Rarotonga

May

2026

The Strangler Vine of Rarotonga

Grand Balloon‑vine, Leaves, flowers and fruit – Cook Islands, Rarotonga – Gerald McCormack

Gerald McCormack, CINHT,

Weeds are plants growing in the wrong place; plants which take time, effort and money to control. The weeds of taro plots, lawns, home gardens and horticultural areas are often encountered and well known. Less obvious are weeds which damage the native forests of inland Rarotonga. The forests which reduce erosion and protect the water supply; the forests which are an economic asset in the tourist industry; the forests which are an aesthetic asset to us all; and, the forests which contain plants and animals not found anywhere else in the world. Continue reading →

May

2026

Hummingbirds in the Cook Islands?

Gerald McCormack, CINHT

Sometimes in the evening bird-like creatures hover over flowers while probing them with a long slender beak. Are they hummingbirds?

Gnathothlibus erotus Caterpillar or Hornworm – Cook Islands, Manihiki – Gerald McCormack

Although they look like the hummingbirds of books and films these creatures are actually large moths, known as hawk-moths or sphinx-moths. They have strong slender wings enabling them to fly very fast and to hover. They are nocturnal feeders, usually starting around dusk. Their caterpillars are called hornworms, because they have a long horn on the rear end. Continue reading →

Apr

2026

Searching for Rare Plants

Gerald McCormack, CINHT

The expedition team from left to right: Jason Tuara, Joe Brider, Edwin Apera (back), Jacqui Evans, Gerald McCormack and photo by Judith Kunzlé.

It has long been hoped that pristine forests at the base of remote and almost inaccessible cliffs might have thriving populations of some of Rarotonga’s rarest plants – maybe even the Pilea, which has not been seen for 80 years.

In July (2010) the Natural Heritage Trust launched a project to assess the status of Rarotonga’s rarest plants. With the assistance of two New Zealand botanists, they explored the island’s native forest, but unfortunately, with one exception, only saw previously known plants. The top ridges of the main mountains were visited, but there is one area the survey failed to get to: the cliffs below the highest ridge, between Te Manga and Te Atukura, in the upper Avana. Continue reading →

Apr

2026

Ātiu – the “land of birds”

Gerald McCormack, CINHT

Mariri was the first settler of Ātiu, probably around 1300AD, and he called the island ‘Enua Manu, “land of animals”, in response to the great abundance of animals. The oral traditions do not define the type of animals, and it is commonly thought they were birds, hence “land of birds”. Another interpretation refers to pesky insects that so annoyed Mariri that he went back to ‘Avaiki and returned with some birds to control them.

Today Ātiu has more native landbirds than any other local island so it is very deserving of the interpretation “land of birds” rather than the “land of insects”. The island is a birder’s paradise with nine of the twelve native landbirds that breed in the Cook Islands. Continue reading →

Mar

2026

Geckos and Skinks – Accidental Tourists

Cook Islands lizards are geckos and skinks. What is the difference? How did they arrive?

Lizards in the Cook Islands are either day-active, glossy-scaled skinks or nocturnal, matt-skinned geckos. The geckos are famous for walking up glass windows and across ceilings, a feat achieved by minute, adhesive filaments under their broad toes. In contrast, skinks have long slender toes with long claws. They have very acute vision to hunt insects and to avoid predators. Continue reading →

Rarotonga

The Strangler Vine of Rarotonga

Hummingbirds in the Cook Islands?

Searching for Rare Plants

Ātiu – the “land of birds”

Geckos and Skinks – Accidental Tourists

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