Cook Islands

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26/06/08 Days 1-30
So in a 4 hour flight from Auckland to Raratonga ive gone from being 11 hours ahead to 11 hours behind...the first time in my trip that you see the day frist.
I landed at 3 in the morning to be greated by a old dude playing guitar and singing, he was so happy too.
The aitport was one of the smallest and so relaxed, a 15 minute car jorney followed to the hostel,which is costing me $14 a night for the 30 days, its got a kitchen so its back to cooking your own food again but i prefer that, the price of food is just about the same as in New Zealand, then i went to bed.
A bit about Cook Islands:
Raratonga is one of 15 islands that belong to the cook is spread over 100 thousand sq km of ocean or something like that, it's a lot any way. It is the biggest and also the capital. The islands are part of New Zealand so there for all the population have kiwi passports. The people are basically Maori's just slightly more islandy fide if that makes sence.........basically there amazingly friendly and unlike fiji'ans they dont want anything of you, which was exacly how i found the kiwi's in Nz, they also use the NZ dollar.
Ive been here 4 days now whilst writing this and the weather has been awesome, no rain and about 26-27c...perfect.
My first 4 days i have been doing quite a lot actully....so much to do and explore, the island 32km round so it takes about 1 hour by bus and 40 by car.
Raratonga has amazing beaches and blue blue water, its proberly the nicest beach resort ive visited on my entire trip, i love it so much more than fiji
There's alot of ozzy and kiwis on holiday in the resort but the island seem's so quite. There is 9500 residaents on the islands.
The middle of the island is so mountaines and green.
My first day i met this ozzy girl who is meeting her boyfriend and the skipper of a yacht and sailing back to oz. She was staying in the hostel untill she could get the keys for the boat.....we went in to town to get some bits and then to find the boat.....well she said it needed some work doing on it but this looked like fire wood and when she opened it up it was full of water.....glad im not sailing across the south pacific on it. That night we had some drinks with the local fisherman at the harbour.
The next day i just went for a walk around the other side of the island and caught the bus back before hitting the town as it was friday and the locals said it was the best.
The next day was sat so it was the local markets in town, i baught some local foods and checked out the stalls, there was also a local show on with the island dancers......they are very good so much better than the fijians. In the afternoon i met a local dude on the beach and he showed me a few places on his bike, and then took me to his house for dinner which was chicken and rice....very good aswell.
The next day the guy who i met, his name is muri, picked me up and we spent the day touring the island again on his bike, we went all the way round stoping at differnt places, going inland to some waterfalls, it was a good day. All the locals get sunday off as there all really religious(christians) and belive in the day of rest.
I mean everything shuts and all the busses stop asweel so makes it quite difficult to get around.
In the next day or two im going to get a bike aswell for the week.....wahoo cant wait so much to do and see.
So glad this is my last stop, couldnt think of a better one....total relaxation but enough stuff to stop you getting bored.
It's all happening in Raratonga, last night(30th june)at about 6pm, i was just about to start cooking my scrambled eggs at the hostel when a fire started in the familys kitchen.
We started to move the gas bottels out so they didnt explode, and to be honest i just thought it was a smallish fire and it would be contained in the kitchen.....how wrong i was.
Within 10 minutes the whole building was alight and it had spread to the other block aswell.
I ran back in to get my stuff and when i came out, the front way i came in was totally blocked off....i cant belive how quick a fire can spread, it was really scary.
I had to chuck all my things out on to the back field along with other guest whilst i ran back in to get more things, i did this 3 times and got most off the stuff but because it was all on the field and was dark only manage to get half of it in my back pack.
We then moved round the front to a safe area whilst the fire man did there job, and what a good job it was, they were there within 10 minutes with 3 fire engines and for a small island they certinatly looked like they new what they were doing....they manage to stop it spreading and after a couple of hours it was mostly out.
A couple of bad things was one fire man had to go to hospital as he fell through the roof, i have found out since that he is ok.
And most off the things that people are missing were actully stolen by the local kids, some just being taken off the field and some actully running in the rooms to take stuff, i didnt see this but some people did.
One couple lost there entire small backpack containing passports money etc, and the same happend to another girl.
The good things were and the most important that no one was seriously hurt, the fire and police were amazing and also the local comunity helping everyone and giving us beds for the night...i stayed with a local family just up the road.
I had to do a couple of interviews with the police and fire service, just i think to asess the cause of the fire.
Apparantly im going to be in the local paper tomorrow so ill have to get me myself a copy.
This morning I've found my self some where else to live, just another backpackers up the road, i had paid the hostel my months rent up front so i dont no what will happen to that.
