoon to explore the islands, have lunch on One Foot Island, visit the historic old CICC church in Arutanga, snorkel in the lagoon, enjoy a fish steak at just about any restaurant!
The prices I've given in these pages on the Cook Islands are all in New Zealand dollars, unless otherwise stated.
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| | Catch a Rarotongan sunset on the west coast! |
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| Pros: | "A peaceful, relaxing, tropical get-away in the South Pacific." | | Cons: | "One's brain tends to shut down when holidaying here!" | | In A Nutshell: | "A pretty South Pacific paradise." |
worldkiwi's Cook Islands Travel Tips
 Comments for worldkiwi about Cook Islands | | | | |
sprdak11 Tue Apr 24, 2007 15:25 UTC
Great travel page. Good luck. | JessH Thu Mar 23, 2006 11:31 UTC
Is that water for REAL? Wow! Thanks a lot for sharing your tips. Really enjoyed them! Greetings from (murky watered) Dubai :-) Jess | sourbugger Wed Mar 8, 2006 08:29 UTC
looks absolutely bloody lovely | bijo69 Mon Feb 27, 2006 16:13 UTC
I really miss that turquoise blue water of Aitutaki Lagoon... |
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