Paradise Islands website was created from a Passion of two people, Andy and Shirina.
In 2002, we decided to visit Rarotonga, to see where Shirina's grandmother had come from, to learn some of her culture, and to see and learn about a side of her that she did not have much knowledge about.
Our First Experience
It was our first trip overseas, both of us were excited, for many reasons, first because it was our first trip over seas, but then there was that fact that we were going to a tropical island, and then the main reason for our excitement was that we were going to the land that Shirina’s grandmother had come from. Shirina’s grandmother was a very special lady, she had Left the Cook Islands on a boat bound for New Zealand at the age of 17. She arrived in Auckland and made her way down the North Island of New Zealand and settled in the Wairarapa about 1hours drive away from Wellington.
Shirina was raised from a baby by her grandmother, who past away in 1990. She was an amazing lady and someone who will never leave the hearts of those that knew her.
On arrival in Rarotonga, we were taken to our resort, and had decided after hearing things from people , about people going back to the islands to claim their rights, that we would remain silent about who shirina’s grandmother was, we were not there to claim anything, we wanted to learn about the people of this land, their culture, and its beauty.
We started our first day exploring the island on our scooter, it was amazing, and humbling, this was real, Shirina had a feeling within her, that she had come home. Every now and then, on that first day, I could see my wife, looking around, and seeing a tear or two forming in her eyes, I knew at this point, that our decission to come was the right one. My wife had found a part of her that had been missing, and had also come back to her roots, where she knows her grandmother would have wanted her to do.
After being on the Island for a few days, we got robbed, not by any local, but by someone else that was staying in the resort we were in. We reported this and a police lady came to take our statements at the resort. On seeing my wife, the police woman kindly asked her, “Are you Raro “ and my wife said “No , I am a Kiwi” thinking she was born in NZ so therefore she did not really feel that she had any right to say she was a native of the Cook Islands. Then the police woman said “ oh, are you NZ Moari” where my wife again replied “ no “ and then proceeded to explain how her grandmother had left the island etc etc.
The police woman, who was a genuine, and warm lady then asked my wife, what her grandmothers maiden name was, and my wife informed her. The police woman thought for a few minutes, and said she only knew of one person with that name on the Island, and then told us where this person could be found. She told us we should go there, and introduce ourselves.
After we had finished giving our statements to the police, we sat there, taking in what she had told us, about there being a family member and where we could find them. It was a situation we had not expected to be in, we had come over to this beautiful land, to explore, learn, but in no way had we expected to have the chance to meet anyone from my wifes family tree.
After much discussion, we decided, to go for a ride on our scooter, the family member owned a shop, so we had said we would pull up, go in and get ourselves some water, and see how my wife felt, and maybe introduce herself to this person.
On arrival outside the store, there was mixed feelings, scared, excitement, and manymore. My wife said I should go first, but I guided her to the door first, she stopped abruptly, turned and looked at me, with tears filling her eyes. I quickly looked past her, and saw an elderly man, sitting in a chair behind the counter. I then looked back at my wife and she whispered, “ that mans face, its identical to my grandmothers “ . We stepped inside the store, and were welcomed with “Kia Orana, how may I help you” . He looked at my wife and then at me, puzzled as to wife my wife had tears in her eyes. My wife looked at him, and asked him if his name was that of one of her grandmothers brother, he looked shocked, and called his wife out, who promptly looked at us both, and asked why we asked about this name.
I was now a little worried, I did not know if we had offended anyone, or what may happen next. But my wife, still with tears flowing from her eyes, explained who her grandmother was, and how she had raised her. What happened next blew me away.
Yes indeed, this gentleman, behind the counter was a family member, it was my wifes grandmothers brother. My wife had known just from seeing the face, he started to cry, my wife was in some ways a lost generation, no one had known about, because of people loosing contact, who had returned to her roots.
That day was a day that will remain deep within our hearts, we met more family members, we learnt so much in the remaining days of our trip, and we passed on information of other family members who had also lost touch, including another great uncle of my wifes, a brother to her grandmothers, who had also settled in the Wairarapa, and had passed away a few years after my wifes grandmother.
We now go back yearly, to catch up with those family members we have met, to learn more about my wifes family, their culture and to also take in the beauty of the land, the amazing beauty of the people on these islands, and to also get away from the hussle and bussle of the city we now live in in New Zealand.
The Website:
We have built this site for people around the world to learn, to find information, and to possibly visit what we class is a land of culture, an amazing place to visit, a place of beauty both in scenic vission and in the people of the cook isalnds.
We have spoken to many people who have had the amazing chance to visit the Cook Islands, and have always heard the same response of “We will go back, its an amazing place”.
There is not one specific thing you can put your finger on, that describes the Cook Islands, and what attracts people to it. It can only be the combination of many things that make this land, and its people truly a place to visit and experience and you will then be hooked and realise, that in this world, a place called paradise does exist and its called the Cook Islands
We truly hope you enjoy this website and that it leads you on an amazing journey to experience this land of beauty that many class as Paradise
In 2002, we decided to visit Rarotonga, to see where Shirina's grandmother had come from, to learn some of her culture, and to see and learn about a side of her that she did not have much knowledge about.
