Cook Islands Shopping Tips by FletteMette

Name of Shop: Punanga Nui Cultural Market

Punanga Nui Cultural Market, near the harbour in Avarua, is a great place to shop for souvenirs. The market is open every day except Sunday, but it's at its liveliest early Saturday morning, when farmers bring their goods to the market and all the locals go shopping for fresh vegetables & fruit.

Try the local seafood, or delicious fresh fruit sold from the back of open vans - sun-riped pawpaw (papaya), mango, pineapple, bananas...

Some Saturdays there are local bands performing at the market.

What To Buy: * Colourful pareus.
* Rito hats, made from young palm shoots, as worn by Cook Islands women when they dress up for church.
* Wooden carvings, the typical one being of Tangaroa, the Polynesian god of the sea and of fertility.
* Tivaevae - intricately designed hand-stitched quilts.


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Theme: Local Craft
Directions: To the west of Avarua town centre.

Name of Shop: Perfumes of Rarotonga

All the products of "Perfumes of Rarotonga" are handmade in Raro - and they do not test the products on animals (but on their family & friends...;-)

A great place to shop for very affordable, sweet-smelling souvenirs and gifts - and to sample the banana, mango and coffee liqueurs.

What To Buy: * The coconut soap - all natural, made from coconut oil. Plain or perfumed.
* They've even found yet another use for the miracle fruit of the Cook Islands, the Noni, and started making a coconut & noni soap now - looking forward to giving it a try next time I go.. :o)
* Coconut oil - but remember that if you're returning home to a more temperate climate, the colder temperatures might make the oil "cloudy", it starts to solidify.
* Perfume, of course!
* Banana, mango and coffee liqueurs - in a Tangaroa bottle if that's your fancy.


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Theme: Other
Address: Avarua - opposite Beachcomber
Website: http://www.perfumes.co.ck/

Black pearls from the oyster Pinctada margaritifera, cultivated in the lagoons of the northern Cook Islands of Manihiki and Penrhyn, are a very popular (and rather expensive) souvenir.

The price of a pearl depends on its size and quality - its shape, bumps & ridges on its surface, colour, and lustre.

There are several shops in Avarua where you can buy black pearls and pearl jewelry - but make sure you buy from a member of The Cook Islands Pearl Guild, as the members have quality standards & product guarantees.

Shops where you'll find black pearls include Bergman & Sons, Island Crafts and Beachcomber - all in Avarua.



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Theme: Jewelry