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Published: September 12th 2007
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Hey thats me in the beautiful Cook Islands. My flight was 10 hours but i slept most of it. It was dark when i flew in to Rarotonga which is a shame as it would have been nice to see the islands from the air. My arrival seemed a bit surreal. It was strange flying into such a small airport after being in the big cities for so long. While we waited at customs a local adorned in garlands played and sang music for us. It was 4am when we arrived! The customs officials all had uniforms on but had flowers in their hair which was a weird combination.
My accommodation is right on the beach. I have a studio with my own kitchen and bathroom which is a huge luxury! :-) They put fresh flowers beside my bed and in the toilet every day which is a nice touch. The beach is absolutely breathtaking, its a lovely peaceful lagoon. It might be about 1/2 mile out to where the waves break and its crazy out there. The waves are enormous and so loud its deafening even from way out there. The beach is lined with coconut trees and you
need to be careful not to sit under them. There is many a car with huge dents in them from the falling coconuts!
Just slightly inland is the imposing green mountains. You cant help but be awestruck when looking at them. It gets pitch black about 7pm and i cant see a thing in front of me if i go out after this time. Its also really quiet which im not used to. Im used to all the hustle and bustle of the dorms so it can be a bit eerie after dark but i know that the main house is only a few metres away. I have some company in my studio anyway......... i appear to be sharing with numerous lizards and ants. The ants i have under control with insect repellent but the lizards have me totally baffled as to how they get in here. Every one i have managed to chase and remove into the garden ( which im sure is a hilarious sight!) but they still keep popping out from behind the curtains every day. Other animals that like a wee nosy round my kitchen are the chickens and cats who think nothing of hiding
under my bed and then strolling out when i least expect it!!
So i havent been doing an awful lot as you can imagine since ive been here. Its supposed to be winter here but i can still sunbathe for a few hours a day and its really hot. The clouds come in in the afternoon and then it usually rains but its still a nice temperature. One day the beach house was advertising a "pub night with live band" just 5 minutes along the beach. I decided to go since i hadnt seen any night life yet. When i got there it turned out to be a restaurant and they sat me at a table even though i said i wasnt eating. It was full of couples having their dinner. The band turned out to be one woman singing songs like "fly me to the moon". Every song she sang was a slow one. As you can imagine i was looking to make a sharp exit pretty soon as i stood out like a sore thumb. I met two girls from Auckland in the toilet who were thinking the same thing as me. We ended up having a
The Cook Islands
please hold me up im knackered!! drink at the bar but kept getting shooshed as we were making too much noise must to the disgust of the singer :-)
The main town of Rarotonga is pretty small with only a handful of shops. I went into a supermarket and among other things i bought a pineapple. I didnt realise till i got home and looked at my receipt that it cost me $16 which is about 6 quid!!!! I nearly passed out - even the vodka is cheaper than that.
I decided to do the Cross Island Trek which takes you from the north to the south right over the highest point on the island. When i got picked up for it i discovered the guide didnt normally do the tour on a Saturday but that a goverment official had requested it especially and so it was just to be me and this MP. I wasnt amused at all and could have jumped from the moving car but thought the better of it. The MP has a constituency in London and turned out be quite amicable and not interested in talking politics if i didnt want to. Our guide for the day was Pa, a
true Cook Islander who had lived there for all his 67years. He really is a mountain man right enough as you can see from the pictures! He's been doing this trail since he was five and is so fit he often left Andrew and I trailing behind. We would find him meditating when we caught up with him. He never wears shoes and couldnt believe he does this trail barefoot as it is really difficult terrain. He says he likes New Zealand and has a house there but never goes as he would need to wear shoes. His first wife was from Aberdeen and so his son his half scottish. He lives over in New Zealand in his $11 million house and played professional football, playing in the world cup once. Pa gave me his number and told me to go visit him once i get to Auckland that he would love a visit from a scottish lass but i dont think me turning up with my backpack would be quite the done thing!! I loved the trek although i came out scratched, my trousers were ripped to shreds and i was mosquito bitten. I had fallen in a mountain
stream and dropped my camera in it so that went on the blink for a while. Also i couldnt walk for about two days after it!! It was fun though :-)
Hope you all like the photos although they dont capture the real beauty of the place. I'd definately love to come back here for a holiday and visit some of the other islands. Ive had a great time swimming every day, its brilliant for snorkelling. Its so relaxing just strolling along the beach every day, usually with most of it to myself, that i didnt want to leave, especially as it really is winter in New Zealand which im not looking forward to. I guess ill be packing away that bikini for a while :-) x x
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