CoOK ISLANDS SuN
SEE & DO
25
Kura Happ is the real deal! Amazing live entertainer and now reef tour guide KURA HAPP IS A GIFTED AND ARTISTIC RAROTONGABORN VOCALIST, GUITARIST AND SONGWRITER WHOSE PERFORMANCES AROUND THE ISLAND’S MUSIC SCENE ARE SOULFULLY ENTERTAINING AND SPIRITED.
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he is one of those unique restaurant entertainers who performs in an unpretentious yet eye-catching manner at a sound level where you can both appreciated her sweet music and enjoy your meal. But, Kura wasn’t always this way! Kura Happ has been on a musical journey since she was a young child when her grandparents brought her along to church to sing with the choir. Born in Rarotonga, raised in Sydney, Kura began her musical pathway learning the piano, but she got disinterested with it and didn’t continue. As a teenager still at school Kura and her sister Leilani practiced their musical skills busking during the holidays in Sydney’s busy shopping district around Pitt Street, the Town Hall and Central Station, and also nearer to home at Hurstville and Cronulla. “My best friend is my sister. We’re both singers. I would play guitar and she had the ukulele.” “We’d carry those little fold out stools with our instruments on our backs and a little Djembe drum. We’d walk around and set up at the best place; no sound system just acoustic.” Kura said they played different styles of music from the R&B music of Destiny’s Child and TLC, to Dr. Hook, The Eagles, Cat Stevens and Bob Dylan (influenced by their parents taste in music): “I love Dr. Hook!” “My mum was the one that really got us into our music. She can play. And, she took us to musicals like Miss Saigon, The Lion King and Ipi Tombi. There was so many I can’t remember them all!” Kura and Leilani ultimately became a duo R&B group called Brown Sugar for a period with some success around the club circuit. “We did a few big gigs like Waitangi Day.”
Kura Happ, queen of the Rarotonga music scene
(Photographer: Jaiah Arai)
Kura later joined a group called Indigo: “It was a really good band, but I was also in other groups.”
all the good concerts and my favourite musicians I love to listen to, are often on the same nights as me."
When Kura’s mum and dad retired they returned to Rarotonga; Kura moved back and forward until eventually settling back in her homeland when she was 23.
Recently Kura has expanded her horizons starting a unique ‘eco’ venture called Ariimoana (King of the Ocean).
“I learned to play the guitar in Raro by watching and listening to local musicians.”
I Love it! If I could live down there, I’d leave this place and go live in the ocean forever. For the past fifteen years Kura Happ has become well known locally as an individual performer around the music scene presenting her own distinctive style. She has also performed internationally. Kura is also half of one of Rarotonga’s most popular and accomplished acoustic percussion duos known as Trigger Fish, with Maurice Newport (Mo). They perform a mix of soul, reggae and jazz in both small and large venues, including heading off to Tahiti often to play at the Hinano Live concert. “I love Tahiti!”. Kura is on guitar and vocals, and Mo on the Cajón (a box shaped percussion instrument originally from Peru): “It’s really cool!” "I love the music scene in Rarotonga. The only thing is
"I’m an outdoor nature 'waterbaby', big kid at heart! I love being in the ocean: snorkeling, spear fishing, scuba diving, free diving and reef walking. I love to scuba dive but I prefer to free dive with friends." I Love it! If I could live down there, I’d leave this place and go live in the ocean forever. Working for Captain Tama’s Lagoon Cruizes at one stage as ‘Captain Happy’ exposed Kura to visitors, contributing to her confidence speaking as a tour guide, and supporting her believe that she could create a business focussing on her love of the ocean. “Also, working with Ariki Adventures, I learnt so much there, which gave me the confidence and courage to start my Ariimoana reef walkabouts.” In 2019, Kura began Ariimoana walkabouts. The Ariimoana reef walks are designed to explore the lagoon’s marine life close up. The walkabouts last around three hours during low tides. “We go on the reef at low tide, which is the best and safest time to go. We find sea life including moray eels, starfish, sea urchins, octopus, reef fish, and sea cucumbers, and talk about their roles in the ocean world. I tell stories about how the locals use to live fishing the reefs. All those stories my grandparents would share with me. I was raised on the beach.” For more information about Ariimoana reef walks call 70 070. Facebook - Ariimoana; Instagram - ariimoana_ walkabouts.
Ariimoana, king of the ocean
(Photographer: Alisha Street)
Kura Happ is the real deal! Amazing entertainer and now ‘eco’ tour guide. It’s going to be difficult not to come across Kura if you love the best things Rarotonga has to offer – local live music and the pristine lagoons!
o tourism at it’s best!
PA'S TREKS Ec
Across Island Trek with Bruce
• About 3.5 hours • Reasonable fitness needed (not suited for those with heart, ankle, knee or hip problems)
• Transport & light lunch provided • Monday to Friday - weather permitting
Medicinal Nature Walk with Pa
• A gentle walk through the noni plantation and taro fields to the mountain. Enter pristine rainforest, visit the sacred Marae. • Hear stories of Pa’s ancestors and learn about local herbal remedies. • Tuesday & Thursday
THE TRUE STORY OF PA & THE DOLPHINS Written and illustrated by his wife Jillian Sobieska, this story will delight and inspire children everywhere. Available from Bounty Bookshop or directly from Pa and Jillian
Bookings 21079 or email pastreks@gmail.com | www.pastreks.com
