Introduction
A beautiful collection of 15 islands and atolls, the Cook Islands offer true isolation - tropical style - with warm weather, bone-white beaches, rich and abundant seas and colourful local characters.
It's a place with an intriguing history, named after Captain Cook, who fell upon the islands towards the end of the 18th century, but first discovered by the roaming Polynesians centuries before.
Arriving in flotillas of vakas, traditional double-hulled canoes, the Polynesians had settled on Rarotonga and some of the outer islands by 500 AD.
The ceremonies and cultural practices of these early settlers still play an important part in island life, alongside those brought in by Christian missionaries in more recent times.
