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Published: January 5th 2010
Beach
Pretty nice really.The first thing that hits you when you get off the plane and walk into the steamy entrance hall in Rarotonga is the rich heady fragrance of frangipani and tiare flowers. After you have made your way through immigration and customs, where there is a local singer with his ukelele to welcome every flight, you are presented with floral leis. The heat, the fragrance and the friendliness set the scene for the rest of our stay in the friendly Cooks.
I was very lucky to be in Rarotonga - my friend Lucy won a trip and invited me along too. The only thing was that I had to do all the organising....easy! It was a fantastic trip, worth $5,000, with the only condition that we travel to the Cook Islands. This meant that we could travel over the New Year period, with expensive flights and all, and stay at the gorgeous
Pacific Resort for 7 nights. The lap of luxury!
The island itself is surrounded by a lagoon, only 32 kms all around, with a lush, dense, steamy volcanic interior. Unbelievably picturesque, it really was like being in the middle of a postcard - white sand, coconut palms, and crystal
Welcome to the Cook Islands!
He greets and farewells every flight clear waters. We were staying on Muri Beach, which is itself fringed with four little islands that are close enough to walk to in low tide, or swim, or paddle to with the kayaks provided by the resort. Our first night was spent having dinner on the beach, with the sand between our toes, watching the beautiful sunset. NICE!!!
However despite the temptation to do absolutely nothing at all, we organised daily activities for ourselves. Admittedly sometimes the daily activity was a massage and a cocktail....however we had hired a cute little Cabriolet so usually went on an excursion. The car itself was like a toy car, but the perfect thing to get around the island, with the top down and one arm hanging over the door. The speed limit is only 50kph, or 30kph in the main township, so everything was cruisy and slow - just like it should be on holiday. To drive in Rarotonga though you need to get a local licence. It's not hard - just show your NZ licence and pay $20 - so in reality a revenue gathering exercise and a tourist souvenir we all go home with.
The first morning at
Lucy
Enjoying the beach the Resort was an orientation briefing by the staff - totally worth it for comedic value alone. Then we took ourselves off on our first adventure - a drive around the island. We had lunch at Trader Jack's, a local institution, which is located in the town right over the harbour. We tried the Ika Mata, which is a local raw fish dish marinated in lemon or lime juice, and served with coconut cream and fresh vegetables. Between then and dinner was a gruelling routine of sunbathing and quick dips in the gorgeous warm lagoon.
Dinner was at the Resort, because we wanted to see the Pacific night show. We had a singer during dinner, but the show proper began after dinner, when Cook Island dancers accompanied by the local Island drumming came out to entertain us. What an amazing sight. Hard to explain it - but the women sway their hips (incredibly fast depending on the dance) while keeping their shoulders as still as possible, and the men kind of knock their knees together - much cooler than it sounds for sure!
Part of our package included a glass bottom boat and snorkel tour, followed by a
Muri beach
We went on a snorkel cruise on this boat. bbq lunch on the island. The snorkelling was lots of fun - beautiful coral and fish - but Lucy and I both agreed that it was not quite as good as Belize. However a highlight was seeing a sea turtle and a big blue starfish. It was also really interesting meeting some of the other guests. We ended up on a cruise with most of the wedding party we'd seen a couple of days earlier - a very small little wedding which looked absolutely gorgeous - so got chatting to some. It was an international wedding, with the bride a New Zealander, the groom originally from Jersey Island, and some Aussies thrown in as well. Not bad for 17 guests! I mentioned to Billy (groom's mother's partner) that I had been to Rarotonga many years ago and was amazed at the development on Muri. He asked me how many years ago I'd visited and I of course had to reply 20 years. He then said that I must have been very young at the time. Unfortunately my nod of agreement was somewhat overshadowed by Lucy's loud guffaw to my left!
New Years Eve was party time everywhere in the
Lazy days
In front of the Pacific Resort island - but Muri beach was the place to be! We had booked dinner at
Sails , which was fantastic. We hadn't read the fine print though and were sometime perturbed to discover that they were having a Michael Jackson tribute night, given we're not big MJ fans, including a moonwalking competition...the best contestant was a girl who looked about 8, complete with a huge black curly wig. She was great! But after dinner the party began and locals flooded in for the celebrations. They put on an amazing fireworks show in the lagoon, which was pretty cool.
One of our daily activities was a 4WD tour through the island with
Coconut Tours . It was an opportunity to see the interior, but also to learn more about the cultural aspects of the Island. Our guide was really knowledgable, and pretty funny with it, so it made for an enjoyable tour. We also met some other tourists, including a family from Wanganui who were really nice. My favourite question of the day came from the Wanganui dad, who managed to silence the guide and amuse the rest of us by asking, "Where do you go for holidays?".
One thing we'd noticed
Trader Jacks
From the bar at Trader Jacks we could see locals jumping in the water. Note the little silver Cabriolet - perfect for our trip! was that nobody seemed to wear helmets on their motorbikes, so someone asked why that was. He said that the Government actually tried to make that compulsory and made a law requiring that helmets be worn. However that upset the Mamas who didn't want to have to wear a helmet on their way to church, as that would ruin their hair and they wouldn't be able to wear a hat. So they protested at Parliament, and the law was changed so that it is only a requirement to wear a helmet if you are travelling at more than 40 kph. The power of the Mamas in Raro!
Another one of our excursions was to the Palace in Avarua, which is currently uninhabited because the last chief (Ariki) died a few years ago and the family have not yet agreed on a new Ariki. Lucy was a bit embarassed at me - I was fascinated and peering through the windows. Right next door is the Cook Islands Christian Church. A New Year's Day service was underway so we listened outside to the gorgeous singing, which was beautiful, and all with no music to accompany them.
On our final full
Pacific resort
Barefoot Bar & Restaurant at the Pacific Resort. day (Saturday) it was Market day, so we headed along. It's huge - with lots of fresh produce, plus cooked food, arts and crafts, black pearls, t-shirts, pareus (sarongs). I was particularly tempted by a coconut ukelele. Don't worry, I came home empty handed. We also had lunch at the
Little Polynesian. . Absolutely stunning, set on an isolated beach, with an infinity pool, and a few secluded bungalows. A honeymoon destination if I ever get married!
Rarotonga was a fantastic place to holiday. The small population of only 6,000 permanent locals made you feel safe and secure, plus everybody was always so friendly. The food was delicious everywhere we went - with huge helpings! Probably not a bad thing I had to leave - after only a few days I could sense some bikini shrinkage. Cross fingers I'll get to go there again soon, and this time it won't take 20 years to return!
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saylah
non-member comment
I see you are at it again.
This is what life is traveling around the world educating yourself and having tons of fun and giving back to the world by sharing your experiences verbally , written and visually.