Stephanie Holmes leaves her stress somewhere between the sunset, sand and sculpture
At first glance, you'd never know this particular resort in the Cook Islands was anything other than a gorgeous luxury escape on a daydream-perfect tropical island. It has the well-appointed villas on the beautiful beachfront location, the small but lovely swimming pool in case you tire of the turquoise lagoon, the swaying hammock under tall, swaying palm trees ... so far, so Rarotonga.
This is all perfectly lovely, of course, and more than enough to ensure you have a wonderful escape from normal New Zealand life. But scratch a little deeper and you'll find a stay at Motu Beachfront Art Villas is also a way to give back to the local community.
Motu is an adults-only, eco-friendly, luxury resort on the south coast of Rarotonga, the largest of the 15 islands that make up the Cooks' group. Formerly the Royale Takitumu, it was bought by Cook Islands New Zealander John Dunn and his Kiwi wife Rose in 2017.
"We were looking for a house and accidentally bought a resort," John says. "We have stayed in many places and simply regarded Royale Takitumu as the best and prettiest. When the chance came to buy it, we moved quickly.
"Buying is not easy on that island. It took two years to complete and two years to extend the leases. To rebrand as Motu (our island within an island) we have done an extensive refurb including roofing, bathrooms, interiors, gardens, water management, art etc."
You may have heard John's name before — he is an experienced surgeon who pioneered laparoscopic surgery in New Zealand. He has been a visiting surgeon at Rarotonga Hospital for many years, bringing his team of nurses and anaesthetists to the island to perform bariatric procedures.
You may also have read articles by him in Travel's parent newspaper the Herald — he was an early and vocal proponent for getting the Cook Islands-New Zealand bubble off the ground, well before the two governments put it into effect in May. ( He was also in the news yesterday as one of six Kiwis who will be among paying customers onboard Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic flights into space.)
He and Rose are generous philanthropists — they set up a $1 million fund that contributes course fees and accommodation costs to help Pasifika students through medical school.
The Dunns' other love is art — they are avid collectors, patrons of the Auckland Art Gallery, and Rose founded the Fetu Ta'i patrons group to support Pasifika artists through the Tautai Pacific Arts Trust.
So their next step was an easy decision — purchasing Royale Takitumu and turning it into a social enterprise, with profits directed back to Pasifika health, education and the arts.
John describes himself and Rose as "tourism virgins" but says they had a good sense of what worked and what didn't in hotels and resorts, having travelled to more than 70 countries. They have a keen interest in architecture (they won a supreme award for their Dunn-Sargent house project in Remuera), and their experience and vision allowed them to create their dream resort at a place they already knew and loved.
The resort was due to be relaunched under its new name and branding of Motu in May 2020. You can guess what happened next.
The Dunns spent lockdown and the subsequent months in Auckland, while resort managers Tim and Lucile Meyer moved out of their rental property and into one of the resort's 10 villas, with their two young children, who at the time were 3 and 5.
Tim says for a while it was actually a lovely time to be in Rarotonga. Locals came together and took the time to enjoy their island home, minus the hordes of international tourists. (Pre-Covid, 70 per cent of Rarotonga's GDP was from tourism, with upwards of 170,000 international visitors per year.) But that break couldn't last forever — businesses were going under, people were leaving and with no tourist dollars coming in, many residents were struggling.
Tim says for many business owners, the uncertainty around exactly when borders would reopen meant it was impossible to budget and plan. Would the tourists be back in one month or one year? How long could the nation survive without them?
Finally, the bubble began on May 1 and now New Zealand residents are in the fortunate position to be the only tourists currently permitted to enter. This makes it the perfect time to visit — there is plenty of space on the beaches and by the resort pools, and it's a lovely way to escape New Zealand's winter.
Fatu Feu'u's face to remember
Pulling up at Motu, the first thing to note is the huge red sculpture in the driveway by Thames-based Samoan artist Fatu Feu'u, whom John describes as a personal friend of the couple and "the grandfather of Pasifika art in New Zealand".
The sculpture is called Toa Savili or Calmer of the Winds — "highly pertinent in a Raro southeaster", John says. The Dunns first saw the sculpture when it was one of three on the lawn of Feu'u's Thames coast property.
"I think they look like Rapa Nui moai," John says. "Eventually I convinced him to sell us one." Weighing two tonnes, it wasn't an easy installation, but the Dunns brought Feu'u to Rarotonga to oversee the process.
"He is well linked to the Cook Islands, having done a residency on Rarotonga. He took the opportunity to show it to and speak with the students from Titikaveka College across the road. And we asked him to paint the bases of the royal palms on the roadway while there."
Elsewhere on the property, I find all the things I could possibly need for a tropical holiday.
The beach is just steps away from the front door of my villa, but if I don't fancy lying on the sand, there are two well-positioned sun loungers on the grass under the shade of a palm tree.
I don't need to worry about falling coconuts — Tim and Lucile make sure the trees are regularly de-nutted so I can snooze in peace to the sounds of the reef waves.
The villa interior is light and airy, with high vaulted ceilings, powerful ceiling fans, and a white/light wood palette — the only colour comes from the vintage palm tree design on the cushion covers, the prints and wall hangings from a range of Pasifika artists, and the giant bowl of tropical fruit for me to enjoy at my leisure.
