I made it to the Cook Islands and had a day and a half of the hottest and most humid weather of my life. The island of Rarotonga is a tropical paradise island only a quarter the size of Niue, but with 15000 people. After that glorious day and a half however, the weather turned to stink. 4 days straight of nonstop downpour, and no glimmer of the sun. I still rented a scooter and drove around the island, which took 40 minutes, but the things to do are severely low when the weather is so terrible. It was my first [View Full Entry]

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I have just returned to Auckland after my week in Niue and still can't really comprehend everything I saw. Niue is not a part of the Cook Islands, but rather is a self governed nation in free association with New Zealand. That pretty much means that they do their own thing, but still rely on New Zealand for a lot of aid. The island is 260 square kilometers, and is not the typical South Pacific island. There are no sandy beaches and thus the reason why it's not a typical tourist destination. Niue has a population of 1500 people, but there [View Full Entry]

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Brunch - Back to Saltwater Café Lunch - NZ848 Peppered steak pie and potato salad, chocolate mousse (absolutely delicious!!!!!) Unlike our last visit where we had to wait at the RSA across the road from the airport to catch our middle of the night flight, we were able to leave today at a very sociable hour. Following breakfast at the Saltwater Café, we spent quite some time trying to return our scooters. The details aren't interesting in the least, but it is noteworthy that there was no suggestion of stress or impatience from either of us. While my original intention of [View Full Entry]

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Brunch at Saltwater Café Dinner at Flame Tree Restaurant TC - Salt and Pepper Squid entrée LV - Tempura Sushi Mains TC - Fresh line caught tuna on coconut braised rukau (local spinach dish), topped with gremolata LV - 12 prawns poached in a lemongrass and ginger broth, served on a coconut risotto with chilli mayo Mojitos - with a bit of extra help from us (we had to ask for more lime, more mint... more lime....... we almost got it right. Our last full day, and I'm not entirely sure what we did, but it was VERY relaxing. TC spent [View Full Entry]

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Breakfast - Same same Lunch at Royale Takitumu - toast and jam Dinner - Progressive Dinner to Island homes with 30ish American students studying at Canterbury University. The highlights - Ika mata (raw fish in a coconut sauce (even LV enjoyed it) and the hosts singing,while playing ukelele and tea chest bass. Leaving Aitutaki was pretty tough. Vince's bike had some petrol left (TC's had run out and there was none on the island to buy) so we decided a final ride would be in order. Vince had the bright idea of returning to our Ariki to thank him for the [View Full Entry]

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Breakfast LV - same same TC 5 slices pawpaw, tiny banana, 5 pieces watermelon, coconut slices Filtered coffee Lunch: no shops open for pies - I seriously did go searching - so forced to go to Samade on the Beach (O'otu) BBQ tuna, chicken. Curried Pawpaw salsa, crunchy salad with green, orange and red capsicum, crispy potato bake. One of our best - and cheapest meals, with a gorgeous view of the lagoon (and the St Kentigern's rugby team cavorting in the water). Tiger beer Dinner: BBQ at Tamanu [View Full Entry]

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Breakfast - same As we had promised the three Canadian sisters, we went to meet them at their resort (Aitutaki Lagoon Resort). Doris hadn't been feeling very well, but we were able to take Rachel and Janine on the back of our bikes for a bit of a tour around the island. They said they had felt like prisoners at their accommodation, with everything costing an exhorbitant amount of money. They also said that the owner had employed Fijian staff at $2 per hour because the locals refused to work there. We had a great time with the sisters - Janine [View Full Entry]

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Breakfast - same as yesterday Lunch provided by "The King "(Teking) as part of our day on the fabulous Aitutaki Lagoon. Salads, fruit, coconut, jellied banana, BBQd tuna, chicken, banana, egg plant, onion - magnifique. The King is a Highlanders fan, so would serve only Tui beer. Dinner at te Vaka: TC - Maitai LV - G and T TC - seafood bouillabaisse with crayfish, crab, fish, squid, scallops and garlic toastLV crayfish with garden salad and island fries - which although promised, wouldn't share nicely! (I had to steal when LV was distracted) Villa Maria Chardonnay 2007 Later in [View Full Entry]

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Last Raina Breakfast (thank goodness) we just ate the oranges and pawpaw plus our own chubby bananas. Now to Aitutaki. Lunch at Tauono’s: Starfruit juice Vegetables (capsicum, spinach, chives, chillis) picked immediately before cooking and Spinach omelette. What a fantastic meal. Every mouthful was delicious Dinner: te Vaka - the restaurant attached to our accommodation LV - Maitai TC - Tamanu Sunset Pacific Bouillabaisse - prawns, crab, squid, fish, poached in a reef fish broth finished with roast tomato and garlic butter with crème fraiche and garlic bread Alan Sco [View Full Entry]

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Breakfast - same but with fat little market bananas Morning tea - LV had three espressi while finishing her 'Lovely Bones' book at Saltwater Cafe. TC - Flat White Lunch same as yesterday, but extra yummy basil from ladies on roadside TC went snorkelling today. Dinner at Vaima: TC - Ika Mata - traditional to Cook Islands. Fresh fish cooked and marinated in lemon juice and coconut cream with tomatoes, cucumber, red onion and shallots LV - prawn twisters. Sweet chilli soy seafood sauce Mains - Catch of the Day. Fresh swordfish fillet grilled and served with an island-European b [View Full Entry]

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