Lighthouses of the Cook Islands

The Cook Islands is a Polynesian country including an archipelago in the South Pacific southeast of Samoa and west of Tahiti and the other islands of French Polynesia. The islands fall into two groups, a Southern Group of volcanic islands (similar to Tahiti) and a Northern Group of low coral atolls. A dependency of New Zealand since 1901, in 1965 the country became a self-governing state in free association with New Zealand, not a colony but not quite an independent nation; New Zealand provides for the defense of the islands and provides some economic support. Cook Islanders are also citizens of New Zealand. The population of the country is about 18,000.

The most populous island, Rarotonga, is in the south. It includes about 2/3 of the population of the country as well as the national capital, Avarua. Aitutaki, with a population of about 2000, is said to be the second most visited island of the country; it is about 265 km (165 mi) north of Rarotonga but still part of the Southern Group. Scheduled air service is available to both islands.

The Cook Islands have no traditional lighthouses but there are several minor lights. It is likely that Maritime New Zealand has assisted in the installation and maintenance of these lights.

Admiralty numbers are from volume K of the Admiralty List of Lights & Fog Signals. U.S. NGA List numbers are from Publication 111.

General Sources
World of Lighthouses - Cook Islands
Photos by various photographers available from Lightphotos.net.
Online List of Lights - Cook Islands
Photos by various photographers posted by Alexander Trabas.
Map of Cook Islands
This map shows the relationships of the various islands.
Navionics Charts
Navigation chart for the islands.

Avarua Range Rear Light
Avarua Range Rear Light, Rarotonga, February 2009
ex-Panoramio Creative Commons photo by sunmaya, now posted by Lightphotos.net

Rarotonga Lightbeacons
* [Avatiu Range Rear]
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 12 m (39 ft); continuous blue light. 10 m (33 ft) pole carrying a small orange arrow daymark, point down, similar to the Avarua Range Rear Light seen above. Trabas has Jim Smith's photo of the two range lights and both range lights can be seen in Google's street view but the pole is not seen in Google's satellite view. The front light, with an arrow daymark pointed up, is on a similar pole 50 m (165 ft) in front of the rear light (to the right in the street view). The range guides vessels into the harbor, one of two on the north coast of Rarotonga. Located on the Avatiu waterfront, between the airport and the Avarua harbor. Site open. Admiralty K4559.1; NGA 3064.
* [Avarua Range Rear]
Date unknown. Active; focal plane about 15 m (49 ft); blue light occulting once every 8 s. Approx. 10 m (33 ft) pole carrying a small orange triangular daymark, point down. The photo at the top of this page shows the range light standing in front of the Avarua courthouse, Trabas has Jim Smith's photo of the two range lights, and Google has a satellite view and a street view of the two range lights. The range guides vessels into the harbor, one of two on the north coast of Rarotonga. Located on the Avarua waterfront, about 800 m (1/2 mi) east of the Avatiu harbor. Site open. Admiralty K4552.1; NGA 3056.

Aitutaki Lightbeacons
* [Arutunga Range Front]
Date unknown. Active; focal plane about 12 m (39 ft); continuous red light. Approx. 10 m (33 ft) pole carrying a small orange triangular daymark, point up. Google has a street view but the pole is not seen in Google's satellite view. The rear light is on a similar pole 280 m (920 ft) southeast of the front light. The range guides vessels through a dredged channel leading from a break in the coral reef to the wharf at Arutanga, on the west side of Aitutaki. Located on the Arutanga waterfront. Site open. Admiralty K4571; NGA 3077.
* [Maungapu (Aitutaki)]
Date unknown. Active; focal plane 129 m (423 ft); two white flashes every 9 s. 5 m (16 ft) triangular skeletal communications tower standing beside a small equipment shelter. Jeff Silzer has a closeup street view and Google has a satellite view. Located atop a ridge on the northwest side of the island. Site open. Admiralty K4570; NGA 3076.

Information available on lost lighthouses:

Notable faux lighthouses:

Adjoining pages: North: Samoa | East: French Polynesia | West: Niue

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Posted May 9, 2014. Checked and revised October 2, 2023. Lighthouses: 0. Site copyright 2023 Russ Rowlett and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.