The Cook Islands are a group of 15 islands, population 15,000, forming an island country. The country is self-governing while in free association with New Zealand. This means that New Zealand acts on their behalf in foreign affairs and defence issues but only when requested by the Cook Islands government and with their advice and consent. Cook Islands has no armed forces but the Police Service owns a patrol boat provided by Australia. The government is a unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy. King Charles III is their monarch but I don’t imagine he has much say in island affairs. Maybe just pops in occasionally for a cheap holiday.
The economy is based on tourism. They advertise the country as an affordable, exotic South Pacific archipelago with no crowds. No building is taller than a coconut tree. There are no high-rise hotels, traffic-lights or stop signs. Just unspoiled natural beauty; lagoons ringed by stunning coral reefs teaming with life, isolated beaches, rainforests, waterfalls, caves, unique bird life, and so much more.
We anchored outside the reef at Aitutaki Island. Diane and I went ashore by zodiac and had a short walk. It was hot. A bit too hot for me. We wandered up the road for half an hour and then took refuge from the sun at a table by the beach. The road was not particularly interesting. There were a few small shops and houses. All widely spaced with well kept gardens. Many of the gardens contained graves. Some of which were quite elaborate. I imagined children being told to go out and play by their great-grandparents. The beach was much more interesting. There were some birds fishing along the shore. Little crabs were running around. They rushed to hide down holes in the sand if you went anywhere near them. We went back along the sand under the shade from coconut palms. Carefully, of course, to avoid danger from falling coconuts.
A full-sized coconut weighs about 1.5 kg. If one fell on your head, it would probably hurt. Following a 1984 study on “Injuries Due to Falling Coconuts by Dr. Peter Barss “, exaggerated claims spread concerning the number of fatalities by falling coconuts. By the early 2000s, the urban legend of death by coconut had grown to 200+ fatalities per year. Barss was awarded an Ig Noble Award for his work. A press release from Club Travel, a UK-based travel insurance company, selling travel insurance for Papua New Guinea, stated that coconuts were “ten times more dangerous than sharks”. The truth is that occasionally, rarely more than once a year, people do get killed by coconuts. Sometimes it is their own fault. In Pennsylvania, a man died while trying to crack open a coconut with the butt end of a loaded revolver. The gun discharged and he got shot in the abdomen.
We arrived back at the docks unscathed. In the afternoon was a snorkelling trip. I grabbed my new camera, Diane grabbed a blue pool noodle and we were good to go. After transferring to a local boat, we were taken out into a large lagoon. Here we made a brief landing on Honeymoon Island to admire the white sand. Looked nice but was made of broken coral so it was sharp and unpleasant to touch. A short way offshore we went snorkelling off the boat.
This time my photographic efforts were a little more productive. There was plenty to photograph. Big lumps of coral reef interspersed with giant clams on the seabed. The clams look amazing and often have intricate patterns on the mantle parts. Giant clams are bi-valve filter-feeders. However much of their nutritional needs are supplied by zooxanthellae. These are photosynthetic single-celled organisms that live in symbiosis with the clam. Around the edge of the mantle are primitive eyes. The clams can weigh over 200 kg and live for more than 100 years.
I also spent a lot of time looking at fish. Small fish all around the reef. Some are actually eating the reef. Some eat other fish. Some eat parasites off other fish. Some eat algae. The reef is a whole complex ecosystem. The fish come in all shapes and sizes. Some are quite shy and hide in the reef. Others are very bold and in your face. I am trying to learn the names of some of these fish but it is a steep learning curve. All too soon we were back in the boat. I usually wear shorts and a t-shirt for snorkelling. By the time we were back on board, half an hour later, my clothes were completely dry.