Our First Experience
It was our first trip overseas, both of us were excited, for many reasons, first because it was our first trip over seas, but then there was that fact that we were going to a tropical island, and then the main reason for our excitement was that we were going to the land that Shirina’s grandmother had come from. Shirina’s grandmother was a very special lady, she had Left the Cook Islands on a boat bound for New Zealand at the age of 17. She arrived in Auckland and made her way down the North Island of New Zealand and settled in the Wairarapa about 1hours drive away from Wellington.
Shirina was raised from a baby by her grandmother, who past away in 1990. She was an amazing lady and someone who will never leave the hearts of those that knew her.
On arrival in Rarotonga, we were taken to our resort, and had decided after hearing things from people , about people going back to the islands to claim their rights, that we would remain silent about who shirina’s grandmother was, we were not there to claim anything, we wanted to learn about the people of this land, their culture, and its beauty.
We started our first day exploring the island on our scooter, it was amazing, and humbling, this was real, Shirina had a feeling within her, that she had come home. Every now and then, on that first day, I could see my wife, looking around, and seeing a tear or two forming in her eyes, I knew at this point, that our decission to come was the right one. My wife had found a part of her that had been missing, and had also come back to her roots, where she knows her grandmother would have wanted her to do.
After being on the Island for a few days, we got robbed, not by any local, but by someone else that was staying in the resort we were in. We reported this and a police lady came to take our statements at the resort. On seeing my wife, the police woman kindly asked her, “Are you Raro “ and my wife said “No , I am a Kiwi” thinking she was born in NZ so therefore she did not really feel that she had any right to say she was a native of the Cook Islands. Then the police woman said “ oh, are you NZ Moari” where my wife again replied “ no “ and then proceeded to explain how her grandmother had left the island etc etc.
The police woman, who was a genuine, and warm lady then asked my wife, what her grandmothers maiden name was, and my wife informed her. The police woman thought for a few minutes, and said she only knew of one person with that name on the Island, and then told us where this person could be found. She told us we should go there, and introduce ourselves.
After we had finished giving our statements to the police, we sat there, taking in what she had told us, about there being a family member and where we could find them. It was a situation we had not expected to be in, we had come over to this beautiful land, to explore, learn, but in no way had we expected to have the chance to meet anyone from my wifes family tree.
After much discussion, we decided, to go for a ride on our scooter, the family member owned a shop, so we had said we would pull up, go in and get ourselves some water, and see how my wife felt, and maybe introduce herself to this person.
On arrival outside the store, there was mixed feelings, scared, excitement, and manymore. My wife said I should go first, but I guided her to the door first, she stopped abruptly, turned and looked at me, with tears filling her eyes. I quickly looked past her, and saw an elderly man, sitting in a chair behind the counter. I then looked back at my wife and she whispered, “ that mans face, its identical to my grandmothers “ . We stepped inside the store, and were welcomed with “Kia Orana, how may I help you” . He looked at my wife and then at me, puzzled as to wife my wife had tears in her eyes. My wife looked at him, and asked him if his name was that of one of her grandmothers brother, he looked shocked, and called his wife out, who promptly looked at us both, and asked why we asked about this name.
I was now a little worried, I did not know if we had offended anyone, or what may happen next. But my wife, still with tears flowing from her eyes, explained who her grandmother was, and how she had raised her. What happened next blew me away.
Yes indeed, this gentleman, behind the counter was a family member, it was my wifes grandmothers brother. My wife had known just from seeing the face, he started to cry, my wife was in some ways a lost generation, no one had known about, because of people loosing contact, who had returned to her roots.
That day was a day that will remain deep within our hearts, we met more family members, we learnt so much in the remaining days of our trip, and we passed on information of other family members who had also lost touch, including another great uncle of my wifes, a brother to her grandmothers, who had also settled in the Wairarapa, and had passed away a few years after my wifes grandmother.
We now go back yearly, to catch up with those family members we have met, to learn more about my wifes family, their culture and to also take in the beauty of the land, the amazing beauty of the people on these islands, and to also get away from the hussle and bussle of the city we now live in in New Zealand.
The Website:
We have built this site for people around the world to learn, to find information, and to possibly visit what we class is a land of culture, an amazing place to visit, a place of beauty both in scenic vission and in the people of the cook isalnds.
We have spoken to many people who have had the amazing chance to visit the Cook Islands, and have always heard the same response of “We will go back, its an amazing place”.
There is not one specific thing you can put your finger on, that describes the Cook Islands, and what attracts people to it. It can only be the combination of many things that make this land, and its people truly a place to visit and experience and you will then be hooked and realise, that in this world, a place called paradise does exist and its called the Cook Islands
We truly hope you enjoy this website and that it leads you on an amazing journey to experience this land of beauty that many class as Paradise