Nikao is a village settlement on Rarotonga in the

Cook Islands ) , image_map = Cook Islands on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , capital = Avarua , coordinates = , largest_city = Avarua , official_languages = , lan ...

. It is located on the north coast to the west of the capital Avarua. Nikao is the home of the

Parliament of the Cook Islands The Parliament of the Cook Islands ( rar, Pāremeta te Kuku Airani) is the legislature of the Cook Islands. Originally established under New Zealand’s United Nations mandate it became the national legislature on independence in 1965. The Par ...

, Tereora College (the oldest secondary school), Nikao's modern

Cook Islands Christian Church The Cook Islands Christian Church (CICC) is the largest religious denomination in the Cook Islands. It belongs to the Reformed family of churches. The CICC is a Christian Congregationalist church and has approximately 18,000 members,Rarotonga International Airport Rarotonga International Airport ( rar, Papa Rererangi o Rarotonga) is the Cook Islands' main international gateway, located in the town and district of Avarua, Rarotonga, west of the downtown area on the northern coast. Originally built in 19 ...

and the first division football team Nikao Sokattak F.C. Originally, Nikao consisted of three

tapere A Tapere or Sub-District is a low level of traditional land subdivision on five of the Southern Cook Islands (Rarotonga, Mangaia, Aitutaki, Atiu, and Mauke), comparable to the ahupua'a of the main Hawaiian Islands or to the kousapw of Pohnpei. ...

or settlements (Rangiura, Turamatuitui and Pokoinu). Most of the people of Pokoinu lived near the sea, but after extensions were made to the airport, the people were moved inland towards the mountain. Today they call that new tapere, "Tepuka". The new village of Nikao has three new tapere (Panama, Atupa and Tepuka). Black Rock (Tuoro) is also located at Nikao beach, across the street from the Golf Club, where in oral tradition the spirits of the dead are believed to depart for

Avaiki Avaiki is one of the many names by which the peoples of Polynesia refer to their ancestral and spiritual homelands. Samoa, Hawaii, Cook Islands By no means certain, but certainly possible, is an origin in the large islands of Samoa, namely Sav ...

References

Populated places in the Cook Islands Rarotonga {{CookIslands-geo-stub