Cook Islands News

New Zealand Prime Minister JohnKey will pay an official visit to four Pacific island countries next week to reinforce the close links New Zealand has with its Pacific neighbors.

Former All Blacks Inga Tuigamala and Michael Jones will accompany Prime Minister John Key as part of the entourage visiting Tonga, Samoa, Nuie and the Cook Islands on a goodwill trip.

THERE is something reassuring about returning to a favourite destination after a hiatus of several years and discovering almost nothing has altered.

It's hard not be impressed by Rarotonga - from the dramatic landscape and stunning lagoon to the carving of Tangaroa, the god of the sea and creation.

Under $1100 Seek some cheap airfares to the Cook Islands, with five nights at Aretai Beach Villas for $1059 each, quad-share. Domestic return airfares from mainland Rarotonga to the accommodation on Aitutaki included.

THE father of University of South Pacific's Pacific Studies, Professor Ron Crocombe has passed away in Auckland while returning home to Rarotonga, Cook Islands.

New Zealand actress Keisha Castle-Hughes leaves for the Cook Islands on Monday to help Greenpeace document the impact of climate change in the Pacific.

One of the best known figures in Pacific Studies, Emeritus Professor Ron Crocombe, died in Auckland yesterday while on a bus to Mangere for a flight to his home in Rarotonga .

New Zealander Pat Tasker will leave his job as Cook Islands Police Commissioner today.

Tuesday, 16 June 2009, 1:07 pm Press Release: New Zealand Defence Force Amphibious Support Ship HMNZS CANTERBURY has now departed the island of Pukapuka, 1150 nm north of Rarotonga, after successfully completing a humanitarian mission called Exercise TROPIC TWILIGHT.

Food poisoning, not wanderlust, may have inspired early Polynesian wayfarers to undertake risky voyages across the Pacific to Hawai'i, New Zealand and Rapa Nui, according to new research.

Fijian Holdings Ltd managing director Sereana Qoro says the company is well placed to take advantage of a recent visit to Fiji by a trade delegation from Cook Islands.

BEAT GENERATION: A boy keeps pace with the swirling dance troupe. Kris Hall finds his feet in the warm wecome of the Cook Islands.

Prized possession: Odd-shaped jewelled gold on silver coins, issued by Cook Islands, collected by numismatist D. Satyabuddu of Visakhapatnam.

The hard line against Fiji's military regime appears to have softened today, with Tonga's Prime Minister saying Frank Bainimarama should be given time to consider his position.

A South Pacific Dream Destination Rarotonga is the largest of the 15 Cook Islands, named after Captain Cook, who famously spotted them in his South Pacific voyages in the late 18th century.

A sunset view from uninhabited Honeymoon Island, off the coast of Aitutaki in the Cook Islands.

The Cook Islands government has officially decided not to take part in the worldwide recession.

There is a paradox for Pacific workers - likely to be hardest-hit by the economic downturn but an increasingly important component of New Zealand's future workforce.

Air Rarotonga's new route will make visiting some of the Pacific's most inaccessible atolls - the Cook Island's Penrhyn, Manihiki and Pukapuka - much easier.