Photographic images of Aitutaki locations - Michael Venter Photography

Aitutaki. This gallery includes images from Amuri, the Aitutaki Lagoon, Arutanga, Vaipae, Vaipeka and Ootu.

​Aitutaki is a triangular near-atoll, reflecting the contours of the surrounding ocean floor at about 4,000m deep. Polynesians probably first settled Aitutaki around AD 900. The first known European contact was with Captain Bligh and the crew of the HMS Bounty in 1789. Charles Darwin visited the island in 1835. Aitutaki was the first of the Cook Islands to accept Christianity, after London Missionary Society missionary John Williams visited in 1821. The oldest church in the country, the Cook Islands Christian Church in Arutanga, was built by Papeiha (Bora Bora) and Vahapata (Raiatea), two teachers Williams had left behind. In June 2010 the island was nominated "the world's most beautiful island" by Tony Wheeler the founder of Lonely Planet travel guide. Source: Web.

Cook Islands Christian Church, Arutanga.

CICC Church Aitutaki 1 2017

Amuri Lagoon.

Ootu Beach, Aitutaki Village.

Arutanga Harbour and Arutanga Township. Aitutaki.

In 1942 New Zealand and American servicemen were stationed on the Island. The United States Naval Construction Battalions, or Seabees, built the airport as a base for operations against the Japanese in the South Pacific. They also created a gap in the reef to develop the Arutanga Harbour. Some servicemen remained after the war and married the locals. 

The Coral Route. Islet of Akaimai, Aitutaki.

​During the 1950s Aitutaki's lagoon was used as a stopover for TEAL (Tasman Empire Airways Limited) flying boats on the famous Coral Route. The islet of Akaiami was used as a resting stop for passengers, who often lay about until the aircraft was refuelled for two hours. These operations ceased in 1960, and the only reminder are the remains of the purpose-built jetty on Akaiami. The flying boat Aranui, which was part of this service, is now on display at the Museum of Transport and Technology in Auckland, New Zealand. Source, Web.

Vaipae Cook Islands Christian Church, Aitutaki.

Marine Research Centre, Aitutaki. 

The Aitutaki Marine Research Center farms giant clams. The introduced tridacnidae clams (aka 'giant' clams) are farmed for sale to overseas aquariums. Some giant clams are assigned to the Aitutaki lagoon where they are protected under a ra'ui, the Maori term for protection or stewardship. Source, Marine Research Centre.

Aitutaki Lagoon.

A triangular barrier reef 45 km around catches Aitutaki's turquoise lagoon like a fish hook. The maximum depth of this lagoon is 10.5 meters, but most of it is less than 5 meters deep. The 15 small islets or motus and many sandbars on the eastern barrier reef all have picture-postcard white sands and aquamarine water.  Source, Stanley, D. South Pacific Handbook.
Images include the motus Angarei, Moturakau, Motukitu, Tekopua, Tapuaetai, or One Foot Island and arial views of the eastern lagoon..

Aitutaki Lagoon 3 2017

Tapuaetai or One Foot Island. Aitutaki.

Saint John Church, built in 1987. Vaipeka. Aitutaki.

Tautu Church, Cook Island Christian Church, Silo III. Aitutaki.

Amuri Lagoon Sunset from Paradise Cove.

Amuri Lagoon PC 9 2017

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