Aratika

Aratika is an atoll in the Tuamotu group in French Polynesia. The nearest land is Kauehi Atoll, located 35 km to the south east.

Aratika has an unusual butterfly shape. Its length is 20.8 km² (8.0 sq mi) and its maximum width 10.7 km² (4.1 sq mi) . It has a land area of approximately 8.3 km² (3.2 sq mi) . The lagoon is wide and deep, and can be entered by two navigable passes.

Aratika had 160 inhabitants in 2012. The main village is called Paparara.

History

Aratika appears in some maps as "Carlshoff Island". This atoll was visited by the Charles Wilkes expedition on September 3, 1839. Prior to the pearl market slump at the turn of the century, Aratika was home to about 2000 people, thereafter dropping to about 200.

Aratika has a private airfield which opened in 1998 and is owned by the Fourcade company. Much of the island's main infrastructure, including the school in 2004 and many business from Paparara village were moved there due to ease of access to and from the airstrip.

The population number has been slowly declining and halves when the children go to school from the age of 11 as there is only a primary school on the island which has one class for 3-11 year olds.

MV Aratika

MV Aratika was a ferry that served the Interisland Line, taking passengers between Wellington and Picton in New Zealand. The aging Aratika, was replaced in 1999 by MV Aratere.

History

Aratika entered service on Cook Strait as a purpose-built freighter ship in 1974, as a sister ship to Arahanga. In 1976 the ship went to Hong Kong for a NZ$7m dollar rebuild, that increased her passenger capacity from 10 to 840, and her car space from 4 to 70.

During her 25 years of service she had completed 27,265 crossings and traveled an overall distance of 1.4 million miles.

In 1999, she was sold to MBRS Lines in the Philippines and served as MV Virgin Mary until 2008, when she was sold to Indian ship-breakers.

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