Cook Islands Sea Kayaking

Rarotonga · Cook Islands

Easy10 daysOceania~£2,000 est.

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Overview

Aitutaki's lagoon is a 50-square-kilometre pool of impossible blues, rimmed by motu - uninhabited coral islets - that only shallow-draught boats and paddlers can reach. By sea kayak you set your own itinerary: glide over giant clams and eagle rays in water with 30-metre visibility, beach on Honeymoon Island's sandbar, and picnic at One Foot Island (Tapuaetai), where the famous passport-stamp hut is the only building in sight. Some operators arrange overnight motu camping, and falling asleep with the reef roaring on the outer edge and nothing but hermit crabs for company is as close to a private tropical island as most of us will ever get. Base yourself on Rarotonga first for reef paddles and the cross-island track. The trade winds are the planning variable: the May to October dry season brings steady 15 to 20 knot south-easterlies, so make crossings in the morning calm and keep to the lagoon's sheltered side after lunch. Cyclone risk runs November to April. Ten days split between Rarotonga and Aitutaki, with inter-island flights, guided lagoon days and kayak hire, comes to about £2,000 excluding long-haul flights. Take reef shoes - the coral rubble is merciless.