There is a range of eco-initiatives at Motu. Tap water is triple-filtered and a complimentary reusable water bottle is provided so you can fill and go, reducing the need for single-use plastics. Likewise, the colourfully designed complimentary tote bag to take to the beach, the pool, the shops, the market.
Toiletries in the gorgeous bathrooms are Ecostore, and cleaning products used by the housekeeping team are all eco-friendly.
The resort has four Avanti e-bikes for complimentary guest use. This is the absolute best way to see the island. Do a loop — it's 32km with barely any elevation so you can easily whizz round in less than two hours, provided you don't make any stops for photos, snacks, coffees or cool Cook Islands Brewery beers ... which I can say with authority is an impossibility.
If you don't want to do the full loop, Muri Beach is about a 15-minute ride anti-clockwise, where you'll find cafes, resort restaurants, and one of the island's most popular stretches of sand. It's also where you'll find Ariki Adventures, another business with community and environment front of mind.
I join an early morning Turtle Sea Scooter Safari tour with owner Kave Tamaariki, guides Aneurin "Neu" Miles and Lee Horton, and seven other Kiwi guests.
Kave tells me the past 18 months have been really tough on his business. With the lengthy wait to establish the Cooks-NZ bubble, he lost 50 per cent of his workforce.
He and English wife Jules, who is the manager/head chef for Ariki's Flying Turtle Cafe, were contemplating shutting up shop for a year and moving to New Zealand.
But they hung on and are pleased to be operating again, although they know they're not out of the woods yet. Every booking from Kiwi travellers helps to get the business back on its feet. Bookings for the turtle tours also help with marine conservation — 5 per cent of each guest's tour fee is donated to Te Ara O Te Onu, the Cook Islands Sea Turtle Conservation Society.
Our tour begins on the sands in front of Avaavaroa Passage, one of the most dangerous places to swim and snorkel on the island. There are strong currents here and getting stuck in the middle of the passage can see you sucked out to the reef and its huge, crashing waves. "People have died here," Lee tells us, and his safety briefing puts the fear of god into me.
The sea scooters are motorised underwater handheld devices — think a leaf blower without its nozzle. On land, they weigh about 9kg but are surprisingly light and buoyant in the water. They have three speeds, easily operated with triggers on the handles on either side, and help to whizz you through the water with ease.
Despite my trepidation, I feel perfectly safe during the tour. The guides keep us close together and do regular checks to make sure we're okay. The current is strong in places, especially when we have to cross the passage, but the third speed on the scooters propels us through to the other side with no worries.
We see a Pacific green turtle almost instantly — one of two turtle species native to the Cook Islands — and at least five others as the tour goes on, maybe more (I was too excited to keep count). They are varying sizes and ages — Neu estimates the biggest we see is around 30 years old, although this species can live up to 80 years in the wild.
There's a great selection of other fish life around — parrotfish, angelfish, butterfly fish, wrasse, bright blue starfish — but we only have eyes for the turtles, aside from a fleeting distraction as an ethereal spotted eagle ray soars past.
Back on dry land, we're all in awe of the underwater world we've seen. There's a buzz of excitement in the van as we travel back to the Flying Turtle, where Jules offers us complimentary hot drinks (coffees, chai lattes, hot chocolates), with breakfast available to purchase for those who have time to stick around.
I sit in the sun and tuck into a blueberry bagel with a selection of tropical fruit and spreads before wandering 700m down the beach to Nautilus Resort and Spa for a luxurious full body massage.
My massage therapist, Vara, is Fijian but has lived in Rarotonga for nine years. She has four kids and when I tell her I have none and am visiting Rarotonga solo, she gives a delighted cluck and tells me how lucky I am.
I certainly feel lucky as I lie on the cosy massage table and think about my remaining days at Motu.
As Vara works the knots from my shoulders, I feel silly for marking "stress" as one of my concerns on the pre-massage questionnaire. This return visit has reminded me it's impossible to feel stressed on a holiday in the Cook Islands.
"We want Kiwis to enjoy what we do," John Dunn says. "Besides the novelty of actually getting on a plane and going somewhere, we want them to rest and heal.
"Art is part of healing and we have always incorporated it in the hospital and witnessed first-hand the effect on patients at their most vulnerable. The same occurs at Motu.
"People arrive tense. Then somewhere, between the sunset, sand and sculpture, they find solace.
"They embrace the crap internet as a positive and then join us for a gin on the deck. Bliss. And all the time knowing their hard-earned dollars will be doing good."
CHECKLIST:RAROTONGA
GETTING THERE
Air New Zealand flies direct from Auckland to Rarotonga, with one to two flights per day. airnz.co.nz
ACCOMMODATION
Motu Beachfront Art Villas starts from $750 per night. Stay for five nights and receive one free; stay for seven nights and receive two free. motuvillas.com
ACTIVITIES
Ariki Adventures offers a range of snorkel, kiteboard and stand up paddleboard tours. arikiadventures.com
Nautilus Resort's on-site spa has a full range of treatments available. nautilusresortrarotonga.com
ONLINE
cookislands.travel