http://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Cook-Islands/Rarotonga/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Oceania , Cook Islands , Rarotonga en-us Thu, 16 Oct 2008 03:10:16 BST Thu, 16 Oct 2008 03:10:16 BST Chickens and SquirrelsDonrsquot worry or get upset there are no squirrels in the Cook Islands I know Ben Wu would be sad hersquos a big fan. We have chickens instead. Lots of chickens. Everywhere you look chickens running around. Wild rampant domesticated chickens. The other day I decided to take a nap on the couch in the living room. There was a chicken and 3 chicks out side clu http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/Cook-Islands/Rarotonga/blog-332424.html Customs in the Cook Islands So this post is for all the travelers out there who may be visiting the Cooks and want to know about the customs and such. For the most part itrsquos pretty typical of any country. The main advice I have is donrsquot use an electronic ticket you have to provide an exiting ticket when you arrive. When I got here this confused the heck out of them. I had to ex http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/Cook-Islands/Rarotonga/blog-332423.html How Not To Do ThingsAlright today sucked. Yesterday was frustrating and seemed like a waste of time but today was that and more. I got up early to go do what I came here for to measure offsets. Therersquos a canoe thatrsquos derigged so it will be easy to measure. Irsquom applying to graduate schools so I figure showing the results of my work could really explain what Irsquom doing http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/Cook-Islands/Rarotonga/blog-332422.html Two Seat and the Shortest Race EverTwo seat Irsquom drawn to it. I gravitate towards it. Whenever I join a new club for crew therersquos two things you can count on the coach will somehow pick out I am the one bisweptual person on the team despite telling them the port side is the proper side of the boat for an oar to be on and that I will sit in two seat. Next thing I know Chris Walkley http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/Cook-Islands/Rarotonga/blog-332421.html Showdown in the Cooks Pick Up PushBike RacingSo I was biking to practice today as usual. I hear this repetitive noise coming up from behind me and figure itrsquos a slow going motorcycle. I look to my right and it turns out to be some guy on a pushbike passing me. Now as many of you know Irsquom somewhat of a competitive person and wouldnrsquot let something like this just happen wi http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/Cook-Islands/Rarotonga/blog-332420.html In L.A. things are done in style and the rental company we got the car from had its Head Quarters in the Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills even though we felt like a fish out of the water we wondered how it will be to spend a night in a place like that and we decided to do it some day... guess what... we spent that very same evening not at the Hilton but at the Sheraton courtesy of Air New Zealan http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/Cook-Islands/Rarotonga/blog-332035.html At 1.30am I finally dragged myself out of bed and did the final bits of packing while Matt carried on laying in bed. Our pick up was due to come at 2.20am and at 2.05am Matt decided to get up and have a shower. That meant unpacking the shower gel and shampoo which were already locked up in my rucksack. I wasnrsquot impressed. Luckily the taxi was late as it gave Matt time to get ready. We we http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/Cook-Islands/Rarotonga/blog-330954.html We woke up at 8am which felt like a real lie in. It was a novelty being in self servicing accommodation for a change so we didnrsquot have to get out to make way for the cleaners for once.We had planned to Skype our parents today but the internet signal wasnrsquot great from our accommodation. Eventually we had to walk around into the complex next door that wersquod bought the internet from http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/Cook-Islands/Rarotonga/blog-330946.html Street Fighting Man sorta So here it is. I told you I get creative sometimes and I got creative today. First a brief backstory though.Back in the winter of 200708 there was a select group of individuals who spent more hours playing darts than most varsity athletes spend at practice. We considered applying for varsity status but since we had no girls sad we figured we'd run into problems http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/Cook-Islands/Rarotonga/blog-326861.html Good Day I had a great paddle today. When I showed up they already had two boats in the water and brought down a third. Unfortunately we only had 13 paddlers so we had to leave a boat on shore and as you may guess I was the lucky extra who didnrsquot get a boat. I was eerily not upset about it though I actually laughed about it. Just the other day I had been talking to Richie about not g http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/Cook-Islands/Rarotonga/blog-325049.html Lost New Friend Returns So some of you may recall from a post way back that when I arrived at Tiare village I meet a German girl Christina who was working at the dentist office. A few weeks into the stay she decided to move off Rarotonga to work at the dentist shop in Aitutaki. Before she left we were supposed to catch up on a Sunday and head down to Muri beach. Unfortunately with no cell ph http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/Cook-Islands/Rarotonga/blog-324756.html It is windy here. Very very windy. Dave from the airport tells me 4050 knots. Maybe thatrsquos not so bad if yoursquore on the Gulf of Mexico about now but I think the rest of you can appreciate it. Itrsquos really made me realize how much the wind effects biking. When Irsquom going into town with the wind I fly. When Irsquom heading back I might be able to go faster jogg http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/Cook-Islands/Rarotonga/blog-324753.html Taking Offsets One of the things Irsquom really interested in doing is taking the offsets from as many boats as I can. The offsets let me have a way of comparing different boats without having the boats next to each other. In effect it lets me turn the hull into a bunch of numbers. With these numbers I hope to create digital models of the canoes working on an ama right now allowing me http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/Cook-Islands/Rarotonga/blog-324741.html Hey again Trying to update the blog again before we start our campervan adventure around the south island of nz. Spent a week in Rarotonga which was absolute bliss and v relaxin apart from our underwater camera leaking and breaking meaning that the pics we took were limited. Bummer Anyway Rarotonga is a small islalnd approx 20 miles radius. Our hostel was right smakc bang on the beach which was http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/Cook-Islands/Rarotonga/blog-324516.html Island Craft So I though Irsquod