Captain Cook's crew (although not Cook himself) went ashore here at Orovaru beach - easily identifiable by the huge rock in the middle of the lagoon about 20 metres from shore. And you can walk the same paved trail the crew took to the main settlement at Orongo. Signs of the old village can still be seen around Orongo Marae
Some will tell you the island has no beaches to speak off, but that's far from true. There are 28, but some are almost inaccessible. One is dubbed the Bondi of Atiu. The sand is bone white and the water crystal clear. Another of the wonders of the island is the Coral Garden lagoon on the south coast from Matai landing to Takaroa beach. When there are no waves filling it, it's like a tropical fish tank because water drains out through a sink hole and the fish have nowhere to go. Get to it along the reef from Takaroa beach. But a word of warning....this is a dangerous place unless conditions are right
Caves litter the island. Many were formerly used as burial grounds and are filled with skulls and bones; organised visits are popular. But if you prefer the open air, look skyward for a whole host of colourful birdlife or around you at the myriad of plant life
There's no written record of how or when the sewing of tivaevae was introduced to the Islands. Some say the wives of the London Missionary Society missionaries, who arrived in 1821, might have taught it. Others hold that it was learned from the Tahitian missionaries who helped introduce Christianity
MORE ABOUT TIVAEVAE
Source: The Art of Tivaevae by Lynnsay Rongokea, University of Hawai'i Press, Honolulu, published by Random House New Zealand, 2001
