#expeditioncruising
Manihiki Atoll in the distant Northern
Cook Islands sits just under the 10 degree south parallel and
actually sits atop a 4000m underwater mountain. The flat atoll is
made up of around 60 tiny islets and is just a few metres above sea
level.
Known widely as the 'Island of Pearls',
Manihiki's 4km wide lagoon supports an entire pearl industry and is
dotted with ramshackle structures atop little outcrops that indicate
oyster beds waiting to be harvested.
National Geographic Orion, we were
told, is the first passenger ship ever to stop here and the locals
turned out en masse to greet us with gorgeous singing children and a
sampler of the energetic Cook Islands dancing that looks like hula on
double fast forward.
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