For most people, when asked about the size of a country, think about the land mass. Land is, after all, what makes a place habitable. But to solely focus on terra firma is to miss out on whole other parts of a nation. For example, what would New Zealand be without its coastline, lakes, lagoons and rivers?
Similarly, what would the UK be like if it were land locked? Okay, so it wouldn’t have neighbours across the channel to whinge about but it would be a totally different place without its fishing ports, seaside towns, fish and chips and kiss-me-quick hats and candyfloss.
So, with that in mind, it would be easy to dismiss Rarotonga as a small island, and The Cook Islands as a tiny nation. In land mass terms, perhaps that would be an accurate description, but a glance at the bigger picture tells a totally different story.
Whilst The Cook Islands 15 individual land masses combined cover a little under 240 square kilometres, the total area is a whopping 1,800,000 square kilometres.
Given that the distances between the land masses are huge, it’s does lead one to wonder how on earth the 17,000 inhabitants actually manage to hold it all together as a nation. Things citizens of other countries take for granted, such as a coherent transport system, communications and financial system must take on a whole new dimension. And how on earth do football teams fulfil their away fixtures?
We’re spending the next five days in Rarotonga so I’m sure we’ll find out.
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