Avatiu Harbour was buzzing with activity yesterday morning as passengers bound for Pukapuka boarded the Lady Samoa IV.

It was a last minute rush as 170 passengers and cargo were loaded aboard the vessel which will take them from Rarotonga to Nassau and Pukapuka, and return over the Christmas and New Year period. 

The charter came about after a group of people from Pukapuka, who live in New Zealand and Australia, got in touch with Pukapuka MP Tingika Elikana to see if transport could be arranged for them to go to the island.

They arrived on Rarotonga earlier this week to join the vessel.

Elikana earlier confirmed the costs and logistics had been signed off by government, following approval by the Cabinet, on Thursday last week - $637,000. 

Also read: Pukapuka ferry trip for diaspora costs $640,000

Passenger fares and subsidised freight costs will cover a portion of the expense. Adults will pay $1000 for a one-way trip and $2000 for a return trip, while children will pay $250 each way and $500 for a return trip.

In Parliament yesterday, Opposition leader and Rakahanga MP Tina Browne asked Elikana to explain the policy on how he was able to charter the vessel.

Browne asked how she could apply for funding to take her family and people to their home island of Rakahanga.

Elikana said the request had been discussed for the past three years by three groups of people.

There had been a request from a group to go to Penrhyn, another to visit Palmerston and a third to go to Nassau and Pukapuka.

The Penrhyn group withdrew their request, as did the Palmerston group, he said.

Elikana told Browne to be happy, in that by next year, the airport on Manihiki would be ready so she could travel by plane while his people travelled by ship.        

Speaking at the port yesterday morning before the ship sailed, Elikana said a barge would likely provide logistical support to the holidaymakers in January, in the form of more supplies to be delivered to Pukapuka, considering the majority of 170 passengers might present a significant impact on the northern island’s permanent population of around 400.   

Elikana thanked Prime Minister Mark Brown and the taxpayers of the Cook Islands for their support.   

Lady Samoa IV is bound for Nassau, then Pukapuka and Samoa. The vessel will then sail from Samoa to Pukapuka, then on to Nassau and return to Rarotonga on January 20, 2024.