I also went back to the field to check if i could find any more off my belongings, and luckerly found most of my things just spread out over the farmers field, which have just droped out of my hands whilst running......im missing a few bits but hey hey.
The building was still smoking and was totally destroyed, fire men were still hoseing stuff down.
I feel so sorry for the family they have lost everything and i mean everything.
A rainy day here in Rara so like i said ive found a new home, update the blog and got to go and buy some more food, i only went shopping yesterday...$70 all burnt to smitherines.
A relaxing night i think is in order.
Not done that much over the last couple of days exept RELAX by the pool, its been quite nice actually, ive been the only one in the hostel during the day so it's been like my own privert house up in the hills.
One night i went to a cultral dance festival, it was the best dancers on the island, who put on one last concert in the auditorium before they set of to OZ and new zealand for the pacific dance festivals, which the cook islands actully won last year.........it was a really good show and the dancers are unberliverble, both the men and woman.
Today im doing the cross island treck, it starts in town crossing the center of the island through the mountains and coming out on the south side, it should take us about 4 hour's i've been told, me and 4 others are doing it so should be good, the scenery is supposed to be amazing.
The walk ended up taking us 5 hours, and was a little more chalenging than i thought, it didnt help that i di it in flip flops.
We nearly got lost a couple of times coming down the south side, the track just diserpeared when we had to keep crossing the stream....good fun though, one of the people who we did it with was 45 and she was'nt happy, she was strugling so we had to keep stoping a lot so she could have a fag! ha ha
Forgot to metion a couple of days ago the hostel im staying at now, the owner had a car crash and his wife who was in the passenger seat was killed in the accident, there saying he was slightly over the limit and are trying to get him done for man slaughter. His two kids were also so in the car and they are still in hospital. Its terrible, how he must feel?
Yesterday i had a great day, i rented a push bike and cycled around the island it took me about 4 hours but i stoped off at muri beach and had a couple of beers and some lunch sat on the deck looking out over the lagoon. Its 32 k around which is'nt that bad but the bike was terible so a bit saddle sore this morning.
Ive come in to town as a cloudy day in raro, and ive rented a scooter for the week, it was only $100 dollars so less than 40 pounds.
In the cook island's you have to have a local licenca by law which you get from the police station and as i dont have a bike licence i also had to do the test which was a bit pointless as the police officer passed me before i did it and just told me where to go and did'nt even follow me. All she said was just come back in one piecs, very strange? as they are quite strict over here.
So a week of exploring to follow.
Not to much to report the past few days really. I've been around the island a few times and done all the inland roads on the bike, i love having the bike but have to take it back in a couple of days but think ill just keep it another week.
Oh a funny story, the other day i was round the east side of the island and i stoped to take a picture and lock my keys in the seat, along with everything else i own, so i had to go knocking on people's houses to let me use there phone but it was sunday morning and everyone must have been at church.....6 house's later someone was in.
So i got in touch with the hire company and they sent someone out.....2 hours later. Ill not be doing that again.
Today i did 2 more scuba dive's and i have to say it was my best dives yet, im actully getting really good.
The water was 30-40 meter visabilty, which was unberliverble the clearest i've been in.
We saw everything possable exept for a shark, and the 2nd dive was a ship wreck which was awesome as i've never done one before.....i love rarotonga it amazing but not long left now 11 or 12 days i think, slowly coming to a end.
6 days to go...wow!
Ive got a bit of a hangover this morning as went out last night being friday, it was my last friday night whilst im away....the time you never thought would come.
The past few days there has been whales just off sure, right out side our hostel, it's amazing watching them and i've never seen whales before so its quite cool that i see them at the end of the trip, they are huge, you see them for a couple of minutes then they go away for about 10 minutes then they come back up and give you another show, you get to see there spray, thins but the best bit is when they dive down and you only see the tale.
Right the time has come, this will be my last time writing the blog. Its my last day in paradise, folowed by 2 days of flying. I have to go back to Auckland AGAIN, but at least i get reunited with the blue bar...proberly the best airport bar in the world, then on to LA and then Heathrow, it will be a long couple of days but it will be worth it.
Ive got a couple of days in london aswell when im back with emily so really looking forward to that, my first time in the capital.....wahey i get to go on a tube.
Ive just been chillin out totaly the past few days, i gave my schooter back the other day, i felt like id had a lim cut off.
One of the lads who ive been hanging around with fell off the other day, shouldnt laugh but it was so funny,crashing in to the dirt. There really fast though, there 125's and i can go faster on them then my van went in oz!

check out my pictures of the last couple months in a couple of weeks.

Right its been a unberliverble 11 months....done everything ive wanted and a little bit more!

Brett signing out!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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