The magical Cook islands

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I know what you are thinking where are the Cook islands and why did she choose them to visit ? The 15 Cook Islands are to be found scattered over some 2 million square klms of ocean extending from 9 degrees south of the equator to just north of the tropic of Capricorn in the mighty Pacific . They are flanked to the west by Tonga and Samoa and to the east by Tahiti and the flight from Auckland to Rorotonga , the capital and main island takes around 3 .5 hours by convention jets These are idyllic places embracing coral atolls and rugged volcanic islands east of NZ. They are the stuff that dreams are made from and the scandal of Captain Cook and Bligh is deep in its history.

Not with standing all of this , I arrived in Rorotonga in the cyclone and rainy season which it has to be said put a slight dampener on things! But the place is absolutely beautiful even in the rain! I have been to some amazing places on this trip and taken shots of bays , lagoons , long sandy shores with swaying palm trees , these islands have to take the gold cup , I cannot say any more though some of the pictures do not do justice to the brilliant colours of the sea. Rorotonga is small it is 37 klms in circumference and the total population of the cooks is around 19,000 half of them in the capital . There are more islanders in NZ than there are actually living in the Cooks , the people migrate to find work..

There is plenty for the visitor to do, mostly , focussed on the sea canoeing, sailing ,swimming diving and more with lots of rather nice young men all willing to help you. There are also some fairly demanding walks up in the hills. i did think about it but that was as far as it got! Well not quite , I did take a leisurely nature walk with two young guides though I think I knew more abot the flora and fauna than they did. But we walked up a rather steep hill to view the lagoon and we talked about what their hopes and dreams were- there is not too much work here for young people. It is the low season here so not many people are around except for the staff, It seems to be a very paternalistic society with resorts taking on staff for life and plenty of them , I counted 8 waiters and waitresses serving around 10 tables!

I took a flight, a short 45min hop, to the to beautiful island of Aitutaki, which has a vast lagoon with numerous small islands ,sand bars and excellent corals and snorkelling. I am still not very brave when it comes to putting my face in the water and taking off across the seas , but we spent a good couple of hours playing around in the warm waters , it didn’t seem to matter that the skies were cloudy and the rain fell, we were wet anyway!!.
But i did miss seeing the giant clams that most of the group who were good enough to swim to the spot , were able to experience, still i eat the little ones so have to just immagine what the big ones look like! The lagoons still showed off their exotic colours and the beach BBQ was very welcome

My resort is set on a sheltered lagoon and the whole island is surrounded by a coral reef which protects the inner waters and gives a calm , tranquil environment safe for all the aquatic sports. The vast rollers of the great pacific crash against the reef and there is a continuous hum rather like a motorway but far more pleasing This part of the pacific is a high alert area as the volcanic and earth quake ring of fire encircles NZ and all the pacific islands.. I do wonder how they would cope if a tsunami were to hit, most are at sea level and I am not sure what the alert systems are - best not to think of that.

What is more I have a mad cockerel outside my window who sings his wake up call early in the morning , it goes on all day and into the evening - not sure what that is all about, probably pining for a mate know how he feels!!!!

I took the bus into town on the one main road which encircles the island for 37 klms . It was a magic journey though townships and pretty countryside to the main town which if you blink you might miss!!! Still I wanted to have an evening meal there as there are lots of local food outlets and bars but as it turned out time ran away and that was noit possible - a real shame

As I type this blog I can hear the rain beating down. There is a real shortage of water here so the local people are more than happy for their rivers to be filled. I have been here for 4 days and it has rained on and off for two of them. when the sun does appear it is hot, beautiful and alluring . If ever you get the chance it is the place to be.

I leave in the early hours of Saturday morning, it has been quite - you know what - I have run out of words to describe how I feel I have nothing left to pass on to you all, but a feeling of utter amazment at the beauty of it all

xxxxxxxxx

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Photos

And last one
I'm getting good at looking out of the windows!

Comments

[Vicky]

Wow - so much!!
Hi Caro. Well what a time you have had so far. You will now be with Al and no doubt notice the change - well if you blink you might miss him!! Have a wonderful time in the US. All too soon it will be back to the norm!! Still, the memories will stay forever - very special. xxx