Polynesia at Its Most Pristine — the tiny capital of a self-governing island nation free of mass tourism, with the Pacific's best snorkelling lagoon, a thriving dance tradition, and the Cook Islands' famous black pearls
Avarua is the capital of the Cook Islands — a self-governing nation in free association with New Zealand, scattered across 2.2 million square kilometres of the South Pacific. Rarotonga, the main island on which Avarua sits, is a dramatic volcanic peak (Te Manga, 653 m) ringed by a coral reef and a turquoise lagoon of exceptional clarity. The Cook Islands has deliberately avoided large-scale tourism development, maintaining a cap on the number of resort rooms and hotel beds; the result is Polynesia that feels genuinely unhurried. Aitutaki — the most frequently photographed lagoon in the Pacifi…
The Cook Islands were settled by Polynesians from the Society Islands and Marquesas around 900–1000 CE. Spanish navigator Álvaro de Mendaña sighted the islands in 1595; Captain James Cook visited four times between 1773 and 1779 (the islands were named after him posthumously). London Missionary Society missionaries arrived in 1821 and transformed the islands: the Cook Islands Christian Church (CICC), a direct descendant of the LMS mission, remains the dominant institution in I Cook Islander life. Britain declared a protectorate in 1888 and transferred administration to New Zealand in 1901. Th…