Weekend
'Rarotonga has changed'
Monday 23 September 2019 | Written by Losirene Lacanivalu | Published in Weekend
Raewyn Goldsbury first came to the Cook Islands with her family on the tiny 67-metre passenger ship, the GMV Maui Pomare. It was a long way across the ocean to come on such a small boat, not much more than 1000 tonnes.
'Just cherish them'
Tuesday 17 September 2019 | Written by Melina Etches | Published in Weekend
Nine-year-old Scorpfield Wichman Anthony was killed by his grandfather. He has never before been named. At the request of his mother, we now give him a voice. This is how she wants her boy to be remembered.
Beam me down, spotty
Saturday 14 September 2019 | Published in Weekend
A New Zealand-funded TV channel dedicated to the Pacific region is now being beamed by satellite to the Cook Islands.
Flagging up any shipping concerns
Saturday 14 September 2019 | Written by Losirene Lacanivalu | Published in Weekend
You wouldn’t know it from looking at the half dozen boats moored up at Avatiu port, but 654 vessels are flying the Cook Islands flag around the world.
New era for Rarotonga's golf club
Thursday 12 September 2019 | Published in Weekend
Big ideas are taking shape at the Rarotonga Golf Course where an enthusiastic new management team has embarked on an ambitious plan to give the old clubhouse a new look for a new era. Visiting journalist and keen golfer from New Zealand Gray Clapham reports. Rarotonga’s Golf Club has always been a gem in the rough.
Inside the locked gates of the new water intake
Monday 9 September 2019 | Written by Jonathan Milne | Published in Weekend
It’s been raining since 2013, says Ake Utanga. The land specialist for government’s Project Management Unit is mulling over when the last serious dry spell was, when water stopped running from Rarotonga taps. She reckons there’s been rain for a while.
80yo unbowed in face of tragedies
Saturday 7 September 2019 | Written by Melina Etches | Published in Weekend
Maraea Mata is the last of 15 siblings still alive – so when the matriarch met all her brothers and sisters dozens and dozens of offspring at a family reunion, it was overwhelming.
Hunting the Dark Night
Sunday 1 September 2019 | Written by Cameron Scott | Published in Weekend
Bat connoisseurs love the pungent smell of the flying rodent, but their traditional hunting season is under challenge from environmentalists concerned the South Pacific fruit bat is now seriously endangered.
Mangaia: 'We'll always be here'
Thursday 29 August 2019 | Published in Weekend
They say Mangaia is the oldest island in the Pacific at 18 million years. But with no doctors, its schools closing and its population dropping like a rock, the stoic remaining islanders are seeking bold new solutions. Photographer Fe’ena Syme Buchanan spent time documenting their lives for a successful New Zealand exhibition.
Why Palmerston is resisting an airstrip and other conveniences
Saturday 24 August 2019 | Published in Weekend
When our 38-foot sloop approached Palmerston at dawn one September morning, more than 300 kilometres from the nearest speck of land, we’d been staring down squalls on the South Pacific for five days and nights. We hadn’t seen a soul since departing from Bora Bora 1300km ago, but we knew we were close when we noticed the phrase “Kiss My Arse Rock” on the chart plotter.
Parlour talk: Long-running wahoo fishing contest concludes today
Saturday 24 August 2019 | Written by Melina Etches | Published in Weekend
The 23rd annual Gary Parlour game fishing contest is to conclude today, with the chase on for the first and best wahoo over 30kg.
Top police officer calls for meth education
Wednesday 21 August 2019 | Published in Weekend
Education and intelligence are key to dealing with the abuse of methamphetamine and other drugs, says a senior police officer.
'My disease has no cure'
Tuesday 20 August 2019 | Published in Weekend
Cook Islands News publisher John Woods faces up to his own drug addiction. I used to have a meth habit.
Like a boss: Young entrepreneurs show off their wares
Saturday 17 August 2019 | Written by Melina Etches | Published in Weekend
Buy local, these Cooks entrepreneurs say – and this week, they showed why. Models blaze down the runway of the Lady Boss show to promote the brands of young women in business, showcasing apparel and merchandise.
How an atoll spoke to the world
Saturday 10 August 2019 | Published in Weekend
Amelia Rachel Hokule’a Borofsky’s daughter’s umbilical cord is buried under a coconut tree on Pukapuka. She is working to tell these stories of the atoll, she says, before the seas rise and it’s too late.
Thomas Wynne: The day is coming that we cut New Zealand's apron strings
Saturday 10 August 2019 | Written by Thomas Tarurongo Wynne | Published in Weekend
We are a country evolving, and evolving in our relationships with the 50-plus countries we have diplomatic ties with and especially the one we have free association with; New Zealand.
A whale of a tale
Saturday 3 August 2019 | Published in Weekend
Amid concerns about tourist boats getting too close and scaring whales, tough questions are being asked about how the magnificent marine mammals are to be protected for the future.
Organic growers chlorine fear: 'It will put me out of business'
Thursday 1 August 2019 | Written by Rashneel Kumar | Published in Weekend
Wayne Mitchell meanders around his half acre organic farm in Titikaveka with a grin on his face, proudly showing off his produce.
What's in your water?
Saturday 27 July 2019 | Written by Losirene Lacanivalu | Published in Weekend
When I get sick, I go to the doctors, not the water, and I put my faith in God.”
Around the world in 80 years
Saturday 27 July 2019 | Published in Weekend
Aged nearly 80, Duc Nguyen has now visited 198 countries – more than are even recognised by the United Nations. Now he has ticked off the last nation on his list and returns home to his wife in Canada.
