What is Pukapuka famous for?

Kotawa houses nesting frigate birds in its forest and Kotawa is known to have one of the most beautiful atoll forests in the Pacific. Life in Pukapuka is unique demonstrating a lifestyle run still according to those ways established by the forefathers of hundreds of years ago. And is still admired today.

What is the population of Pukapuka?

425
It is one of most remote islands of the Cook Islands, situated about 1,140 kilometres (708 miles) northwest of Rarotonga. On this small island, an ancient culture and distinct language has been maintained over many centuries….Pukapuka.

What language does Pukapuka speak?

History. Pukapukan, also known as Bukabukan, is the language spoken on the coral atoll of Pukapuka, located in the northern section of the Cook Islands (Beaglehole 1906–1965).

What chain is Pukapuka?

The Pukapuka (“head of the rock”) chain of volcanic ridges in the southeastern Pacific is traceable for about 3,000 km, from near the Tuamotus all the way to the East Pacific Rise (Figure 1). The ridges are mainly arrayed en echelon (Figure 2).

Who lives on Palmerston island?

All of Palmerston’s residents live on Home Island, the largest in the atoll, which is less than a mile long. The three main maternal families retain their own areas (in addition to their own motu), with descendants of Masters’s first Polynesian wife, Akakaingaro, residing on the desirable interior.

Where is mangaia?

the Cook Islands
Mangaia, southernmost of the southern group of the Cook Islands, a self-governing state in free association with New Zealand in the South Pacific Ocean. It is the second largest of the Cook Islands, after Rarotonga, and at an estimated 18 million years old is believed to be the oldest island in the Pacific.

Why is Pukapuka called Danger island?

Inhabited by Polynesian people for hundreds of years before its first sighting (1595) by a European, the Spanish explorer Álvaro de Mendaña, Pukapuka was ”rediscovered” (1765) by the English navigator John Byron. He called it Isle of Danger because the high surf and dangerous rocks prevented him from landing.

Why is danger island called Danger island?

He called it Isle of Danger because the high surf and dangerous rocks prevented him from landing. In 1863 Peruvian slavers arrived and took some 145 people. Pukapuka was annexed by Great Britain in 1892. Its elevation is unusually high for an atoll, rising to 100 feet (30 metres) at one place.

Is the little island on the end of Earth?

It is one of the most isolated island communities in the world. The tiny Pacific island of Palmerston is visited by a supply ship twice a year – at most – and the long and hazardous journey deters all but the most intrepid visitors.

What is the most isolated island in the world?

Tristan da Cunha
Tristan da Cunha is the remotest inhabited island in the world — now, welcome to its uninhabited, far bleaker counterpart.

What was Mangaia’s old name?

Mangaianui-Neneva
Originally known as A’ua’u or A’ua’u Enua (“terraced”), the island was named Mangaia (or Mangaianui-Neneva, “Mangaia monstrously-great”) by Tamaeu, who came to the island from Aitutaki in 1775. Geologists estimate the island is at least 18 million years old.

Where is Pukapuka located in the Cook Islands?

Pukapuka, formerly Danger Island, is a coral atoll in the northern group of the Cook Islands in the Pacific Ocean. It is one of most remote islands of the Cook Islands, situated about 1,140 kilometres (708 miles) northwest of Rarotonga. On this small island, an ancient culture and distinct language has been maintained over many centuries.

Which is the nearest island to Puka Puka?

Puka-Puka is a small coral atoll in the north-eastern Tuamotu Archipelago, sometimes included as a member of the Disappointment Islands. This atoll is quite isolated, the nearest land being Fakahina, located 182 km to the southwest. Puka-Puka Atoll has an elliptical shape.

Where are the three villages of Pukapuka located?

The three villages are located on the crescent-shaped bay of the northernmost islet of the atoll: Yātō (West), Loto (Central) and Ngake (East). Loto (Roto on most maps) is host to the Island Administration.

What is life like on the Pukapuka Islands?

Living on Pukapuka is like being in a commune. The islanders practice traditional conservation which calls for entire villages to move from atoll to atoll for periods of time. But this is not a nomadic existence…rather it’s one with a focus on maintaining the delicate ecological balance.