I end with that sombre image as a reminder that the process of maintaining and reconstituting transnational communities is also accompanied by loss and dislocation. While there is much to celebrate about the tenacious way that Cook Islanders preserve their community and familial connections across geographical distance, to complete the picture of these transnational relationships we must acknowledge that globalisation also makes these relationships potentially fragile.

Guarnizo and Smith (1998, 13) use the term ‘translocality’ to describe the local-to-local connections that migrants forge to their locality of origin and the place to which they migrate. Many Cook Islanders view migration as a temporary strategy in order to earn higher incomes that will enable them one day to return home and live comfortably. The reality is that many end up settling permanently overseas because of job opportunities, welfare benefits or simply because they become accustomed to life abroad. At the same time, many migrants retain an emotional attachment to their homeland. It is this attachment that older, first generation migrants aim to instil in members of the second and third generations through visits to the homeland. Tere pati are the primary way these trips are undertaken and this practice suggests that transnational communities will continue to flourish in the future.

The ‘translocality’ of Cook Islanders refers not only to their multiple locations of residence but also to the ‘locality’ of the travel they undertake. Tere pati is a culturally specific style of travel. While global economic forces have largely determined that many Cook Islanders cannot afford to reside at home, they have applied distinctly local strategies in their attempts to stave off the deleterious effects of globalisation on their kin and various community affiliations. This travel is not simply about economic sustenance but also the upkeep of the agendas, obligations and emotions that constitute Cook Islanders’ social relationships.