Akaiami Paradise Ltd. is located where the original terminal building for the Teal flying boats once stood. The Teal flying boats used Akaiami as its Cook Islands stopover for re-fuelling and sheltering in times of bad weather. The original jetty remains and some other remnants from this by-gone era. The lodge has been reconstructed to replicate the original terminal building where the well-to-do would rest and sometimes sleep overnight.
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the flying boat
carving
The flying boats travelled at only a few hundred feet off the ocean waves, giving passengers a true sense of the distance and seclusion of the scattered islands of the South Pacific. Other than the Union Steam Ship company or a private yacht, TEAL was the only way to reach the Cook Islands prior to the building of the first airstrips in the late 1940's.
The TEAL 'airport' for Cook Islands was located on Motu Akaiami in Aitutaki lagoon. Motu in the local language meaning islet. Here the giant ships landed and then set anchor a short distance off the motu. A clinker built lighter would then ferry passengers to the small wharf and from there they would walk to the 'Terminal' for a meal and refreshments while the ship was re-fuelled.
On occasion, and to the delight of all but the most anxious business traveller, weather further ahead on the Coral Route would demand that a flying boat spend the night on Motu Akaiami. A message would be relayed back to the main island of Aitutaki and a small flotilla of canoes and supply boats would set sail for the motu. On board would be the makings for an island feast, complete with young hula dancers to entertain the stranded passengers and crew while the food was prepared.