say a bit about Island Craft the place that Irsquove been doing a lot of my work. Island Craft is owned by Fletcher Melvin and itrsquos been a family business for three generations I think. I know theyrsquove got a small shop in the airport and their main commercial store is in Avarua. I feel like there may be another store somewhere but I canrsquot http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/Cook-Islands/Rarotonga/blog-324055.html So some of you want to know what Irsquom doing out here. As you have probably heard there are no boats being built on Rarotonga right now so repairing paddles and learning how to use them. This post will show you roughly what I do.The repair Irsquom showing is about as bad as it gets the whole blade broke in half. Irsquove done two of these so far most repairs are a lot smaller. To do http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/Cook-Islands/Rarotonga/blog-324040.html Second Race So remember last time how I was a little annoyed I didn't get to race I got to race this time. Twice. Total of 23 kilometers. I was in the novice race which was 8k and we won easily because there was no competition.The last race was the men's senior race which was almost canceled because it was getting late but I pointed out that we normally start practice at this time anyways. http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/Cook-Islands/Rarotonga/blog-324030.html We checked out of Club Raro after sorting out lots of problems with the hotel overcharging us. Lukcily our transfer turned up on time and took us to the airport in plenty of time for the flight. At check in our beloved factor 50 sunblock was confiscated as we werenrsquot allowed liquids in our hand luggage. We hadnrsquot realised they werenrsquot allowed on this flight as they were for the http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/Cook-Islands/Rarotonga/blog-319519.html Paradise Not everyday is perfect in paradise. Had a paddle today and as is often the case I only got a seat for less than half of practice. I did get to use lsquomy ownrsquo paddle one I fixed and get to use while Irsquom here but the shaft is too slippery and I loose my grip on occasion. The second half I took out a single which is cool but it was wicked choppy today. I did al http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/Cook-Islands/Rarotonga/blog-319516.html The Changeover Irsquom paddling on the ama side of the boat the left side. The pace is rapid probably 90 strokes or so a second. The conditions probably arenrsquot the worst but definitely qualify as dismal. A strong wind whips the spray of the paddlers in front of me into my face and makes my grip slippery not that the stinging rain isnrsquot doing so anyways. I hear a sharp lsq http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/Cook-Islands/Rarotonga/blog-318696.html I know we've given you a summary of the Cook Islands but we need to give you a further update.....We mentioned that there were gazzillions of wild chickens and roosters roaming the Island and then we found out that it's OK to eat them but you have to catch them first. Well that was it the hostel went on a mission. 2 guys in particular Sean and Gareth set off on the motor bike armed with stale http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/Cook-Islands/Rarotonga/blog-314876.html Alright so this was pretty sweet. About a week or two before I came out here a vaka meaning canoe went on a voyage to Samoa. The boat is a huge catamaran of traditional design made in the 90rsquos. Therersquos a website with info about it that Irsquoll try and find later. Itrsquos been on the trip back for about 2 weeks now with a stop in Niue sp for repairs. Today it arrived.Da http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/Cook-Islands/Rarotonga/blog-314414.html Dave's PlaceSo some of you have been wondering where Irsquove been staying this whole time. The second time I was out to paddle I asked around if anyone had any extra room and one of the paddlers Dave commented that he was the only one in his three room house. Went by the next day and moved in the day after Daversquos working quality assurance for Air Rarotonga and is renting this place http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/Cook-Islands/Rarotonga/blog-314409.html First RaceSo this weekend was the first race sorta. I was told I was going to be in it but then I arrived to find out I had been taken out of the boat. Therersquos been trouble getting everyone to show up for practice so they combined the menrsquos and womenrsquos novice. I was pretty frustrated because Irsquove been there trying everyday. Irsquoll put up a post in a day or two but http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/Cook-Islands/Rarotonga/blog-314400.html Muri BeachA few days ago did a run past Muri few kilometers down the road which is a popular resort village type thing. So I decided to go down and take some pictures of the lovely blue water.For the traveler that may be wondering about it Muri is located on the eastern coast of the island. Itrsquos a series of three islands that protects a small and shallow lagoon. In the village there http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/Cook-Islands/Rarotonga/blog-314397.html We finally left the States after 2 months travelling around and 9000 miles in the car to a more relaxed pace of life in Rarotonga. We arrived very early morning to see the sun rise and show the main accommodation to be on Muri beach with stunning views. In reality our room was around the back and overlooked the very green garden. Not to worry we were not going to let the lack of view spoil our re http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/Cook-Islands/Rarotonga/blog-314323.html Today was a sunny day so we hit the beach at Muri lagoon. We took a bit of a picnic with us and spent the day laying on the beach and swimming. We got quite sunburnt and then went back to make a start on our packing. Therersquos not much more to say http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/Cook-Islands/Rarotonga/blog-314101.html Constitution WeekSo I had the good luck of timing my arrival right and landing during Constitution Week. This actually turned out to be a little bad to because everyone was taking time off from work so things got started slow but I got to see some cool cultural stuff so it was worth it.The main event of the week was the parade held on Saturday. I tramped into town to see it and it was pretty c http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/Cook-Islands/Rarotonga/blog-313713.html Tiare Village So this post is meant more for the Cook Island traveler community than anything else. When I arrived here I stayed at Tiare Village at first. This post will describe the place and my thoughts about it along with a secret for staying cheap in the Cooks. The pictures below hopefully say a lot. Other than them I've only got a few comments.The place is run by Adrianne who is a sort http://www.travelblog.org//Oceania/Cook-Islands/Rarotonga/blog-313687.html