There are a number of places to see and explore on the tiny island of Mauke. A great way to see all that this island has to offer is with the help of a tour guide. Tour guides here are a great help as they can often aid you in getting to those hard to reach places as well as show you the way. In Mauke a number of visitor sites are not clearly marked or are off the main road, and with the assistance of a tour guide you can find these places to see much more easily.

Mauke Caves

Like Atiu, Mauke too is home to densely forested makatea, which has many limestone caves worth exploring. Most of these caves have lovely cool water pools in them that are wonderful to swim in. In the afternoons and after school, many of the school children on Mauke visit the various caves for a quick dip to cool off before they head home. The Vai Tango, the Vai Ou, The Vai Moraro, the Vai Moti, the Vai Tukume, the Vai Mau and the Via Tunamea are all great caves to explore. The Motuanga Cave is one of the best known caves to see on Mauke and has 100 chambers!

Mauke Beaches

The Teoneroa Beach is one of the prettiest beaches on Mauke. Located on the eastern side of the island, many people come here to enjoy themselves. In southern Mauke, Anaokae is another lovely beach which offers plenty of privacy. Oneung is a nice beach to have a picnic on, but the best beach on the island ahs to be Kopupooki, which offers some good swimming and snorkeling.

Mauke Marae

There are a number of marae on Mauke, the most impressive of which is Paepaea, which was built a decade back for Samuela Ariki. Another modern marae is the Puarakura, which was built in the 1980’s and is still used for ceremonial function today. Two old marae worth visiting is the Marae Rangimanuka near the Mauke reservoir and the Marae O Rongo near the harbor, both of which only have a few large stones remaining.

Kea’s Grave

While on Mauke, another place to see is Kea’s Grave. This is the burial place of Kea, a woman who cried herself to death over losing her husband Paikea, at sea. However, Paikea did not die, rather the storm took him to Mangaia from where he sailed to New Zealand, but he never returned to the Cook Islands again. Paikea is revered among the Maoris of New Zealand’s East Coast and South Island.