Cook Islands News reporter Candice Luke enjoyed a Christmas break learning block printing and experiencing Cook Islands hospitality at Tie Dye Rarotonga, run by a passionate artist and her supportive family.

Vibrant colours and motifs of Cook Islands flora and fauna adorn pareu used for dresses, table cloths, bedspreads, curtains, you name it! But for tourists, pareu become a reminder of white sandy beaches and living on “island time” once they return to the rat race of city living. They’re like a postcard you can wear! Ah! The good life.

As a new migrant to Rarotonga, I’m stuck a bit in between. Feeling like a visitor because my tan is only a couple weeks deep, but knowing I’ve got so much real life living to do here. But while one of my best friends Gillian Tran visiting on holiday, after hours you can call me fresh off the plane too.

We’re a bit older now than we were when we first experienced the island, so the night life isn’t really a go anymore. Looking for something more relaxed, educational and creative over the Christmas break, we set off to search for Tie Dye Rarotonga.

Under a large roadside shelter, we found a group of tourists from Aotearoa and Australia, carefully selecting their pareu colours, paints, and stencil boards designed and carved by Norma Iro Jr.

Norma acknowledges that it may be unusual that she carved her own boards, but she’s a “woman on a mission”.

Tie Dye Rarotonga offers a family friendly activity, and you can take your creation home to remember your holiday in paradise. CANDICE LUKE/ 23122917

She came home in 2014 and stayed much longer than expected.

“One year turned into nine. I had the mindset that a woman can do anything so I started to draw, paint, and learn how to make tivaevae, as I had watched my mum do when I was a child. Back then I wasn’t interested, I just wanted to play. But returning as an adult I was determined to learn our traditional skills.”

Opportunity arose for her to share her hobby and Cook Islands culture, providing an activity for all ages.

“We started the painting sessions after the Covid shut down. We’ve met so many people from around the world. I love to see the smiles on their faces, especially the children,” she says.

Back under the shelter with the Ozzies and the Kiwis (I’ll mention here: many Māori don’t identify as Kiwis. They’re Māori) we cracked jokes with Mata and Fred, the aunty and uncle overseeing the business while Norma is away.

Though the name suggest tie dying is all that’s available, that day we did block printing.

I chose a board with patterns from the moana; manini, turtles, and waves. Gillian picked a botanic garden; kaute, tipani, and various tropical tiare on a bed of leaves.

I was too keen to put paint to pareu so deep blue on white was rolled out in 10 minutes flat with some detailed touches by my mate. She is a perfectionist.

On Gillian’s board laid a white pareu; uncle Fred placed rocks around the edge to keep it flat and still in the wind.

A base colour of bright yellow to see the patterns beneath was topped with green on the leaves and pink for all of the flowers.

Just be mindful as you squeeze more paint out of the bottle as it dries quickly and you don’t want aunty Mata to call you out (with a cheeky smile of course).

I got chatting to Mata about the business and what she was doing in the corner with the kikau.

“I’m making broom kikau,” she said. But she had a bunch prepared for use as a home decoration. She gifted it to me, along with a custard apple!

“Eat it with ice cream,” Mata said. She plucked some rauti from the front yard to add to my kikau decoration.

I tried to offer a cash for her koha but she refused: “No! That’s for you.” Typical Cook Islands hospitality.

All done! Gillian’s pareu looked awesome!

Aunty Mata showed her three different ties for her new creation, we took photos and thanked the lovely couple again for the beautiful experience.

Calling from Sydney, Norma shared: “I’m so grateful and privileged to have aunty and uncle take care of it while I’m away. I needed help and they didn’t hesitate. I’ve told them to make it theirs and run it how they like.”

And they definitely have. With Norma’s mana wahine and passion for art, the positioning of the family land, and the aroha of Mata and Fred, Tie Dye Rarotonga is the place to be this holiday season for a relaxing and memorable activity in Rarotonga.