Spread over an area equal to twenty-five percent of the USA, the
fifteen islands that make up the Cook Island Nation offer
everything you expect from your South Pacific paradise.
Although the Polynesians were the first to settle in the islands
in 1500BC, they were conquered two centuries later by a joint force
from the islands of Tahiti and Samoa. Captain Cook first sighted
the Manuae atoll in 1773 and returned again in 1777 to discover the
islands of Palmerston, Takutea, Mangaia and Atiu. Aitutaki and
Rarotonga were both sailed past by Captain Bligh in 1789, the
year of the Mutiny on The Bounty, but they didn't land, and they
didn't know where they were! The discovery of Rarotonga is
officially credited to Captain Goodenough in 1814, but there is
also evidence that the Rev John Williams made the listed discovery,
adding the island names to the world maps, on 25th July,
1823.
For more information on the Cook Islands, there are many
websites you could visit, but a good one in the UK is cookislands.org.uk - very informative and
lots of great photos, too.
The currency of the Cook Islands is the New Zealand dollar,
supplemented by notes and coinage minted for local use. The drier
cooler season runs from April to November, the warmer, more humid
season runs from December to March.
Currently, there are no locally based cruise companies offering
cruse itineraries around the Cook Islands. There are a few
major cruise companies operating the large luxury liners, who
offer itineraries across and around the Pacific that will
visit some of these islands, but they are not frequent or on a
regular basis.