Owned by Jim Bruce from Hawaii and his New Zealand partner Jan, the beach bar is one of the fifty named in the article.  Shipwreck Hut was placed third behind Baba Nest in Phuket, Thailand and Dune Preserve Beach Bar in Anguilla, British West Indies.

Whilst Jim considers his bar as ‘just a little hut on the lagoon’, CNN Writer Anthea Gerrie describes Shipwreck Hut as ‘the bar you dream of owning when you retire’.  Jim’s combination of swinging beachfront hammocks, delicious cocktails served in Best Foods mayonnaise jars (including Jim’s famous Opu Ra Magic cocktail), outstanding seafood barbeques and of course, the spectacular Rarotongan sunsets, has captured the heart of  many visitors to the Cook Islands.

Jim estimates 75% of visitors to his bar are New Zealanders.

“The Kiwis are great,” Jim says. “They know how to have fun and most of all they know how to relax”.

Jim visited the Cook Islands for the first time in 1989 and returned 10 years later to open his bar and accommodation, The Aro’a Beachside Inn.  This small resort has just 12 units, all nestled onto the beach front. Weekly entertainment includes New Zealander Garth Young on piano, Jake Numanga on ukulele (recently named the most outstanding contributor to tourism at the 2011 Air NZ Cook Islands Tourism Awards), and musical legend Rudi Aquino (also from Hawaii) on the vibraharp & ukulele.