Plan Your Trip Understand Gl
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
©Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd “All you’ve got to do is decide to go and the hardest part is over. So go!” TONY WHEELER, COFOUNDER – LONELY PLANET Get the right guides for your trip PAGE PLAN YOUR PLANNING TOOL KIT 2 Photos, itineraries, lists and suggestions YOUR TRIP to help you put together your perfect trip Welcome to Rarotonga, welcome to Think lush, reef-fringed Samoa & Tonga............ 2 Rarotonga, islands with sandy foreshores that virtually Samoa & glow in the tropical Map .................................. 4 Tonga sunshine. These are the central South Pacific islands 15 Top Experiences ........ 6 that dreams are made of. Need to Know ................. 14 If You Like... ..................... 16 Month by Month ............. 19 9 Island Escape sense of verdancy is so strong that you can almost5 hear the heilala (Tonga’s national Scattered over a vast expanse of empty Á ower), © IMAGES PLANET LONELY / HERRICK DAN teuila (Samoan red ginger), fran- ocean, these islands are a castaway’s dream gipani and hibiscus Á owers stretching up- come true. If you’ve ever fantasised about COUNTRYCCOUNTRY &&M MULTICOUNTRYMMULTICCOUOUNTUNTRRY PHRASEBOOK wards. After the rain, the tropical bouquet escaping to a remote desert island, far from can be so pervading that you’ll wish you Itineraries ........................ 22 the hustle and hum of the modern world, could bottle it up and take it home. The then look no further than these fascinating pristine oceanic depths that thread through islands. Here you’ll À nd a couple of thou- this PaciÀ c enclave host thousands of spe- TheTh originali i l sand years of Polynesian culture sitting • cies of marine life, from kaleidoscopic coral side by side with some of the most spectac- to the Á ukes of humpback whales that come Which Island? ................ 26 ular natural scenery in the South PaciÀ c. to spawn their young in the warm waters. Paradise The Polynesian Smile • Comprehensive The idyllic norm in these small island na- People here are so passionately idiosyn- tions involves lush, reef-fringed islands with cratic that almost every encounter yields sandy foreshores that virtually glow in the a memorable moment. Locals can burst Adventurous Outdoor Adventures ...... 31 tropical sunshine. Even when it rains, the • Travel with Children ....... 36 Regions at a Glance ....... 38 16 6 if you Islander © IMAGES PLANET LONELY / LEUE HOLGER Welcomes A garland of Á owers is like… 6 one of the most simple yet beautiful oՖ erings on the planet, and no one gives out more of these than the Looking for other travel resources? people of the PaciÀ c. There’s a selÁ ess beauty to island welcomes that feels un- tainted by the modern world. Loudness and brashness are out, subtle hospitality and genuine goodwill are in. B e a c h e s Isolated Islands Diving & If they could give you the Beaches, beaches and more There are some very remote Snorkelling moon, they would. beaches. These South Pa- islands out in the central These central South Pacific cific islands are surrounded South Pacific. Getting nations boast some excep- by them! Everyone has a there will take a huge ef- tional underwater spots to favourite. Go out and find fort, and finding out more check out the marine life. yours! will certainly spark the There are plenty of relative- Ofu Beach On Ofu Island in imagination. ly unknown dive sites and American Samoa’s remote Niuafo’ou Also known as ‘Tin decent operators through- Manu’a Group, this is a palm- Can Island’, Niuafo’ou is at out the region. fringed white-sand stunner Tonga’s northern extremes. It’s Vava’u, Tonga A diver’s delight, backed by ridiculously pictur- shaped like a Á oating donut with sites in Vava’u range from coral esque jagged peaks (p 158 ) an enclosed lake 23m above sea gardens and encrusted wrecks Uoleva’s west coast This island level (p 199 ) to sea caves and other geologi- in Tonga’s Ha’apai Group has Suwarrow In the Cook Islands’ cal marvels (p 191 ) a spectacular leeward coast of northern group and the Samoa Many travellers use white sand lapped by surely the country’s only national park, Samoa as a place to gain their clearest water on earth. Did we Suwarrow was home to the infa- certiÀ cation and there are good mention the humpbacks that mous hermit, Tom Neale. Read operators on the main islands. breech oՖ shore? (p 188 ) of his adventures in An Island to Popular spots include Tialipi’s LONELYPLANET.COM APPS EBOOKS MAGAZINE GET MORE FROM YOUR TRIP PAGE UNDERSTAND For travel information, Location-based Guidebooks For travel stories, Learn about the big picture, so you advice, tips & digital guides for the street for your reader inspiration & ideas 211 RAROTONGA, SAMOA chapters lonelyplanet.com/mobile lonelyplanet.com/ebooks lonelyplanet.com/magazine & TONGA can make sense of what you see Rarotonga, Samoa & national parks & if these cou reserves were 100 pe Lonely Planet in numbers Tonga Today ................. 