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From Auckland we flew to Rarotonga, an island in the South Pacific which is part of the Cook Islands group. This was supposed to be our paradise island break with lots of sun and sand but unfortunately it rained solidly for the first 3 days.
Rarotonga is such a remote island and only about 20 miles in circumference there is not a huge amount to do when the sun doesn’t shine, we did still manage to venture out in the monsoon like conditions for walks along the beach and into town but always under an umbrella.
After 3 days on Rarotonga we took a short flight in a 30 seat propeller aeroplane to another island in the Cooks called Aitutaki. The weather improved slightly and we enjoyed a few days on the even more remote island of Aitutaki with a white coral reef completely surrounding the main island and lots of smaller islands called Motus. The snorkelling around the huge coral in water which is clear up to a depth of 30 metres was fantastic, seeing the most bizarre underwater sea world. We took a lagoon cruise around the surrounding Motus, some of them nothing more than a sand bar
with a couple of palm trees and all uninhabited. The tour included a stop at ‘Shark island’ where they film the English Shipwrecked series and the Australian series of Survivor, we also stopped at One Foot Island to get our passports stamped from one of the smallest, most remote post office in the world.
Back on Rarotonga Island the sun was out at last with clear blue sky and we had a fantastic week kayaking round Muri lagoon exploring some lovely white sandy beaches in warm turquoise water. Sadly after 2 and a bit weeks it was time to leave on an overnight flight to Los Angeles. Arriving in LA was all a bit surreal, maybe because we missed a nights sleep but we also didn’t have any real pre-conceptions of America, it felt like we had just stepped into a movie set. Walking along Venice beach on a Sunday afternoon amongst some very colourful characters doing their various street acts, the original outdoor muscle gym and a huge party full of hippies and bongos on the beach was all great fun.
Straight from LA airport we picked up our ‘Budget’ hire car which turned out to be
a lot nicer than we expected with a full white leather interior and walnut dash. Getting in on the left hand side and finding a steering wheel in front of you is a strange experience and then going out into the busy LA traffic on the wrong side of the road is frightening! From LA we drove 270 miles North East to Las Vegas, pretty much the whole journey apart from getting out of the massive LA urban sprawl, was through the Nevada desert along never ending straight roads with a heat haze in the distance making it look like you are about to drive off the edge of the world.
Las Vegas is a fairly uninspiring place in the middle of a barren desert with huge make believe themed resorts and casino halls joined by walkways, it’s the cross between a huge airport terminal and a Butlins holiday camp. We are not gambling fans, we didn’t even figure out how the slot machines worked, we certainly didn’t want to spend too much time in the really smoky, busy gambling halls but having said that it was a fantastic experience and opportunity to see what Vegas is all about.
We did enjoy walking along ‘the strip’ at night watching the free shows and generally taking in the buzzing atmosphere. A highlight of our trip to Vegas was watching the amazing acrobatics at the Cirque du Soleil performance of Mystere at the Treasure Island resort.
From Las Vegas we drove about 280 miles across the spectacular Hoover Dam into the even more barren Arizona desert to see the Grand Canyon, a small town called Williams was our base for a couple of nights. The Grand Canyon at the South rim is amazing, totally not what we were expecting and vast at 275 miles long, 10 miles wide and up to a mile deep in places. As this was close to the end of our trip and we were under budget overall, we decided to take a helicopter around the Grand Canyon to get a better idea of its breath taking scale from up above.
Back through the empty deserts and snowy peaks we spent another night in Las Vegas to enjoy some lovely sunshine by the pool in the Sahara resort before heading back to LA. On our last day we did our own tour round Beverly Hills
and Hollywood but unfortunately we didn’t see Posh & Becks or Brad & Angelina but pretty amazing to be driving along Santa Monica and Sunset boulevards and the incredibly posh Rodeo Drive. The rest of the day we spent at Universal studios which was great fun all be it a bit manic, to see all the film sets and sound studios where the latest block buster movies are being made, seeing the set of Desperate Housewives pleased Vanessa!
Our last flight of the trip sadly took us back to Heathrow but surprisingly we were greeted with beautiful warm sunshine and a lush green country side we had missed. We never expected it but it’s really nice to be back, have some home comforts and see family and friends. Not a lot happens when you are in a routine of work and study at home but in just over 9 months of travelling a huge amount has happened, every day has been a new experience and overall one that we will both never forget.
Many thanks to Rob & Angela for putting us up or should that be putting up with us before and after our travels, Elly for
letting us store all our worldly goods whilst we were away and Justin & Sue for all their useful travel advice. Also thanks to anyone that has followed the blog and offered us messages of support, it all really helped us and we hope it’s been an inspiration for some.
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Chris Lincoln
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Welcome Home
Great to read your blog and compare your thoughts with the places that we had been. Just envious that we did do only 3 months and not 9, maybe I'll start planning again. Now its down to reality and its not easy trust me. Best Wishes Chris Lincoln