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Resorts in Mangaia
History & Geography
Geologists pin Mangaia at 16-18 million years old, which is times over any of the other Cook Islands and South Pacific island. The original name of the island A’u A’u, (which is a shortened, sweet version of ‘A’u A’u Nui o Rongo ki te Ao Marama’) translates to ‘terraces’ which is what the island resembles. A raised coral atoll, it lies around 200 kilometres east south-east of Rarotonga.
Like many volcanic islands, Mangaia has a central plateau, surrounded by a high ring of cliffs made of fossil coral – which the locals call makatea. There’s a lot of history and legends wrapped around them, a few of them which involve tours of underground caves with mounds of skeletons! But all the above doesn’t mean the island is very big – it’s area is barely 52 sq kilometres. In fact, travellers can rent scooters at the gas station and complete a trundle around the island in a few leisurely hours!
Things to do
Yes, the island is dimunitive – but things to do in and around Mangaia is inversely related to its size! Going from inside out, travellers are recommended to pick up tours of the underground caves and check out the million-year old stalactites and stalagmites. Then there are more tours of Mangaia which allow visitors to see bird’s eye view of the plains dropping away to the periwinkle blue of the sea. Since the island’s population hovers around 500, everyone kind of knows everyone else. Also, you will not have hordes of tourists on the roads – Mangaia is very off the gram-map; at most, you’ll have a few true-blue travellers chilling out alongside. There are splendid pocket-sized beaches to explore, low-tide swimming in rock pools, caving, snorkelling around shipwrecks, checking out the local markets and so on – there’s plenty to see, do, eat and experience as long as you are not in a hurry.
Hotels in Mangaia
Mangaia is a small beautiful island at the southern-most tip of Cook Islands, remote even by their standards. So, there aren’t any five-star hotels or resorts, champagne bottle service or even freshwater swimming pools. Now we’ve got that out of the way, there are a couple of places which are clean, warm and ever so friendly – check out Babe’s Place and Mangaia Villas. The first one was one of the first places to start hosting people, while Mangaia Villas is newer and boasts of more modern accommodations and amenities!
How to reach Mangaia?
Isolated even by South Pacific standards, Mangaia is connected to the world and Rarotonga via regular 40-minute seaplane charters and freighters. Travellers can reach this island by both the above options, depending on budget and time constraints. Even then, care has to be taken about both the schedules, weather fluctuations and other variables – all which our South Pacific Specialists take care of and keep an eye on for all our travellers!
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