After you’ve been to Rarotonga, Arutanga, Aitutaki’s only town, seems astonishingly quiet, with few signs of life even on weekdays when the shops are open. The island’s main harbour is by the Orongo Centre. The lovely weather-beaten CICC church near the Administration Centre was built in 1828, making it the oldest in the Cooks. Beautifully restored in 2010, the church has lovely stained-glass windows, fine carved-wood panelling and an old anchor precariously suspended from the ceiling.

Try to attend a service on the first Sunday of every month, when Aitutaki’s female parishioners wear pristine white dresses.


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