In the Cook Islands, the Bishop’s Cruises boat crosses one of the most spectacular lagoons on earth.
Trevally in the Cook Islands
There’s quite a commotion by the boat. Yelps and shrieks come from the water as if a shark or crocodile has just sidled up. It turns out to be something less terrifying – just three or four giant trevally, zipping around and popping up unexpectedly. They’re occasionally bumping into the snorkelers, but more often just emerging where they’re not expected. They’re big beasts too, and should probably be extremely wary of anyone with a fishing rod turning up soon. For now, they’re lucky that the skipper is over at the barbecue, cooking up tuna he caught earlier this morning.
One Foot Island on the Aitutaki Lagoon
One Foot Island is the final destination on a flit across Aitutaki’s lagoon, and it does a tremendous job of fulfilling all the necessary Pacific Island clichés. Coconut palms do the lazy swaying thing, ready to drop their bombs on anyone foolish enough to sit underneath them. The sand is a powdery white, and just soft enough to make for a satisfying footprint. An idle mooch around the island sees scuttling hermit crabs, and, on the horizon, waves crashing into the reef surrounding the lagoon.
Beyond that reef, the water gets very deep, very quickly. But within its protective embrace, everything is calm, glassy and outrageously good looking.
There’s no way of talking about Aitutaki’s lagoon without descending into the realms of starstruck fanboyism. There is no wonder that pictures of it will be used on any promotional imagery of the Cook Islands, and it’s hardly a surprise that people will shell out for the internal flight from main island Rarotonga to this isolated Pacific speck to see it in person.
Boarding the Bishop’s Cruises boat
Those getting on the Bishop’s Cruises boat at the start of the day are giddily excited. The slavering, bouncing puppy act is entirely justified, especially when the sun comes out and sprinkles a dazzle factor over the vast vision of teals and turquoises.
This fantasta-view reaches its apogee at One Foot Island, aided a great deal by the sand bar that stretches out from it. It only takes a little paddle to get out there, and once on it, the full desert island cliché is complete. It’s 360 degree views of lagoon, islets and sheer, splendid isolation.
Snorkelling in the Cook Islands
A channel passes between One Foot Island and the islet next to it. The skipper’s advice is to walk up the beach, then ride the current to float back down. And to take a snorkel.
It’s good advice, as it’s not long before schools of distinctive silvery fish with a yellow stripe down the middle zigzag past. Then, on the sandy bottom, are a couple of giant clams, their mouths a vivid velvet-esque blue and black coat. Take a breath, dive down and wag a finger in their general direction, and they’ll coyly close up. Don’t get too close, though – there are sea urchins snuggled underneath the rocks, and an encounter with one of their spines is going to seriously hurt.
An angelfish, with the black dot on its back designed to trick predators into thinking it’s an eye, glides past. It’s followed by something that looks like it has donned leopardprint. Every new character increases the eagerness to be thoroughly nosy.
Trans Empire Airlines flying boats
One Foot Island may be the one that you can get your passport stamped on (the customs officers look suspiciously like the boat crew), but other islets have a more illustrious history.
Akaiami was once the refuelling stop for Trans Empire Airlines planes heading to Tahiti. That led to a rather illustrious clientele – including Marlon Brando and Cary Grant – stopping off for a swim for a few hours.
It’s rather trickier to spot the runway, however. And that’s because the lagoon was the runway, and the planes were flying boats. The service ran between 1951 and 1960 before technological advances made the flights uneconomical. Now, the visitors are the scuttling crabs, and gleeful swimmers who take quite some herding to get out of the water and back on the boat.
Staying on Aitutaki
Once the cruise is over, night falls quickly. Aitutaki, with a population of around 2,000 laid-back souls, is no party island. But when the sun rises the next day, the stroll from bungalow to beach is a short stagger. One Foot Island may be the target, but in truth, Aitutaki is surrounded by beaches of near-identical quality. And while everyone else gets an extra hour’s sleep, that lagoon calls. Mask down, snorkel in, and a wade out to swimming depth, and suddenly it becomes your own perfect, private swimming pool. Well, apart from those fish sneaking up on you, anyway.
More Aitutaki travel
Other Aitutaki travel articles on Planet Whitley include:
For more Cook Islands tours and experiences, head this way.
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