Five Covid-free Pacific islands we want in New Zealand’s travel bubble

OPINION: Four months seems like a long time to wait for tropical sunshine when you’re in the grip of a New Zealand winter, but there’s no harm in planning – or just dreaming about – your island getaway now. Especially considering half of Aotearoa will be heading in the same direction when the travel bubble with the Cook Islands materialises, if Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s predictions prove correct, by the end of the year.

While Rarotonga will be the first overseas airport Kiwis will be able to fly into when borders reopen, the Government plans to expand the bubble to include other Covid-free Pacific Island countries eventually, beginning with the other realm nations of Niue and Tokelau.

Here are five Covid-free Pacific countries we’d like in our bubble ASAP. With just eight active cases of Covid-19, all in border quarantine, we’re hoping to be able to add Fiji soon.

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The Cook Islands

Like New Zealand with coconut palms and better weather, the Cooks are a perennial favourite with Kiwis looking for an easily accessible, drama-free getaway.

And no wonder: The beaches are beauties, there’s a surfeit of affordable quality accommodation, there are loads to do if you feel like getting up from your beach towel, and the food, coffee and cocktails can be superb. A holiday here is pretty much a perfect prescription for post-lockdown stress.

Spending my days swimming, snorkelling and nana napping on Muri Beach on a 2018 trip to Rarotonga, my biggest dilemmas were usually food oriented. “Shall I have dessert or another pina colada after my giant plate of snapper and salad?” was one question I remember giving serious consideration to. That and “shall I bother cooking the fresh fish I bought today or just cut it up and douse it in lime juice to make ceviche?”.

Those less lazy than I have plenty to keep them amused on Raro: water sports aplenty and an adventurous cross-island hike through the mountainous interior.

Raro is just one of the 15 tiny islands and atolls cast across two million square kilometres of ocean that make up the Cooks; each with its own distinct flavour.

Aitutaki, the second most-visited island, boasts one of the South Pacific’s most stunning lagoons, while islands in the remote Northern Group are known for their black and rare golden pearls. Head to the coral atoll of Manihiki, one of the most remote inhabited places on Earth, to fly fish and feast on local delicacies such as pearl shell oysters cooked in coconut cream, and crepes made from the soft centres of sprouting coconuts. Or to Suwarrow, a conservation reserve dubbed “the real Treasure Island” for the buried chests filled with Spanish silver coins said to have been found there. With so many Kiwis likely to head to the Cooks when the travel bubble finally materialises, you might need to find somewhere remote.

Niue

Who needs a clichéd tropical beach when you can swim in hidden natural pools once reserved for royalty?

One of the largest raised coral atolls on Earth, Niue lacks the long, white-sand beaches synonymous with other Pacific islands, but more than makes up for them with its secluded coves and tropical fish-filled sea caves.

Head along the potholed road that encircles the island and you come across a “sea track” leading down to one of these idiosyncratic pools every few hundred metres. It won’t take long to find one to call your own for the day. Ringed by purple-hued rocks with water so intensely turquoise no one will believe your photos have no filter, the Avaiki pool is among the most beautiful.

With some of the clearest water in the Pacific, Niue is a bucket-list destination for divers, while the steep drop off the reef also makes it one of the region’s best fishing spots (Clarke Gayford has visited multiple times with TV show Fish of the Day).

Other national treasures include the 20-minute hike to Togo Chasm taking in a rainforest, a terrace of indigo coral pinnacles and palm-studded inland beach; the network of mountain bike tracks; and what might just be the South Pacific’s only self-serve bar. Clinging to the rocks above Avatule Beach, the open-sided Washaway Bar is a favourite with locals and visitors alike. You can’t go wrong with a fresh fish burger or sandwich teamed with a cold beer or Kiwi sav.

Tonga

Ever wondered what the Cooks and Fiji must have looked like before mass tourism took hold? Something a bit like Tonga perhaps, an island kingdom where flashy resorts are few and far between, beaches are often footprint free, pigs and chickens have the right of way, and a gang of “fishing pigs” are among the star attractions.

Those, and the humpback whales who spend the months between July and October in the bath-warm waters of the Vava’u and Ha’apai island groups, having babies and teaching them the survival skills they’ll need on the swim back to Antarctica.

The capital, Nuku’alofa, isn’t the most photogenic of places, but it’s a lot of fun and entirely authentic. As the Lonely Planet puts it you “don’t have to seek out a cultural experience in Tonga – it’s all around you.” Stock up on tropical fruit snacks at Talamahu Market or the stalls that line the dusty streets and set out on an adventure around Tongatapu, the largest of Tonga’s some 170 mostly uninhabited islands.

The Mapu’a a Vaea Blowholes – where you can see hundreds of jets of water spurt up to 30 metres high if you time it right – are a highlight.

Stay in a traditional beachfront bungalow surrounded by tropical gardens and swaying palms on the nearby island of Fafa, or take a plane or ferry to the Ha’apai or Vava’u island groups. Ha’apai – a series of low-lying atolls with postcard-perfect white sand beaches and some of the best snorkelling I have experienced – is an ideal choice for those who really want to get away from it all. With 61 closely grouped islands, Vava’u is a dream for yachties and water babes. Charter sailing, scuba diving, surfing, sea kayaking, and game fishing are among the many activities on offer.

Palau

With some 300 jungle-covered islands swimming in coral reefs so full of marine life they’ve been dubbed the “underwater Serengeti”, this Micronesian island nation could be one of the world’s best-kept travel secrets.

While the Republic of Palau attracted only a fraction of the visitors easier to access Pacific Island and southeast Asian destinations received, its extraordinary array of tropical fish – which in turn attract an extraordinary number of sharks – have made it a bit of a celeb in the international scuba diving scene. The extraordinary number of World War II-era wrecks to explore on your underwater travels give it extra bonus points.

For a truly unique underwater experience, head to Jellyfish Lake in the south of the archipelago, where you can swim amid millions of harmless, transparent golden jellyfish.

But you’d be missing out if you spent all your time in Palau submerged. Kayaking, camping out on desert islands, taking al fresco “showers” under waterfalls that create photogenic natural swimming pools, and exploring otherwise-inaccessible swathes of rainforest and abandoned villages on an off-road tour are among your options. The republic even has its own Stonehenge in the form of the Badrulchau Stone Monoliths, a grouping of basalt slabs weighing up to five tonnes on a hillside which, with its stellar sea views, also happens to make a pretty sweet picnic spot.

Samoa

Birthed by giant volcanic explosions, Samoa’s landscape is something else. In addition to the countless jungle-backed, iridescent water-lapped white sand beaches (there’s a reason reality TV show Survivor kept coming back here), you get a network of waterfalls tracing the spine of ancient lava flows and one of the coolest natural swimming holes in the South Pacific.

Created by an ancient lava tube, the To Sua Ocean Trench has become a modern-day hit on Instagram with its rickety, 20-metre ladder leading down to a pool of clear blue water ringed with greenery.

Other highlights on the island of Upolu include the O Le Pupu Lava Coast – an hour-long walk taking in surf-sculpted “lava islands” – the turtle-spotting trips with Manoa Tours and the Fugalei Fresh Produce Market.

While flashy resorts aren’t really Samoa’s style, there are some beautifully laid-back ones on the southern coast, including the New Zealand-run Saletoga Sands.