Things to Do in Penrhyn

Lagoon glass-bottom boat drift

Lie on padded boards while the captain poles over shallows the color of melted bottle glass. Giant clams slam shut with a wet click. Coral bommies sway like neon broccoli. The sun warms your back. Salt spray stings your lips. The only sound is the creak of wooden outriggers.

Sunday church service in Omoka

Hymns in Cook Islands Ma'i echo under a ceiling of woven coconut fronds. Elderly women fan themselves with hibiscus leaves. The air thickens with starched cotton and faint tiare perfume. The congregation's four-part harmony might raise goosebumps even if you're tone-deaf.

Rito hat weaving workshop with Mama Ruta

Her fingers blur as she splits pandanus into hair-fine strips. The raw smell sits somewhere between cut grass and dry paper. By lunchtime you'll have a wonky coaster. You'll also have new respect for the even rows that win prizes at the annual craft show in Rarotonga.

Motu picnic at Kavea

A ten-minute boat lands you on a sand tongue where noddy terns peer down. Hermit crabs rattle inside borrowed shells. Your guide grills parrotfish over coconut husks. The flesh is sweet and faintly smoky. You wade through bath-warm shallows that sparkle like shattered mirrors.

Black pearl farm visit on Tokerau islet

You'll see nets of oysters glistening like wet slate. You'll hear the clack of shells being opened. You might roll a peacock-green pearl between your fingers before it's locked away. The farmer's stories of cyclone losses taste saltier than the breeze.

Omoka village. Two family guesthouses share a beachfront hammock and cold-rainwater showers.

Near the airstrip. Basic lodge run by the island council, generator off by ten so pack a torch.

Tokerau motu. Occasional homestay with pearl farmers, solar lights and reef water for washing.

North point - church resthouse, mattress on the floor, roosters as alarm clocks

Lagoon edge. Some fishermen rent spare rooms. Negotiate with a smile and a bag of rice.

Moana Nui deck. If ships are your thing, captains allow hammock camping for a small fee.