There are 552 good reasons for visiting Atiu, a makatea island in the Cooks Group, northeast of the main island, Rarotonga. The geology of the place was reason enough to make the trip for long-term resident Roger Malcolm, host and tour guide.
Malcolm came to Atiu 30 years ago from New Zealand, and has been here ever since. He told me all there was to know about the makatea. It's a raised volcanic island. The original coral reef was lifted out of the ocean as the submerged volcano thrust itself upwards, losing its top to the ocean waves and winds as it did.
This occurred 120 000 years ago. The original reef - now raised - constitutes the island's present-day coastline. The old lagoon is its farmlands where the edible root taro is grown, and the flattened volcanic crater is now home to all its people.
A new reef has gradually grown up around the island.
The reef shelters several pretty beaches. One of these was accessed by the landing party sent ashore by English navigator and official "founder" of Australia, Captain James Cook, back in 1777.
Cook lent his name to the islands, but never came ashore.
The lagoon provides for day visitors as well - especially if you're a snorkeller. Don't miss the "coral garden" in which tropical fish get temporarily trapped at low tide.
The lush poetic gardens are down entirely to Kura, Malcolm's wife. Rockeries, ornamental flower beds, groves of shrubs, shade trees, and a riot of tropical foliage enshroud every building on the site.
Atiu Villas are a 10-minute walk from the "Centre" - an amalgam of five villages that radiate from a roundabout. The village borders have become blurred over time, but not so their individuality. Each retains its own chief and board of councillors. And they compete with each other in sport and singing, too.
Sprinkled here and there are a few general stores (the biggest is run by the Malcolms). There are also one or two cafes, but they only ever open when their proprietors are in the mood.
Then there are the churches. The most impressive of these is another good reason to visit Atiu.
This is the CICC, or Cook Islands Christian Church. Dating back to the 1850s, its great thick walls are made from coral which was extracted from the reef and then melted in a kiln to form a lime cement. It's known as melted coral.
The church also has a bell tower, which is fun to climb up to and get the classic Centre view.
To walk the streets of Atiu is as much a cultural revelation as it is entertainment. It's quiet. The central roundabout gets maybe one motorcycle every five minutes, and a car an hour.
At first I kept looking around to see who the bike riders were waving to. Then I realised it was me.
If you wave back there's a good chance they will offer you a lift, and you might even get a free island tour. That's how you meet the people; on their front lawns, verandas, or on the street.
I met them making pareu. This is a traditional form of tie-dye, and it was happening on the expansive grassy grounds of the optimistically expanded Catholic church.
The cloth work was being done by the women, known fondly as "the mamas" with assistance from one small apprentice girl.
Stencils, leaves and water droplets all add to the striking blue, green and yellow of the cloth's makatea designs. You can buy these fabrics on the spot.
Mandolin connoisseurs will want to visit Atiu as the best craftsman in Cooks lives and works here.
Punua Tauraa's instruments are fantastic works of art, and resemble solid rock guitars. On my visit, I mentioned I was running a bit late for a tour. Without me even asking, Punua whizzed me back to the villas on his bike. That's normal here.
The people on Atiu make things the good, old-fashioned way. This extends to coffee and to bread.
A booming industry in the missionary days, coffee production on the island is making a comeback.
The beans are grown organically, sun-dried and processed by hand. Mata Arai offers coffee tours of her property .
Atiu's bakery offers bread baked in a traditional melted coral limestone oven. It is sold in break-off segments, not from a loaf, but what's known as a "tray".
There are three standard tours on Atiu - bird-watching, caving and an around-island geological, cultural, historical and horticultural tour. Marshall Humphreys is your guide. He's an ex-pat Brit whose background in hospitality is brought to bear on his tours, and you find yourself being jollied along. Just as well. The trek to the caves means traversing the notorious makatea, with its spiky coral rocks. Humphreys, though, finds plenty of reasons to let you have a breather on the way - novel sources of food, traditional herbal remedies, island legends, his own well-laid traps for coconut crabs, some of which weigh in at 5kg.
Just don't pick one up!
The caves offer impressive stalagmites and stalactites. Rimarau cave was a pre-missionary burial site when Atiu reigned supreme among the islands, conquering its neighbours, Mangaia and Aitutaki, and peopling them with Atuans.
Grave markers are still placed at the cave's entrance today.
Anatakitaki cave has a fresh water pool that offers weary cavers a refreshing dip by candlelight.
The cave is also home to the kopeka, one of many intriguing birds that are native to the island.
It nests in the cave's darkest recesses and hunts in the forest.
Birding is taken very seriously on the island, to the point where threatened species are being re-introduced. The task of overseeing the project falls to local enthusiast, George Mateariki.
"Birdman George" is a larger- than-life character, whose bird-watching eco tour focuses on the recently re-introduced kura, an iridescent red and green lorikeet.
You should also see the Rarotongan flycatcher, the chattering kingfisher, the fruit dove, white tern and reef heron.
I really wanted to see the fabled kura close-up. And I would have, had I not snagged my foot on a branch and frightened it away.
The island tours are rounded off with a visit to a local tumunu, a traditional watering hole, where home brewed "bush beer" is served in a coconut cup.
How many good reasons is that? Ten? Then count the people - the total population of the island.
Gracious and hospitable, they make up the other 542 reasons good reasons for visiting Atiu.
Besides, there's a very good chance that you'll meet them all!
If you go
- Air New Zealand flies from Sydney to Rarotonga daily and Air Rarotonga flies from Rarotonga to Atiu daily: www.airraro.com/
- When to go: The climate is pleasant year-round. Winter nights - June through September - can get quite chilly.
- Bring: Swimwear, light cottons, a jacket for occasional chilly nights, and strong footwear for caving and bushwalking.
- Accommodation: Atiu Villas is at www.atiuvillas.com
- Currency: New Zealand dollars. 1.00 NZD = 5.8 ZAR