212 (% of country) a throughout the Pacific History ............................. 215 18 7.5 pans on of Christianity 70 12 100,000,000 190+ naries success was due to three major factors. Firstly lever ye a art, particularly the conversion of influential Tongan Culture, Religion & American Samoa Cook Islands languages spoken seconds pass Lonely Planet guidebooks countries covered ahau. After conversion, he went on to seize control of Ha’apai 3 would be Cook Islande htful heir, Laufilitonga. Baptised in 1831, Taufa’ahau took on 51 would be Samoan 5 6 n name of Siaosi, or George, after the king of England, and 28 would be Tongan 18 would be American S by our writers between posts sold, and still counting by a Lonely Planet surname Tupou. Tradition ....................... 223 Samoa Tonga on our Thorn Tree guide Myths & Legends ........... 227 1888 1889 and courthouse in Rarotonga were constructed with Ch travel forum k Islands estab- Robert Louis abour. Around NZ$2 million is gifted annually by Chin hed as a British Stevenson abandons d b t thi id d fi it l ith t i tt h d Art & Craft ....................... 230 as protectorate the chilly moors of oid French inva- Scotland for his own Within 13 years, ‘Treasure Island’, and Food & Drink ................... 233 ts will be ready the warm delights of ad the Cooks to Samoa. © IMAGES GETTY STAY IN TOUCH New Zealand. lonelyplanet.com/contact AUSTRALIA Locked Bag 1, Footscray, Victoria 3011 twitter.com/ %03 8379 8000, fax 03 8379 8111 lonelyplanet ISBN 978-1-74220-033-0 facebook.com/ 99815 Paper in this book is certified USA 150 Linden Street, Oakland, CA 94607 against the Forest Stewardship %510 250 6400, toll free 800 275 8555, fax 510 893 8572 lonelyplanet Council™ standards. FSC™ promotes environmentally responsible, socially lonelyplanet.com/ beneficial and economically viable UK Media Centre, 201 Wood Lane, London W12 7TQ 9 781742 200330 management of the world’s forests. %020 8433 1333, fax 020 8702 0112 newsletter rarotonga-samoa-tonga-7-cover.indd 2 27/07/2012 2:36:43 PM PAGE ON THE YOUR COMPLETE DESTINATION GUIDE 40 In-depth reviews, detailed listings ROAD and insider tips Samoa p100 American Samoa (USA) p145 Tonga p168 Rarotonga & the Cook Islands p44 PAGE SURVIVAL VITAL PRACTICAL INFORMATION TO 237 GUIDE HELP YOU HAVE A SMOOTH TRIP Transport ........................ 238 Health .............................. 243 Language Language ........................ 245 RAROTONGAN Pe’ea korua? Rarotongan (or Cook Islands Maori, as it’s also known) is a Polynesian language similar Pe’ea koutou? to New Zealand Maori and Marquesan (from (to more than two people) French Polynesia). There are minor dialectal E meitaki au. diՖ erences between many of the islands, Index ................................ 257 and some northern islands have their own E vera/anu au. languages. English is spoken as a second (or ’Ine. third) language by virtually everyone. Meitaki (ma’ata). Cook Islands Maori was traditionally a spoken language, with no written form. The language, in its Rarotongan guise, was Turou! Map Legend .................... 263 written down by missionaries in the 1830s. Kia manuia! Most consonants are pronounced as they Ae./Kare. in English, although the letter ced closer to English Penei ake. sound is soft, pronounced the same English word ‘singing’, but in Raro- en occurs at the beginning of a au Ngatangi’ia). The glottal stop tak e middle of ‘uh-oh’) ilar Polynesian in writing by THIS EDITION WRITTEN AND RESEARCHED BY Craig McLachlan Brett Atkinson, Celeste Brash Look out for these icons: Our author’s A green or No payment o recommendation S sustainable option F required See the Index for a full list of destinations covered in this book. On the Road RAROTONGA & Eastern ’Upolu . 117 SURVIVAL GUIDE . 163 THE COOK ISLANDS 44 South Coast . .120 Directory A–Z . .163 RAROTONGA . 47 Northwestern ’Upolu . .122 Getting There & Away . .164 Avarua . 51 Manono . .123 Getting Around . .165 Around the Island . .57 Apolima . .124 TONGA . 168 AITUTAKI . 69 SAVAI’I . 124 TONGATAPU . .171 PALMERSTON . 75 Salelologa & the East Coast . .125 Nuku’alofa . 172 ’ATIU . 76 Central North Coast . .128 Around the Island . .179 MA’UKE . 80 Northwestern Savai’i . .130 Offshore Islands . 181 MITIARO . 82 South Coast . .132 ’EUA . 181 MANGAIA . 85 UNDERSTAND SAMOA . 134 HA’APAI GROUP . 183 NORTHERN GROUP . .88 Samoa Today . .134 Lifuka Group . .185 History . .134 Manihiki . 88 VAVA’U GROUP . 189 The Culture . .135 Rakahanga . 88 Neiafu . .190 Sport . .137 Penrhyn . 88 Around Vava’u . .196 Arts . .137 Pukapuka . 89 Southern Vava’u Islands . .197 Environment . .138 Suwarrow . 89 Eastern Vava’u Islands . .198 SURVIVAL GUIDE . 138 UNDERSTAND RAROTONGA NIUA GROUP . 198 & THE COOK ISLANDS . 89 Directory A–Z . .138 Niuatoputapu . .199 Rarotonga & the Cook Getting There & Away .