Blogs from Aitutaki, Cook Islands, Oceania - page 2

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 the evening, Emma - host extraordinaire had procured Vince some Jungle Juice! Yeast, golden syrup and sugar,... read more

A Day in the Life of the Most Perfect 10th Anniversary Ever!! We were woken by a wake-up call at 6.00 a.m. to ensure we would be on time for the transfer to the airport for our day in Aitutaki! The weather was absolutely beautiful, especially after it had rained all day the day before, which was when we had originally wanted to go - God was certainly looking after us by making sure the tour was full for that day!!! We went for an early breakfast and then boarded the bus for this special day. At the airport we met Rarie, who worked at the Reception of our resort, with her baby grandson Paul, who was absolutely gorgeous and didn't stop smiling. On the plane we were all given window seats, which was perfect to ... read more

Kia Orana from Aranau 'Enua O Ru Ki Te Moana, meaning Ru in search of land over the sea but, to make things easier for those of us who don't speak maori, was changed to Aitutaki (a'i tutaki means to keep the fire going), being Ru the 1st settler of the island who, with his 4 wives, his 4 brothers and their wives, arrive here to decide to keep the island for himself and send his brothers away, and it's not surprising that he wanted the island just for him, because Aitutaki doesn't belong to this world: the moment you see the lagoon from the plane your jaw drops and it doesn't close back until you leave. It's just paradise, everything you imagine from a tropical island and more...pictures don't make justice and, even though I ... read more

Well the Cook Islands were GREAT!!! We had an excellent time, besides our little flight delay problem...but that was easily fixed by beautiful beaches and warm weather. As per the previous blog entry, we were delayed in LA for about 6 hours, and then had to be re-routed to Hawaii to pick up a new captain (not sure how we flew to Hawaii without a captain..hmm...) We arrived on the main island of Rarotonga at about 3pm, where they rushed us through customs and we got on the next flight to Aitutaki. Aitutaki is such a great place. We much prefer it to Rarotongs. Both the people and weather were extremely warm! We stayed in a great place called Rino's Bungalows, which were the cheapest rooms on the island. They had kitchens and were very clean, ... read more

Bored of the local lagoon which was a bit smelly, we decided to trek to the other side of the island where we knew the swimming and snorkelling were much better. It didn’t look too far on the map but then we weren’t sure how accurate the map was! Around 10am we set off. Luckily today was a bit cooler with a few clouds in the sky so if we were ever going to manage the walk, today was the day. We'd just walked out of the drive and turned onto the small quiet road by the airstip which led towards the other coast, when a car pulled over in front of us. It was a lady and her daughter who were on holiday and they offered us a lift over to the other side. Perfect ... read more