Things To Do in Rarotonga

The Cook Islands' capital can be seen on foot, as this picturesque little South Seas town winds for only a mile or so along the curving waterfront between Avarua and Avatiu, its two harbors. Virtually every sight and most of the shops sit along or just off the main around-the-island road, which for this mile passes through town as the divided Te Ara Maire Nui (Marine Drive).

A Stroll Around Avarua

Let's start at the traffic circle in the heart of town at Avarua Harbour, which is both the beginning and end of the round-island road. The rusty carcass on the reef offshore belonged to the SS Maitai, a trading ship that went aground in 1916. At the circle is the courthouse. To the west, the low-slung structure with a large veranda houses a restaurant, several shops, and the Banana Court, once one of the South Pacific's most infamous watering holes.

From the traffic circle, walk east to the modern Beachcomber, Ltd.. This pearl and handicraft shop occupies a coral-block building erected in 1843 as a school for missionary children. The local legislative council met here from 1888 to 1901, but by 1968 it was condemned as unsafe. It was restored to its present grandeur in 1992.

In a shady parklike setting across the road stand Taputapuatea marae and the restored palace of Queen Makea Takau Ariki. Don't enter the grounds without permission, for they are tabu to us commoners. The palace was reputedly a lively place when Queen Makea was around in the 19th century.

Facing the palace grounds across the road running inland is the Cook Islands Christian Church. This whitewashed coral block structure was constructed in 1855. Just to the left of the main entrance is the grave of Sir Albert Henry, the late prime minister. A bust of Sir Albert sits atop the grave, complete with shell lei and flower crown. Robert Dean Frisbie, an American-born writer and colorful South Seas character, is buried in the inland corner of the graveyard, next to the road. Frisbee served in the U.S. army during World War I, and his gravestone is an official Department of Defense marker.

To the right, near the end of the road, is the Cook Islands Library and Museum (tel. 26-468). The museum is small but well worth a visit to see its excellent examples of Cook Islands handicrafts; a canoe from Pukapuka built in the old style, with planks lashed together; the island's first printing press (brought to Rarotonga by the London Missionary Society in the 1830s and used until the 1950s by the government printing office); and the bell and compass from the Yankee, a world-famous yacht that in 1964 wrecked on the reef behind the Beachcomber, where its forlorn skeleton rusted away for 30 years. The library and museum are open Monday to Friday 9am to 1pm, Saturday 9:30am to 12:30pm, and on Tuesday also from 4 to 8pm. Admission to the museum is by NZ$2.50 (US$2/£1) donation.

Farther up the inland road stands Takamoa Theological College, opened in 1842 by the London Missionary Society. The original Takamoa Mission House still sits on the campus.

Walk a block east on Makea Tinerau Road in front of the library and museum to the Sir Geoffrey Henry National Cultural Centre (also known as Te Puna Korero), the country's showplace, built in time for the 1992 South Pacific Festival of the Arts. The large green building houses the Civic Auditorium, and the long yellow structures contain government offices as well as the National Museum and National Library (tel. 20-725). Exhibits at the National Museum feature contemporary and replicated examples of ancient crafts. The museum is open Monday to Friday from 9am to noon and 1 to 4pm. Admission is by donation. The library usually is open Monday and Wednesday 9am to 8pm and Friday 9am to 4pm.

Opposite the museum is the Tupapa Sports Ground. Like other South Pacific islanders formerly under New Zealand or Australian rule, the Cook Islanders take their rugby seriously. Although much of the action has shifted to the stadium at Tereora College behind the airport, Tupapa may still see a brawl or two on Saturday afternoons.

Walk back to the main road, turn left, and head to downtown. You can take a break at one of the restaurants or snack bars along the way. From the traffic circle west is a lovely stroll, either by the storefronts or along the seafront promenade. At the west end of town, stroll through Punanga Nui Market, where vendors sell clothing and souvenirs and food stalls offer takeout food that you can munch at picnic tables under the shade of casuarinas whispering in the wind.

End your tour at Avatiu Harbour, which is Rarotonga's commercial port (the small anchorage at Avarua is strictly a small-boat refuge).

