Suwarrow, the largest national park of the Cook Islands, is an uninhabited remote atoll situated in the Northern Cook Islands. Suwarrow (or Suvarov) lies roughly 800 kilometres northwest of Rarotonga and as such falls at the centre of the 15 islands that make up the Cook Islands. The islets fringe around a lagoon of about 10km across. The small land mass total area is a mere 0.4 sq km.
The reef islets of Suwarrow atoll lie like pearls strung around a vibrant lagoon. Described by Robert Louis Stevenson’s wife as ‘the most romantic island in the world,’ the motu (islets) which make up Suwarrow are small but have a history rich beyond their size.
From ghosts of Spanish soldiers, through murder and mayhem, to a hide-out for German raiders during World War One, Suwarrow has for centuries provided the stuff of romance and an idyllic breeding ground for seabirds and turtles.
Suwarrow became known around the world in the late 1960s through the exploits of New Zealander Tom Neale, who for decades called the island home before he died in 1977. His account of his solitary life on Suwarrow, An Island to Oneself, became an international best-seller.