Aitutaki

Aitutaki
	Satellite image
Waters	Pacific Ocean
archipelago	Cook Islands
Geographical location	18 ° 51 ′ S , 159 ° 47 ′ W Coordinates: 18 ° 51 ′ S , 159 ° 47 ′ W
Number of islands	17th
Main island	Aitutaki
Land area	18 km²
Lagoon area	50 km²
Residents	1946 (2001)
	Map of the atoll

Aitutaki is a tilted atoll . It is the most populous land area in the Cook Islands after Rarotonga and has about 1900 inhabitants. The main island of the same name is located approx. 230 km north of Rarotonga, has an area of around 18 km² and is the sixth largest of the Cook Islands. The island is located on the edge of a large lagoon , along with 15 smaller islands ( motus ), three of which are of volcanic origin and twelve coral islands .

and display information about the image

Panorama of Aitutaki. Taken at the port of Arutanga.

history

The first record of the discovery of Aitutaki by Europeans is from Captain William Bligh of the Bounty in 1789.

The missionaries of the London Missionary Society (LMS) landed on Aitutaki in 1821 and were the first to spread Christianity among the Polynesians in the Cook Islands .

During the Second World War , American troops laid a runway that is still used for air traffic today. After the war, the Aitutakis lagoon was an important stopover on the coral route of the flying boats between New Zealand and Tahiti . With the introduction of jet engines, the island lost its importance in 1960. Today Aitutaki is approached several times a day by small Air Rarotonga planes, Aitutaki airport with a 1,800 m long runway is located on the Outu Peninsula in the northeast.

In 2006, the 13th season of the popular US reality TV show Survivor (Survivor: Cook Islands) was filmed on Aitutaki. One of the tribes was named after the island and was called Aitutaki (or 'Aitu').

The island became known nationwide in August 2011 when unknown perpetrators broke into the Aitutaki-based Bank of the Cook Islands overnight. In this first bank break-in in the history of the island, 200,000 New Zealand dollars were looted.

economy

The tourism and to a lesser extent, fishing and agriculture are the economic foundation of its people. The atoll is visited by cruise ships from time to time .

Since 1972 own stamps have been issued and sold again.