The country's number one export is the black pearl, most of which are produced at Manihiki and Penrhyn atolls in the Northern Group. You'll be offered pearls at small shops and even by street vendors, but stick to dealers who are members of the local Pearl Guild, including those I recommend below. By and large, you will pay less for loose and set black pearls here than in French Polynesia.

There is a fine assortment of handicrafts to choose from. Particularly good if not inexpensive are the delicately woven rito (white straw hats), which the women wear to church on Sunday, and the Samoan-style straw mats from Pukapuka in the Northern Group. Carvings from wood are plentiful, as is jewelry made from shell, mother-of-pearl, and pink coral. The most popular woodcarvings are small totems that represent the exhibitionist Tangaroa; they might not be appropriate for the coffee table.

Rarotonga is one of the region's best places for tropical clothing, especially cotton pareus, shirts, blouses, and dresses. Some of the works are more artistically creative than those in French Polynesia, especially one-of-a-kind pareus and women's apparel.

For years the Cook Islands government has earned revenue from the sale of its stamps to collectors and dealers overseas. The Philatelic Bureau, next to Cook Islands Post, at the traffic circle in Avarua, issues between three and six new stamps each year. All are highly artistic and feature birds, shells, fish, flowers, and historical events and people, including the British royal family.

I recommend some of the best stores, but you'll find many more in Avarua.

Cook Islanders are some of the most fun-loving folks you will meet in the South Pacific, and you can easily catch their spirit. Every evening except Sunday is a party night -- especially Friday when the pubs stay open until 2am (they close promptly when the Sabbath strikes at Saturday midnight). As with their Tahitian cousins, the infectious sound of the traditional drums starts everyone dancing.

If Rarotongans aren't performing in a show, they seem to be dancing with each other at some of the most colorful bars in the South Pacific. No one ever explained to me why they call their tour-de-bars a "pub-crawl," although I assume it's because crawling is the method of travel after too many locally brewed Cook's Lagers. However you get around, you can pub-crawl yourself or take a Friday nightlife bus tour, which your hotel will book. The NZ$30 (US$24/£12) fare is worth not having to drive home after 2am.

The Friday night crawl begins -- and often ends -- at Trader Jack's Bar & Grill (tel. 26-464) at Avarua's old harbor, one of the best bars in all of the South Pacific. The island's affluent movers and shakers start boozing here after work.

Heading east, you can grab an outdoor beer and an ocean view at Whatever! Bar (tel. 22-299). It's behind TJ's (tel. 24-722), a disco which draws a sometimes raucous young crowd. The Trader Jack's folk then wander into the Stair Case Restaurant & Bar (tel. 22-254), an upstairs restaurant that has rock-and-roll music for dancing after 10pm and an island night show once a week.

Backtracking to the traffic circle, you'll come to The Banana Court (tel. 23-397), which for generations was the place to do your drinking, dancing, and fighting. It's now the big place to be on Wednesday night. Down the side street in Cook's Corner shops, the miniature Hideaway Bar (tel. 20-340) attracts a mature crowd of drinkers.

Near the airport are The Nu Bar (tel. 26-141) and the RSA Club (tel. 20-590), where the country's military veterans welcome everyone to drink and dance.

Don't Miss an Island Night

A New Zealander once told me, only slightly tongue-in-cheek, that all Cook Islanders are deaf because they grow up 3 feet from drums you can hear from 3 miles away.

Danced to the heart-thumping beat of those deafening drums, their hip-pulsating tamure is very much like that in Tahiti, except it tends to be faster (which I found hard to believe until I saw it with my own eyes) and even more suggestive (which I had even more trouble believing). Indeed, dancing is high in the hearts of all Cook Islanders, and it shows every time the drums begin. Their costumes generally aren't as colorful as those in Tahiti but are as likely to be made of leaves and other natural materials as dyed synthetic fabrics.

Unadulterated Cook Islands dancing is best seen during the annual Dance Week in April or during the National Self Governing Commemoration celebrations in late July and early August. It's still good at "Island Night" feasts and shows at the hotels. Indeed, one or another will have a feast and show every night except Sunday. Although their dance shows are tailored for tourists, the participants go at it with infectious enthusiasm.

Get a schedule of island nights from Cook Islands Tourism Corporation, or check the Cook Islands News, especially the Thursday and Friday editions, and make reservations early. Ask the locals where the top troupes are performing.