Cook Island Connections
Planeload after planeload of New Zealanders have been heading for the Cook Islands since quarantinefree travel between the two countries began in May, packing the resorts of Rarotonga and Aitutaki almost to capacity with Kiwis. Even before Covid-19 severely limited our travel options though, the Cooks have long been one of this country’s most popular winter-holiday choices.
Most New Zealand visitors to the Cooks are prone to seeing the country as a series of beaches and bars. We lie on the sand like prawns on a grill, snorkel over lagoons and reefs, and drink fluorescent cocktails out of coconut shells in sand-floored bars. But what if a visit to the Cooks could be good for our brains as well as our bodies? What if it here could teach us something important about Pacific history and about our own identity?
The Cooks is a small country with a big history. Its Indigenous people have emerged
