Cook Islands, beautiful Pacific islands

One of the things I enjoyed living in Pacific is the quaint beauty of the islands. They are still largly untouched by the commercialism. Islanders are so happy and contended in their life. Makes me wonder about the rat race all over.

Cook islands, like all Pacific islands, were formed by volcanic activity. It used to be just a couple of hours flight from Fiji but in the recent years, you need to go via New Zealand which increases both the travel time, as well as the fare. It is closely linked to New Zealand in which the islanders have the choice to live and work between the two countries.

The inhabitants are Polynesians called Maoris who migrated from Tahiti many centuries back.

The Island is a collection of about 15 islands. I visited just one island, Rarotonga.

Kia Orana! This is how everyone gets greeted in Cook Islands. We checked into Rarotongan Beach Resort. The staff, like all Pacific islanders, is very friendly.

The place is perfect to relax. The dining hall is near the water and you have the option of sittng outside.

plenty of fish in the water

Just below the wooden ledge, the fish are so conditioned that during the breakfast time, they all gather near the area. I would take my leftover food and feed them. It was a fun to see all the fish fighting over crumbs of food.  No, you cannot fish here. The area is protected.

After a heavy breakfast, the beach chairs invite you to take a book and laze around. Rarotongan resort has plenty of activities which keep you busy throughout the day. My first venture into snorkeling was here. The clear waters were too hard to resist the temptation of not getting into the water.

In the reception area, was this beautiful applique work on the wall. While, walking through the small shops, I saw many women working on applique projects. I found out that it is done by the islanders which helps them in their economy.

One of the things I really enjoyed about Rarotongan was their activity schedules. They had one activity planned everyday. Below, I am mentioning few such activities.
This activity was scheduled for night. It is the crab race!

The night before the race, everyone is invited for crab hunting. With torches in hand and a container, we went down the coast during low tide. There were plenty of hermit crabs which we picked and put in a container.

A sea snake slithers in water

The crab race begins with beating of drums and blowing of huge conches.

The hermit crabs caught the previous night are put on a tray. The crabs are already numbered.  A circle is made and the purpose of making the circle is that whichever crab crosses the line is declared a winner.

Everyone gathers around and waits for the crabs to come out of their shells. Slowly, they come out and start going here and there.

Excitement in the crowd

Next is the hurdle race! Everyone piles their slippers in the center. A barricade of coconut leaves is also made and crabs piled in the center. Again starts the race, but this time the crabs will have to climb over the hurdles.

There is a lot of cheering and excitement as the numbered crabs cross over the hurdle to clear the race.

Another activity which I attended was making your own sarongs using spray painting.

See the steps below on how to make customized sarongs. They are spray painted where the color comes out with a force from a nozzle, the other end being dipped in the color.

Below are few cut outs associated with Pacific islands. They were put on top of the fabric in a pattern of your choice. The cloth is sprayed with colors over the cut outs.

spray diffuser

They used this spray diffuser. The long pipe is dipped in paint and then you blow from the upper side.

Once, the paints dry, the stencils are removed and your custom made sarong is ready.

Pretty island sarong

The Pacific islands are known for their weaving. The coconut palm which grows in plenty are efficiently used in making mats, baskets, fans, jewelry.

A basket and a fan made out of coconut fronds

Coconut is one of the important crops in the Pacific and so they are adept in coconut climbing without the need of any rope or ladder

UMU:
Underground cooking is a very traditional and heat efficient way of cooking food. This is known by different names in various islands, It is called Lovo in Fiji, Umu in Samoa, Cook Islands and Tonga.
A pit is dug and a fire made. Stones are put inside to heat them.
Meanwhile, food to be cooked is prepared by wrapping it properly in banana leaves to conserve the moisture.
When the pit is very hot, food is placed in layers depending on the amount of heat it needs to be cooked. A whole pig would take a long time and needs the most heat so it is placed at the bottom. Coconut leaves are added intermittently to help build up steam and not let the food go dry.
Vegetables as taro, potatoes, pumpkins are also put. Fish needs the least amount of heat so wrapped in banana leaves, it is put on the last layer.
The food is now  covered with plenty of coconut fronds. On top goes wet jute rags and finally a tarpaulin sort of material to seal the heat inside. The food is left undisturbed for 8-10 hours. After that the umu it is opened and food taken out.

      Cover about to lifted                    steam coming out                        first view of food                          cooked food

The Saturday Farmer's Market or the Punanga Nui is a must. The market buzzes with activity on Saturday from 6 am and is over by 11 am. From fresh fruits, vegetables, green drinking coconut, craft stuff which includes masks, souvenirs, sarongs called pareus here, the famous black pearls of Cook Islands, this place has it all.

The craft shop

The fresh vegetables get exhausted very quickly. Behind these shops are plenty of places to eat. Something which should be tasted is the Ika Mata, where very thin slices of raw fish is marinated with lemon juice and later thick coconut milk is added along with a dash of red hot chillies and seasoning. It is called Kokoda (pronounced Kokonda) in Fiji Islands.

Trying a black pearl necklace

The black pearls in Cook Islands are the same quality as the Tahitian black pearl but you get some at very reasonable rates here.  The lady showed me a tray in which depending on the quality and color you could buy a single pearl from $10 to $500!

Shell fan

 The shell fans are intricately made from the fiber of young coconut and take a long time to finish. No doubt they are quite expensive.

We saw the folk dance of Cook Islands and the flexibility and charm of dancers had everybody tapping their feet. Watch the video below, I am sure you are going to enjoy it.

A fast track dance of girls and boys. The swaying movements mesmerizes you.

This was a slow dance by girls which is very different from the  dance above.

The above video is of Wigmore's waterfall. We drove and drove between thick growth of trees.  In fact, I had started wondering if we were on the right track and suddenly we see the falls.

Waiting outside the airport

So quiet an airport!

There is so much see and experience in this island. You will always feel the shortage of time in such beautiful Pacific islands.