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Salty Sea Dog
looks like fish for tea (again)!Welcome to one of the happy isles of Oceania, "Kia Orana" (hello & long happy life)...
This is the third time we have been priviliged to visit Rarotonga set in the Southern Cooks, South Pacific. It's a long ways from anywhere thats for sure, 10.5hrs to LA another 10 to UK, but thats what makes it so special and relatively quiet and untouristy and unglam and thats why we like it so.
Not kidding about the sea dogs either, the local mutts are all similar in that they are so friendly and they have this incredible addiction to swimming and catching fish - TRUE! We witnessed one day kayaking amongst the motus (islands) two young dogs, dog paddle a distance of half a mile from one island to the next just to meet up with the 'new' faces that had disembarked from their kayaks.
We have rented a self-service apartment (one of two) (www.murivista.com) thats in a 5yr old house in an elevated setting overlooking banana plantations and the coast. It was lovely and ideally situated on the SE side of Raro.
Hiring a bike was as usual an amusing affair, hire the motorbike and when its
convenient to you, you pop into the police station for a licence and test if required for $10, its a great souvenir, with a mugshot to boot! Expires on your next birthday, so ifyou come back again you need another one, good profits for the police station!
The island is only 20 miles around and just the one road - around! So having the bike is essential to quickly motor to the best snorkelling spot in the surrounding lagoon. The snorkelling was soooo good as parts of the lagoon are 'raui' - marine protected reserves, so it doesnt take long to lose track of which species of fish you have identified, there are so many. Yesterday, I was knocked out to see over 200 same species, sheltering/asleep? in 3m between coral outcrops that was like the Grand Canyon. But mostly we have seen parrotfish, moorish idols, many butterfish, cornets, sergents, triggers, boxfish and lots of huge reef fish like tuna nearly a metre long cruising thru, the list is endless!
It is autumn here, so a lovely climate 25-28C day 15C nite and not too humid. Raro is like a South Pacific Shetland, its very much 'when the
boat comes in', so when you see tatties, fresh tuna (3GBP a pound!), smoked marlin or your fav juice etc - you just grab enough till the next boat! Paw paws, bananas, bush lemons and the fresh fish is very inexpensive and the best quality. It has ruined us forever for all the imported tastless stuff we get at home.
We cooked for ourselves most nights and enjoyed doing it, buying fresh herbs from the local ladies at the weekly Saturday Punanganui Market where you can buy black pearls, crafts, homebaked coconut rolls, ike matta (marinated raw fish incoconut) and superb breakfast of seared tuna, rice, salad for just 2 pounds.
We have adopted the RSC (Rarotongan Sailing Club) as our bar after watery pursuits and watching the 'vaka' canoe outrigger racing. Its set on Muri Lagoon and became addictive to sip wine and beer at the end of the day. The guys wear t-shirts with the slogan "get the vaka outta here!"
Raro is a great place to visit, but is only one of many in the Cook Isles - there are so many other beautiful islands, even quieter, more remote, within 1 - 2 hrs flight
of Raro which we have visited before, Aitu, Aitutaki, Mangaia. The people I believe are the friendliest in the Pacific and it won't cost you an arm and leg, just the flight here!
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Peter & Catherine
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Cook's Choice
What a lovely place you found! Let's hope it is never spoilt. Island's are still attracting you and one can see why. Last month we were in Shetland to launch the new book on Northmavine and found ourselves on the top of Ronas Hill in occasional mist and on Hermaness in heavy rain and fog - no similarity at all to Cook Island but the BBC Springwatch has been following the lives of otters (Terry Holmes evidently a great help) and despite the weather there has been an increase in tourist enquiries. We are just back from a week in Cornwall where the weather was, generally, very good, though the dog, Zennor, crawled under an overhanging rock to escape the sun on a walk between Lamorna and Mousehole. An evening perfprmance at the Minack Theatre was thoroughly enjoyable. At TG until mid September. It must all seem very far away. Val from WCCH sends her regards.