Blogs from Cook Islands, Oceania - page 9

Mon 12th The flight was ok as I did sleep most of it, well on and off. We arrived at Rau's guest house, which it did not look anything like the photos from the internet, as we were explaining to the driver that this is not what we expected a lady turned up and said we should be at the beach resort with the family. We got to the guest house and the family who own the house were i there with the grandparents, children, brothres etc although they made us feel very welcome the grandmother said to use ' well i hope you don't mind kids crying in the night and children fighting'. We knew that there was a dispute about the house, the family have taken it back and don't want to rent it ... read more

A second visit to any destination is always a bit of a decider. Will it now become embedded in the travel itinerary or will it quietly slip from the agenda as a ‘yeah, we liked it but…” Our current feeling is that Rarotonga is now dangerously close to earning its embedded stature. A few clarifications required here; We haven’t been to Aitutaki even though everyone says we should - more beautiful, even better beaches, more peaceful etc. But who needs another flight? We haven’t been to Samoa. Many people say you’re not missing much. Others say you’re missing the real Pacific. We have been to Fiji but not for many years. Through the growing years of Olivia and Ted Fiji was the embedded Pacific destination for the Thorps. But now we don’t need nannies, kids clubs, ... read more

Having failed to rid ourselves of the hangover that dogged us throughout Easter Sunday, following Dave & Char's wedding we settled into the excellent Air NZ flight early evening and vegetated throughout the flight drinking beer and watching Avatar. We were looking worse in Rarotonga than when we took off and slumped into bed for some much needed recuperation. When we woke up, it was Easter Sunday and neither of us had a headache. The Internatinal Dateline is the greatest hangover cure ever, you get to have another try at the same day. Unfortunately, there is nothing to do in Rarotonga on a Sunday, let alone Easter Sunday. Easter Monday offered little more. It's funny how the societies which introduced hellfire and eternal damnation to the pagans in the Pacific Islands now have 24 hour lifestyles ... read more

From Rarotonga, I took a 4-day break to Aitutaki, a group of small islands in a fantastic paradise lagoon. It's a 50 minute flight in a tiny 15-seater airplane with amazing views of the islands and the lagoon. Unfortunately for Aitutaki, it was hit by a cyclone about 2 months ago, destroying a lot of nature and houses on the island. Luckily, most of all the businesses were back up and running again, and the islands were still beautiful to visit. The lagoon was not damaged. I stayed with Gina, a local "queen" who has a four lodge garden. Officially, she really is a queen, although the meaning is somewhat different I think. She didn't really have a court or anything, but she was a queen after all! I was the only one staying at her ... read more

COOK-SAARET RAROTONGA JA AITUTAKI 23.2.-7.3.2010 Vaikka Cook-saarilla satoi syklonien takia miltei puolitoista viikkoa ja sitten tuli vielä tsunamivaroitus, nämä saaret ovat paljon mukavavammat kuin Tahiti ja sen sisarsaaret. Kuten Karibian meren saaret, tämä on todellinen paikka, jossa asutaan. Täällä tapaa ihan normaaleja, tavallisia rarotongalaisia. Illalla voi mennä baariin tutustumaan heihin. Rarotongalla ei ole Sheratonin ja Hiltonin kaltaisia loistohotelleja. Sellainen yritettiin rakentaa tänne italialaisin mafiarahoituksin, mutta hanke kaatui petoksiin ja rahan puutteeseen. Kenties juuri tämän vuoksi Rarotongan hinnat ovat normaalit. Lounaan voi saada 3-8 euron hintaan. Jos Tahiti & Co muistuttivat Guadeloupea ja Martiniquea, Rarotonga muistuttaa hämmentävällä tavalla Antiguaa ja St. Luciaa. Täälläkin on kaikkien kirkkokuntien kirkot edustettuina. Puhuttelutapa on jällee... read more