Things to Do in Pukapuka

Pukapuka curls like a comma in the northern reaches of the Kūki ʻĀirani and feels closer to Samoa than Rarotonga. The air carries briny coconut smoke from fires lit by the lagoon, and you’ll hear reef waves slapping the coral wall that rings the island like a drumskin. Three tiny motu - Wale, Motu Kotawa and Motu Ko - hug the main sand-spit, linked at low tide by ankle-deep paths where hermit crabs scuttle over your feet. Mango trees drop fruit onto corrugated-iron roofs, scenting whole villages with sweet rot, while women weave pandanus mats under breadfruit shade, calling greetings that bounce across the sand like skipping stones. It’s the kind of place where the evening light turns the lagoon the colour of melted bottle glass and the only traffic jam is two pigs arguing over a coconut.

Meals happen at whichever household invites you, but the tin-roofed canteen by the wharf serves ika mata marinated in lime and coconut cream so fresh it still tastes of the reef. On Saturdays, women set up tables under the maneaba in Wale selling rukau (taro leaves cooked in coconut) and sweet buns filled with pawpaw jam; everything’s mid-range by island standards, meaning you might trade a bag of rice for dinner instead of cash. Grab a cold coconut from the fridge at Taua’s store in Yato - he’ll hack it open with a bush knife and hand it over dripping.

May through October brings southeast trade winds that keep the air cool and the lagoon flat; afternoon squalls roll through like clockwork, rinsing the salt from your skin. November to March is hotter and wetter - mould grows on your passport overnight - but the taro patches glow emerald and you’ll have the reef to yourself. Cyclone risk peaks in February; flights sometimes cancel with a day’s notice.