From Palmerston to Aitutaki was quite a long journey into a 30 knot headwind,so we arrived late,not anchoring until 10.00(We had been die in at 08.30) but a beautiful sight ,a very wide lagoon,about 50 sq miles with its enclosing reef.There are 15 islets contained in the reef and there is a population of 1800 on Aitutaki itself.A small airport was built here in 1942 for use by the allies and this is still in use with daily flights to Rarotonga,the capital island of the Cook islands.Aitutaki is being developed as a tourist resort.There were 161,000 tourists to the Cook islands in 2017,most from New Zealand and then Australia,but 11610 were from the UK.Around 3400 visitors made it to Aitutaki ,but some of these were returning Cook islanders.our boat carried 4 folk from Palmerston who were needing to get to Rarotonga for medical treatment.So they could fly on from Aitutaki to Rarotonga where visiting Specialists from New Zealand hold clinics once per year.All the costs of their journey are paid for by a health fund.
The economics of the Cook islands are interesting in that they are heavily dependent upon foreign aid but because the per capita income is a very healthy $24215,they qualify for Developed status which should mean that the aid goes elsewhere.
Total population of the Cook islands is 9038 down from 11700 in 2016,life expectancy is a healthy 76.2 years despite 56% of the population being officially obese!
Anyway we are at sea today, all day, covering the 520 nautical miles between the Cook islands and French Polynesia.Yesterday ,once we arrived at this beautiful atoll we took a boat across the lagoon to One Foot island , snorkelled and walked for an hour and a half and raced back to the boat.The highlight of the snorkel was seeing giant clams,some 1.5 metres across,growing on the sea bed.
Some fish to see but mainly just admiring the beauty of what the lonely Planet editor calls the most beautiful island in the world.
The economics of the Cook islands are interesting in that they are heavily dependent upon foreign aid but because the per capita income is a very healthy $24215,they qualify for Developed status which should mean that the aid goes elsewhere.
Total population of the Cook islands is 9038 down from 11700 in 2016,life expectancy is a healthy 76.2 years despite 56% of the population being officially obese!
Anyway we are at sea today, all day, covering the 520 nautical miles between the Cook islands and French Polynesia.Yesterday ,once we arrived at this beautiful atoll we took a boat across the lagoon to One Foot island , snorkelled and walked for an hour and a half and raced back to the boat.The highlight of the snorkel was seeing giant clams,some 1.5 metres across,growing on the sea bed.
Some fish to see but mainly just admiring the beauty of what the lonely Planet editor calls the most beautiful island in the world.
On arriving back at the wharf I rushed into the local shops to find a tee shirt saying Cook Islands for a friend in France,made it back to the wharf in time to catch one of the last zodiacs back to the ship,and here we are bumping around once again.
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