Rarotonga - Cook Islands

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After leaving New Zealand I arrived on the island of Rarotonga in the Cook Islands which was to be the last place I'd visit on my trip. The Cook Islands are made up of 15 islands but they're so spread out that they cover an area of about 2million square kilometres. Rarotonga is the main island and it is where most of the country's population lives (about 15,000 people). Due to crossing the international date line on my way to the islands, after a 4 hour flight from New Zealand I actually arrived there 19 hours before I'd set off meaning that I lived the same day twice.

I had 1 week on Rarotonga and a lot of the time I had there was spent scuba diving. I'd managed to find a good deal online before I arrived which meant I'd get to do 6 dives whilst I was there. The area is known for having some great dive sites only a couple of minutes boat ride from the shore and it didn't disappoint. The visibility in the water was excellent and there were a lot of big fish and colourful coral around. Some of the best things I saw whilst diving include a couple of giant moray eels and some coral known as 'ghost coral' which changes colour when you touch it. As well as doing some standard coral reef dives, I also did a dive down to a nearby shipwreck and a dive where we went through some caves/tunnels in the rock which was something I'd never done before. Whilst I wasn't diving, I spent the rest of the time relaxing on the beach and swimming in the lagoon that surrounds the island. The lagoon exists due to the island being surrounded by a reef and this means that in between the reef and the beach there is an area of shallow water that is protected from the rest of the sea. When you're in the lagoon the water is so warm and clear that it just feels like you're in a big bath. I also spent a bit of time exploring the island and I rented out a bike one day and cycled all the way along the road that circles the island (about 32kms in total).

During my last few days on Rarotonga, the news spread that there was a cyclone on it's way to the island and so all the locals had to prepare for it's arrival by moving all the boats out of the harbour and making sure their shops and houses were as secure as they could be. It started to get pretty windy and rainy and the cyclone was predicted to directly hit the island which would of caused some serious damage. Luckily, the cyclone never made it to the island as it fizzled out and started to head away in a different direction. Most of the islands in the south pacific get hit with at least one cyclone every few years so I guess they're used to it, on my last day I heard that there was a new one on it's way which would get there in a few days time so I'm not sure what the latest situation with that one is. So, after leaving the Cook Islands, I'm now at the end of my 5 month trip. I had a 10 hour flight from the island to Los Angeles which was delayed by 4 hours meaning I only just made my connection onto my flight to London, but I managed to make it. Rarotonga was a great place to finish my travels I think, it was a nice relaxing week and I was happy to get some more dives in before heading home. I'm now back in the UK with the great weather (it feels so cold!), I've had a fantastic time in the last 5 months - it's been great.

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