Cycloned in the Cooks!

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In New Zealand we learned that the Cook Islands had been hit by 3 big cyclones in 10 days. Normally there's only one in every few years! We reckoned we were safe as there couldn't possibly be anymore, but to be on the safe side we made sure our accommodation wasn't on the beach! We left New Zealand on the 27th February and arrived in Rarotonga (the capital and the biggest island in the group) the day before (you have read it correctly, as we cross the international dateline we go back a day)!

We were picked up at the airport with the thick, acrid smell of multitudenous bonfires burning as people disposed of broken branches and debris from the cyclones. Our host informed us that another cyclone was heading our way in about 3 days time! Sure enough Cyclone Percy did his worst although there was no major damage, he huffed and he puffed but he didn't blow our house down. It poured with rain like I'd never seen before all night, all day and all the next night. With superb timing we had hired a scooter to get around the island! It sat around redundant for several days due to the bad weather.

Rarotonga is rustic and pretty undeveloped. The beach is very narrow and not very easily accessed and is a bit disappointing frankly. The interior of the island is jungle and mountains. However there are beautiful tropical fish only yards from the shore which swim seductively through your legs as you stand peering down at them.

We stayed in a nice little cabin-type thing in a backpackers 'resort' next to a small pool near the airport. So near to the airport that the curtains on our windows would rise up when the jets took off!

One day while walking along the beach taking photos a huge wave caught me unawares and soaked my camera and it's now ruined, hence not many photos to show (could be a blessing say some?).

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Photos

Cemetry on Rarotonga
Just past Avarua