Manihiki - Cook Islands

Pacific Ocean-Cook Islands-Manihiki  This Postcard has taken some time to come. Posted on 18 May arrived 7 October. Well at least it arrived. Nanihiki was one of the Northern Cook Islands I visited on the Pacific trip in May. This island is famous for it's pearls. Had a great time here relaxing and swimming in the nice warm water. You can see more of this on my blog if you look at the Cook Islands. 

At the time I visited the Post office there was not Post cancellation . The Post Office official told me she would send the card to Raratonga. Looking closely at the Postmark it is stamped Rarotonga. Still it was posted in Manihiki and they send out very little mail. The stamps were in fact purchased in the Post office there. Tourism 2014. 

Rarotonga - Cook Islands

Pacific Ocean-Cook Islands-Rarotonga  I was delighted to be visiting the Cook Islands. I had been here on a brief transit stop in the early 1990s and was keen to see the place for real. I was just here for a few days as my main aim was the outer Islands. Some nice beaches , but not much else. But that is what most people come here for . Unfortunately all the rain and wind for this Pacific trip came in two days here in Rarotonga. So did not see as much as one would like .  

Was great to visit the Post office and meet Elizabeth who is in charge of the office. Only a very limited stock of stamps available and no complete sets . The Post office was quite busy when I visited . 

Pacific Ocean-Rarotonga-Avarua  This card as a overview of Rarotonga. This is what you see as you come in on the plane. The green mountain top is a beautiful site. 

These are stamps which are listed as "Rarotonga " rather then Cook Islands. I purchased these from the Philatelic Bureau in the USA . The Post office in Rarotonga had none for sale. Just standard Cook Islands and Aitutaki stamps were available. . 

Cook Islands - Manihiki

Still in the Northern part of the Cook Islands. Manihiki is famous for Black pearls. This is how most of the wealth of the Island is now made. However there is only a handful of Pearl farmers now doing it. It takes quite a number of years from start to finish.

 kora on the left , Guide and Pearl farmer for the tour of the Northern Islands

 The local Policeman in Manihiki . There are two in total on the island

 A local shop .

The Post office at Manihiki. Plenty of Stamps available to buy. But no sign of the Cancellation. Could not be found !!! . Like Pukapuka very little mail going out . Last time a few months ago when a cruise ship had a stop.

 Outside of the Post office

 Some of the local pearls. These were rejects and as such was just thrown back in the water.

A Pearl farm in the Lagoon as we come into land.  

Cook Islands - Pukapuka

Pukapuka was my first island to visit in the Northern Cook Islands. These islands are very rarely visited  by tourists as there is no regular flights. It took me over one year to organise and book as part of a charter to the Northern Islands. It is also very very expensive . It gives you a look at Island life pure and simple

 Arriving at PukaPuka airport. Well the airport was really a shack. You have to get a small boat as seen here across the lagoon to reach the main village.

 The only means of transport for our luggage was this road roller from the airport to the boat.

 Across the Lagoon

 Here we are with the Postmaster. Incredible as it may seem but no one uses the post office here for sending mail out. I was told sending mail was obsolete !! In fact the postmaster had not keys to the safe with the stamps with him this day , as they have no call for stamps. My Postcards out was the first mail out of Pukapuka in 7 years. How Amazing

 The Post office

 Staff at the Government offices.. Time to relax... Island time.

Rarotonga Cook Islands

Only spent a couple of days in Rarotonga the main island in the  Cook Islands. The weather was a little windy but since I was spending 2 weeks in the islands I did not mind. My first port of call was the Post ofifice. Since last year the Post office in the Cook Islands is now known as bluesky. 

It involves Mail, Phone, TV and mobile products. So you will no longer see Post any more , this just happens to be the old sign they have not taken down. 

Elizabeth as seen here is the manager of the office. We had a great chat and I learned a lot about the postal and philatelic services here. 

The Bureau as per the third photo closed last year. So the post office only has stamps and no sets or philatelic products in any post office. Collectors or tourists who want stamps for collection are told to write to the agent which is based in the USA. All stamps issued in the Cooks Islands are approved locally by a committee which includes Elizabelth 

The stamps on sale when I was here was a complete mix and included stamps from Aitutaki and Cook Islands. No Rarotonga or Penryhn stamps were on sale or availalble. Penryhn stamps are only sold at the Bluesky office in Penryhn . 

On the question of philatelic mail .When the bureau was open mail was sent in there and dealt with . Most of the philatelic mail is sent back to the USA agent for processing. The Post office in Rarotonga does not have any postmarks or stamp mail for Penryhn or Aitutaki. 

So it is likely that while the bureau was in business they did postmarked Aitutaki and Penryhn mail for philatelic purposes. I suspect that mail may even be postmarked in the USA for collectors as no flirst day covers ever reach the islands or are ever postmarked in these locations. 

Currently the situation is that the Bureau is due to reopen next year or late this year and philatelic mail is being held at the Post office and not being sent to the agent. 

A lot of the new Cook Isalnd stamps I brought with me to the Post office Elizabeth has not seen in use and they themselves have not received the issues yet. It is likely that many of the stamps never reach the Post offices in the Cooks Islands