Rimatara
The smallest and westernmost inhabited Austral island, where a rare lorikeet was brought back from extinction locally.
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Rimatara is the smallest inhabited island of the Australs, low and rounded with three villages and a fringing reef, and its distinction is a bird: the Rimatara lorikeet, a small red and green parrot that survived here after disappearing from the other islands, protected by a local tapu that kept people from taking it. Birds from here were reintroduced to Atiu in the Cook Islands in 2007. Ship rats have never reached the island, which is why it survives.
What you actually see
- The Rimatara lorikeet - a parrot that survived here after vanishing elsewhere.
- The tapu - the local prohibition credited with protecting the bird.
- The rat-free status - the absence of ship rats that let the species hold on.
- The three villages - the settlements around the low island.
When to go
May to October is the dry season. Flights are infrequent and connections awkward. The island is cooler than Tahiti.
Honest expectations
Flights are few and getting there takes planning. There is almost no accommodation and no tourism infrastructure. Strict biosecurity applies on arrival to keep rats off the island.
Nearby
Rurutu is east, and Tahiti is northeast.
What to pack for Rimatara
Chosen from what this place is for. Tap a kit for the full checklist.
Opening times, ticket prices and seasonal closures change - check the official source before you go: official site.
