One Foot Island Beach is the highlight of a pristine islet with a rare natural beauty. This picturesque beach has won the World Travel Award for the best beach in Australasia. It is breathtaking in its idyllic landscape, powdery white sand, warm azure water and swaying palm and coconut trees.
Learn about the legend of how the island earned its name. A chief, who had forbade his subjects from fishing here, saw a man and his son fishing from the rocks. The chief ordered their death and they fled to the island and hid in a coconut tree. When the father was captured, he swore he was the only one who had been fishing. After a long, fruitless search, the chief decided that it was just the rocks they had seen. The father was killed and the son was left wandering the island alone. Since then it has been known as Tapuaetai, which means footprint.
Sail to the islet from Aitutaki to lounge on the white sand. Pack a tropical picnic, read your favourite book or listen to a playlist of relaxing beach tunes on your headphones. Slip into the warm waters, frolic in the waves and look out at the brilliant views of the Aitutaki lagoon.
Take a day cruise with a catered lunch, wade across the sandbar to the nearby islands at low tide or put on snorkeling gear and drift along with the currents as you watch tropical fish darting about. Discover an abundance of magnificent marine life while scuba diving on the reef.
Notice the buildings on the islet. One is the charming post office, where you can have your passport stamped.
One Foot Island Beach is accessible by boat from Aitutaki and is separated from Tekopua by a deep-water channel filled with colourful fish. Aitutaki is a 45-minute flight from Rarotonga plan extra time to enjoy its coral reefs as well.
