POINTERS TO PARADISE:
MORE OF AITUTAKI RAROTONGA SITE MAP HOME SURPRISE ME!
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MORE OF AITUTAKI RAROTONGA SITE MAP HOME SURPRISE ME!
OR FIND YOUR OWN PIECE OF PARADISE USING THE MENU ON THE LEFT
Photographs can never convey the breathtaking beauty that is Aitutaki - nearest neighbour of the capital island, Rarotonga and the most visited after it. Warm, crystal clear waters fill a triangular shaped, turquoise blue lagoon....so blue you'd think someone had painted it that colour!
Each leg of the triangle stretches for seven miles. Dotted around it are uninhabited, palm filled islands or "motus", with sparkling white sand...reminiscent of the sort of a picture a child would paint of a desert island.
Each leg of the triangle stretches for seven miles. Dotted around it are uninhabited, palm filled islands or "motus", with sparkling white sand...reminiscent of the sort of a picture a child would paint of a desert island.
Population 2,194
7 sq mls/18.3 sq.kms
7 sq mls/18.3 sq.kms
AN ASTRONAUT'S EYE VIEW
Aitutaki and its stunning blue lagoon as seen from the space shuttle.
Image Courtesy of Earth Sciences and Image Analysis Laboratory,
NASA Johnson Space Center
Aitutaki and its stunning blue lagoon as seen from the space shuttle.
Image Courtesy of Earth Sciences and Image Analysis Laboratory,
NASA Johnson Space Center
Access: Frequent Internal Flights & International Connections
Captain William Bligh was the first European to discover Aitutaki, on 11 April, 1789...17 days before the infamous mutiny on his ship, the Bounty. And he was no stranger to the Cook Islands as he was previously Sailing Master on HMS Resolution during Captain Cook's third voyage. Historic documents say that when Bligh weighed anchor off Aitutaki, a native came out in a canoe, rubbed noses with him and gave him a pearl-shell breast ornament suspended from braided human hair. Bligh visited again on 25 July, 1792.
MAKE A VIRTUAL VISIT TO AITUTAKI NOW! Click the globe icon
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Requires the free Google Earth program - Find out more
AN HISTORIC BOUNTY
Your own blue lagoon
Southern Group
141 miles/227 kms
North of Rarotonga
141 miles/227 kms
North of Rarotonga
Aitutaki's lagoon is teeming with fish and to swim among them is like taking a dip in a tropical fish tank. The very lucky visitor might even catch a rare glimpse (as I did) of a turtle skimming through the waters. No surprise then that Aitutaki is listed in a number of books as one of the places everyone should see before they die.
WORLD'S BEATING...AND THAT'S OFFICIAL!
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For two consecutive years (2008 and 2009), the Pacific Resort, Aitutaki has been voted the best Island resort hotel in the world. It was awarded the title at the World Travel Awards in London - the Oscars of the travel industry.
The beauty of the hotel is beaten only by the beauty of the lagoon it overlooks. The Pacific Resort has been described as the ultimate luxury hideaway. Its infinity swimming pool (left) appears to merge into the lagoon
One Foot Island is one of the uninhabited motu or islets in the lagoon. Its beach was voted the best in the whole of Australia and the Pacific region at last year's World Travel Awards.
THE LEGEND OF ONE FOOT ISLAND
Tapuaetai is supposedly known to all as One Foot Island because, from the air, it resembles a left foot. But I prefer the legend...
A tribe once attacked the main island and a man and his son escaped by canoe to an unnamed islet. The father carried the boy across the beach and hid him in a tall coconut tree. Then he paddled all the way to Rarotonga for help. When the attackers reached the islet they saw only one set of footprints on and off the island and they left. The boy remained safely hidden until his father returned with help. And from then on, the islet was known as One Foot Island.
WELCOME TO AITUTAKI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT There are no direct flights from foreign parts, but the internal airline, Air Rarotonga links up with the weekly incoming service from Los Angeles.
Unfortunately, the thatched roof has been replaced with a more conventional structure...but you will still wish all airports were like this. No hassle, no stress...just like the island itself. Aitutaki is about 45 minutes flying time from the capital island of Rarotonga...and Air Rarotonga run day trips which include a fantastic lagoon cruise. Pricey, but very highly recommended.
Air Rarotonga runs day trips to Aitutaki
Many of the stunning photos on this page were taken by a very talented amateur photographer, Marcus Glenig who works for Air Rarotonga. You can see more of his superb shots in his own on line gallery.