Cook Islands Kukicast

John Roberts

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PLACES & TRAVEL

Cook Islands Kukicast

Discover the South Pacific paradise of the Cook Islands through fascinating chats with those who have a unique insight

MAR 12

Hold the front page!

Send us a text Meet the man who knows more about the Cook Islands than nearly anyone else…because it’s his job to know. Rashneel Kumar is the editor of ‘Cook Islands News’, the six days a week national newspaper. It’s a must read for thousands of islanders and many more overseas who keep up with what’s happening through its on-line edition. Rashneel talks about what’s involved in his day job and the challenges of reporting a nation of 15 islands spread across nearly 2 million square kil...

22 min
MAR 3

Why the Cook Islands should be on every bucket list

Send us a text The Cook Islands are a very long way from anywhere unless you happen to live in New Zealand…and even then they’re a three and a half hour plane journey away. So how do you persuade people from the UK, Europe and the USA to discover this remote South Pacific Paradise? That’s the challenge facing Robert Skews every day as he promotes the Islands through his Cook Islands’ businesses ‘Island Hopper Vacations’ and the ‘Turama Pacific Travel Group’. His focus is very much...

14 min
FEB 28

AITUTAKI - Jewel in the Cook Islands crown

Send us a text Aitutaki is the second most visited of the Cook Islands and a picture-perfect paradise with a lagoon so blue you’d think someone had painted it that colour! Swimming or snorkelling among its colourful coral and abundant sea life is like being in a gigantic tropical fish tank. Tourism is well-developed but Aitutaki still remains unspoiled and life moves at the sort of pace the rest of the world has forgotten. It’s also easy to get to from the capital island of Rarotonga an...

21 min
11/22/2024

16 years alone on a deserted island

Send us a text The idea of living alone for years on a deserted island might be a nightmare for some, but for Tom Neale it was his dream come true. He spent 16 years of his life on remote Suwarrow in the Cook Islands and became world famous when he told his story in the book, “An Island to Oneself”. Now, nearly 60 years after its publication his daughter, Stella Neale has provided a new perspective on the remarkable story with her own epilogue in a new edition of the book. In th...

25 min
11/06/2024

Fish sandwiches and beer - Ian Rankin's Cook Islands

Send us a text The Cook Islands are a world away from Edinburgh in Scotland where best selling author, Ian Rankin lives and his novels about Detective Inspector John Rebus are set. But in this episode, Ian recalls his holiday in the Polynesian paradise. The unspoiled beauty, the friendly locals…and the fish sandwiches and local beer all made a big impression. He also talks about Rebus, why the curmudgeonly cop is unlikely ever to end up there and what might be next for his much loved ma...

25 min
11/06/2024

Introducing Kukicast

Send us a text Find out what KUKICAST is all about in this five minute introduction with clips from some of the first episodes. And presenter, John Roberts tells of his passion for this Polynesian paradise in the South Pacific and how this podcast is his way of helping to share it. ABOUT ME I'm a retired BBC radio and TV journalist and presenter who's been having a long distance love affair with the Cook Islands for nearly 40 years and I've featured in media worldwide as an acknowledged...

5 min
08/04/2023

Sharing the love: Cook Islands Tourism CEO

Send us a text WHAT IS IT THAT MAKES THE COOK ISLANDS SO SPECIAL? Karla Eggelton definitely knows because she’s lived there all her life and is uniquely placed to tell us as she’s Chief Executive of tourism. In this episode, she gives us a unique insight into the capital island of Rarotonga, its next most visited neighbour, the stunningly beautiful Aitutaki and some of the 13 other islands which make up this Polynesian paradise in the South Pacific. Among them are some of the most remote and ...

29 min
07/21/2023

"Trader Jack" Cooper - a Cook Islands legend

Send us a text Trader Jacks near the harbour on Rarotonga is iconic. In this episode, Jack's daughter, Vanessa talks its colourful history and its legendary owner. Sadly, Jack Cooper died in June, 2022 but his legacy lives on in a new book. Vanessa chats about that and shares some of the 40 years of trials and tribulations, hilarious stunts and downright unbelievable events in the life of a man who was dubbed “the Gordon Ramsey of the Rarotonga ecosphere” Jacks' book, "40 years behind ...

21 min
07/17/2023

A Young Adventurer on Penrhyn/Tongareva

Send us a text 24 year old Tom Robinson from Brisbane, Australia is on an 8,000 nautical miles voyage from Peru to Australia aiming to become the youngest person ever to row single-handed across the Pacific. He's spending 12 months a tiny boat he designed and built himself and making landfall along the way to resupply and explore the cultures of the South Pacific. Tom ended up on Penrhyn (Tongareva) in the Cook Islands by sheer chance after being blown off course and...

16 min

9 Episodes

Discover the South Pacific paradise of the Cook Islands through fascinating chats with those who have a unique insight

Creator

John Roberts
Years Active

2023 - 2025
Episodes

9
Rating

Clean
Copyright

© 2025 John Roberts
Show Website

Cook Islands Kukicast

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Language Learning

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