Tiny Nassau is the sister island of PUKAPUKA and it's the only one of the Northern Group without a lagoon. The island was bought by the Cook Islands Administration in 1945 and then sold to the Island Councillors and Chiefs of Pukapuka six years later. There's only one concrete house on the island which is owned by the Government. Nassua is just 9 metres (28 feet) above sea level and surrounded by a reef flat which is 90 to 130 metres wide on all but the north side where it's narrower. Plans are being drawn up to build a new harbour to make access easier and safer.
ISLAND CLOSED: COME BACK LATER!
Don't bother visiting Nassau in July. A ship picks eveyone up, stops at Pupapuka to offload about 40,000 taro plants and continues to Rarotonga for the annual constitution celebrations. All the buildings are boarded up and the island is deserted for two months.
Population 71
1.3 sq mls/0.5 sq. kms
1.3 sq mls/0.5 sq. kms
Nassau as seen from the space shuttle
Image Courtesy of Earth Sciences and Image Analysis Laboratory, NASA Johnson Space Center
...and right, a bit closer up
Image Courtesy of Earth Sciences and Image Analysis Laboratory, NASA Johnson Space Center
...and right, a bit closer up
WHAT DO YOU WANT TO EXPLORE NEXT?
THE SISTER ISLAND OF PUKAPUKA RAROTONGA ESSENTIALS
OR TAILOR MAKE YOUR OWN TOUR USING THE MENU ON THE LEFT
THE SISTER ISLAND OF PUKAPUKA RAROTONGA ESSENTIALS
OR TAILOR MAKE YOUR OWN TOUR USING THE MENU ON THE LEFT
LIFE IN THE "GARDEN OF EDEN"
Families live in thatched cottages called kikau (right). Access is by inter island boat from Pukapuka. Elliot Smith, in the invaluable "Cook Islands Companion" describes Nassau as "a small garden of Eden". The land is rich in taro and fruit groves, and fish and shellfish are caught off the reef.
Families live in thatched cottages called kikau (right). Access is by inter island boat from Pukapuka. Elliot Smith, in the invaluable "Cook Islands Companion" describes Nassau as "a small garden of Eden". The land is rich in taro and fruit groves, and fish and shellfish are caught off the reef.
....where one day is just like the next
The island is 11 degrees below the equator, and days and nights are almost exactly 12 hours long. The daytime temperature also stays at about 27 degrees celcius ( 83F) all the year round.
Access: Very difficult.
Infrequent inter-island boats
Infrequent inter-island boats
This tiny island was severely damaged in February, 2005 by Cyclone Percy, and repair work is still going on.
BY ANY OTHER NAME!
Nassau originally belonged to the islanders of nearby Pukapuka and was called Te Nuku-o-Ngalewu which means LAND OF NAGELU after the Pukapukan who was put in charge of it. When the two islands fell out with each other, it was renamed DESERTED ISLAND (Te Motu Ngaongao) supposedly by the islanders of Manihiki who drifted to the island and found it deserted.
In 1803, it got yet another name - ADELE ISLAND - after the ship of the first discoverer. About 20 years later it was renamed LYDRA ISLAND by another explorer, then RANGER ISLAND after the London whale ship "Ranger". An American whaler May Mitchell decided in 1834 that it should bear his name and called it MITCHELL ISLAND.
In 1803, it got yet another name - ADELE ISLAND - after the ship of the first discoverer. About 20 years later it was renamed LYDRA ISLAND by another explorer, then RANGER ISLAND after the London whale ship "Ranger". An American whaler May Mitchell decided in 1834 that it should bear his name and called it MITCHELL ISLAND.
But it wasn't until a year later it that it finally got the name it's known by today. Another American whaler, John D. Sampson named it after his vessel, the NASSAU. It's not known why that name finally stuck, especially as another whale ship which sighted the island the following year tried to rename it NEW-PORT ISLAND!
The legend on the map says "compiled from survey by R.D Frisbie, 1925", and refers to the author Robert Dean Frisbie whose books about Pukapuka immortalised the neighbouring island.
THROUGH THE EYES OF A MODERN DAY ADVENTURER
Australian born author and internationally famous former comedienne, Pamela Stephenson is one of very few outsiders to have visited Nassau. In her fascinating and superbly written book "Treasure Islands" she says that most residents have never seen a white person, other than in pictures. She recalls that landing there was very difficult and would have been impossible without local help. And she and her yacht crew also discovered the offshore Flying Venus Reef is actually about a mile away from the position on official Admiralty charts, presenting a hidden danger to unwitting mariners.
NASSAU CALLING EARTH
This is the only permanent link with the outside world....a satellite earth station built in just four days by engineers from Telecom Cook Islands. It's been there less than four years.
This is the only permanent link with the outside world....a satellite earth station built in just four days by engineers from Telecom Cook Islands. It's been there less than four years.
At the time of her visit in December, 2004, there were about 50 children on the island who are taught in two classroooms. She also noted that chickens, pigs and abundant catches of fish and lobsters are the staple diet. School books and medicines, meanwhile, are in short supply.
"Treasure Islands" is published by Headline Book Publishing, London (ISBN 0 7553 1285)
Remote and sometimes deserted
Northern Group
673 miles/1083 kms
North West by North of Rarotonga
673 miles/1083 kms
North West by North of Rarotonga
