To define the Cook Island as a 'country' is almost a misnomer. With 15 islands scattered around 2 million sq km of ocean, there is not much country side to be found. But what there is of mother earth in this vast area of blue ocean, contains some of the most beautiful and diverse scenery of the South Pacific. Rugged volcanic peaks, sandy beaches, coral atolls...lush, green, emerald blue and filled with a myriad of flowers, trees, sea creatures and the most friendly and laid back people one can imagine.
Only 20,000 people live here on the islands, half of them in Rarotonga. However another 50,000 or more Cook Islander live in New Zealand, as every Cook Islander is not only a citizen of Cook Island nation, but also a New Zealand citizen. Cook Island is independent, with its own prime minister, 24 members of parliament, governor general etc etc, as well as their own flag.
A Spanish captain saw the Cooks in 1595, Captain Cook sailed through them in 1773 and 1777, Philip Goodenough of the Cumberland was the first European to land here in 1814. The missionaries arrived in 1821, and apparently are still arriving in droves, founding any and every church representing any and every Christian sect imaginable.
Being here on a Friday, unfortunately we missed the famed Sunday services, when Cook Islanders sing melodious and harmonious hymns.
Missionary influences changed the island in many regards, however, tribal traditions survived at least in terms of tribal hierarchies and land ownership. Many Polynesians did not survive the first decades after contact with Europeans, introduced diseases decimated them.
The island represents a happy medium between the ueber civilization of Hawaii and the almost untouched life of the Fanning Islands. There are plenty of cars (mostly Japanes and a bunch of BMW's), imported clothing and food, wine and beer, TV, internet, Telecom, banking services, construction companies, water and sewage infrastructure. Two roads surround the island, one dating back to the 11th century, but re-paved by now...
The locals are proud of their island, their quiet and safe lifestyle, their cultural and historical wealth and their healthy economy.
It appears to be a vacation destination of choice for Australians and New Zealanders, being relatively close to those countries. The bus driver suggested, that renting a house from an absentee Cook Islander is the way to spend a little time on the island as it is 'much cheaper than the luxurious hotels' and so much more enjoyable.
There are ruins of a Sheraton Hotel, which did not last a decade before succumbing to bancruptcy. It has been built on a old marae (sacred ground, of which the island has quite a few) and as such offended the Polynesian Deities (Christian Gods must have been outnumbered in this battle over real estate) and thus anything built there is cursed to fail. So far, any effort to revive the place by selling or rebuilding has been dogged by disaster, and the old white walls and balconies are now stained black with fungus and overgrown with lovely greenery. Chickens and goats wander the neglected grounds and peace and the old Deities reign undisturbed until the next developer tries his luck.
