Pukapuka

Pukapuka lies in the far northwest of the Cook Islands, closer to Samoa than to Rarotonga, and its language and social organisation are distinct enough from the rest of the group that it is treated separately: the island is divided into three villages that hold land and resources collectively and rotate the use of their reserve islets. Robert Dean Frisbie wrote about the atoll in the 1920s and 1930s, which brought it a readership abroad.

History

People have lived on Pukapuka for about 1,000 years, since the sea settled at its present level; tradition says the atoll was found by Tamayei, a god from Tonga, and settled from Tonga, and it became a link between West and East Polynesia, its language Samoic with Tokelauan influence and its adze basalt traced to a quarry on Tutuila in Samoa. Its population, perhaps 1,000 or more, has recovered from very low numbers more than once - after one great tsunami or cyclone, tradition says, only two women and fifteen men survived. Spanish explorers saw it in 1595 and called it San Bernardo, John Byron could not land through the surf on 21 June 1765 and named it the Islands of Danger, and on 3 April 1796 Pierre François Péron of the American ship Otter called it the Isles de la Loutre (Wikipedia, Pukapuka).

What you'll find

• The distinct language - Pukapukan, separate from Cook Islands Māori.
• The three villages - the divisions that hold land and resources collectively.
• The rotation system - the reserve islets used and rested in turn.
• The Frisbie connection - the writing that brought the atoll a readership abroad.

When to go

May to October is the drier season outside the cyclone months. Cyclone season runs November to April. Transport is very irregular.

What to expect

Transport is the hardest of any Cook island: flights are rare and ships infrequent, and visits mean committing weeks. Accommodation is by arrangement with families. Visitors are unusual and permission matters.

Nearby

Nassau is nearby, and Rarotonga is far southeast.

Key facts