🛫 First-ever direct flights from Australia to the Cook Islands launching May 2026, 3x weekly aboard the eco-friendly A321neo LR with extra legroom for your guilt
💰 Fares from AUD 249 one-way — basically the price of a Melbourne coffee with oat milk foam. Over 50,000 seats per year to keep the Cook Islands’ tourism humming whether turtles approve or not
🐢 On arrival — snorkel with innocent turtles, sip coconuts, and maybe hear the faint hum of seabed drills below
🌊 Meanwhile, Down in the Cook Islands’ EEZ
🦈 China has signed a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership 2025–2030 that goes far beyond beachside photo ops. The deal covers:
- Seabed mineral research — mapping cobalt, nickel, rare earths, and polymetallic nodules across vast tracts of the EEZ
- Education initiatives — train local scientists, includes high-tech survey methods, robotic drilling, and extraction protocols
- Capacity building — workshops and joint expeditions, giving Chinese teams privileged access to seabed resources while fostering long-term co-operation
