where are the cook islands

The Cook Islands are located in Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. They lie about 3,000 kilometers (1,864 miles) northeast of New Zealand, roughly halfway between Hawaii and New Zealand. The islands are spread over a vast area of about 2.2 million square kilometers of ocean and consist of 15 small islands grouped into Northern and Southern island groups. The main island is Rarotonga, which hosts the capital, Avarua. The Cook Islands are situated in the Polynesian Triangle, surrounded by other island nations such as Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, and French Polynesia.