Page 420 - Melanesia

SCUBA DIVING THE COOK ISLANDS
Rarotonga is home to some of the best and most diverse diving in
the Pacific - there are about 40 dive sites around the island. The dive
sites around Rarotonga offer conditions for every level of experience.
If you’d like to go deep and explore the abyss, Rarotonga’s drop-off ’s
offer ideal conditions as the water depth surrounding the island lays
between 1000 and 4000 meters.. Rarotonga‘s south side passages are
adrenaline pumping dives with usually medium to strong currents
and great fish life. The west coast has different caverns and tunnel sys-
tems which are very exciting to explore. If you are looking for an easy
and relaxing dive, the reef plateaus surrounding Rarotonga offer also
a great playground with fascinating fish life and usually great visibility. waters to spot the humpback whales, the Cook Islands is a great des-
The marine life around Rarotonga offers a big diversity. Apart from the
smaller tropical fish species, you may also see turtles, eagle rays, reef
sharks, moray eels, trevallies, napoleon maori wrasse, dogtooth tu-
nas, barracudas, humpback whales (winter) and hammerhead sharks
(winter). On a blue water dive you may even see mahi-mahi, mar-
lin, sailfish or wahoos. What you will see is walls and steep drop-offs,
boomies and Gregorian fans and mostly hard corals, although there
are areas of soft coral in places. Pelagic fish are a highlight, with deep
sea surrounding Rarotonga, and perhaps a chance encounter with a
humpback whale when they pass the coast from May to October.
One of the world’s great annual migrations sees humpback whales
swim north from their winter feeding grounds of New Zealand and
the Antarctic where krill is in abundance to the warm calm waters
of the South Pacific. The whales arrive in the southern South Pacific
islands of New Caledonia, Niue, the Cook Islands and Tahiti around
May, rest a while and then congregate further north in the islands
of Tonga where they mate and give birth in the sheltered waters of
the Ha’apai and Vavau group. The whales stay here for several months
frolicking in the sheltered bays and channels before starting on their
journey back to their feeding grounds around September. In this en-
tire migration process the whales never eat. Humpback whales also
never cross the equator so Antarctic whales will only be seen in the
South Pacific, whilst Arctic whales will; only be seen in the North Pa-
cific. Humpback whales can be seen in New Caledonia, Niue, Cook
Islands and Tahiti although without doubt the best place to see them
is in Tonga. For a truly memorable experience you can swim with the
humpback whales in both Tonga and Niue being two of only three
countries in the world where this is permitted.
Although there are a couple of day cruises that head out to the open
tination to spot the whales from land. This is the first landmass the
whales reach and they love to come right up to the reefs edge and
scratch their backs. The best places are those where the reef is closest
to the shoreline being the west coast of Rarotonga, and in particular
Avarua Town where the reef is just 100 metres from the shoreline. If
you visit Atiu Island you might get even closer to the whales as the reef
here is just 30 metres from the shore.
Land Temperature: - Tropical Climate. 18-30°C (64-86°F).
Water Temperature: - 23-30°C (73-86°F)
When to go: April to October is dry season. July to October is the best
time to see humpback whales. November to March is cyclone season.
Wetsuit required: 3-5mm