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Published: August 5th 2006
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The Cook Islands
We flew from LA on a flight bound for Auckland with stops at Pape’ete on Tahiti and Rarotonga, the main island of the Cook Islands and our destination.
Rarotonga After a short hop from Pape’ete we arrived in Rarotonga, and I was giddy with excitement. There was an announcer guy in the airport whose various duties seemed to involve singing local songs and intermittently directing new arrivals to the Customs desks!.... the US Customs people could learn a thing or two about people management from these guys. The sun was beating down, but then that was to be expected: we’re in the South Pacific after all.
We arrived at our hostel, in Arorongi on the west of the island, to find that it backed on to a beautiful stretch of beach - swaying coconut palms and gentle turquoise waves lapping at the perfect white sand. This may be the only case of a beach holiday destination actually living up to my expectations (and the guide book photos).
After some teething problems with the round-the-island public bus service (mild irritation equals ‘stress’ Raro-style) we stocked up on grub and beer. We spent the afternoon
Arorongi beach
Beach view at our first stop in Rarotonga reading and dozing on the beach, waking up just in time for a cold beer and an obscenely photogenic sunset.
We awoke on day two to find we’d been devoured by mosquitos - arghhh! Then we realized that it had been raining…que? Could this be a slight blip in the Idyllic Island Fantasy, we wondered. We decided not, put it down to the tropical climate and used the overcast morning to walk to the top of Raemaru, the flat topped mountain overlooking the western coast of Rarotonga.
It was a short but steep hike-cum-scramble, followed by what can only be described as a climb up a rock face to the summit. I only attempted the climb after watching two other girls manage it and feeling suitably wussy for my nerves! Apparatus has been installed to help the climb, but it still felt a bit scary. The views from the top to the west were lovely, but the lack of sunshine meant they didn’t have quite the impact we’d hoped.
On day three the perma-drizzle set in, so we did the sensible thing - donned our swimmers and strolled along the beach in complete denial! Despite the clouds
Rarotonga Backpackers
View from the poolside at our first accommodation as the sun starts to set and rain, it was lovely.
On day four it lashed it down all day. “It wasn’t supposed to be like this”, I moaned to Rod. Damn Lonely Planet and their bloomin’ stupid, sunny photos and their talk of “the dry season”. The irony that the UK was having the hottest July on record was not lost on us!
We managed to inject a little virtual sunshine in to our day by joining a taxi load of people from our hostel on a jaunt to an ‘Island Night’ at a local bar. There’s usually an Island Night on every night somewhere or other, and it’s a chance to see Cook Island dancing and enjoy the local music. To quote the Lonely Planet: “Cook Islanders are reputed to be the best dancers in Polynesia (even better than the Tahitians, say the connoisseurs)”. It was fantastic, all flowers in hair, coconut bras and hips gyrating at unfathomable rates…and big, burly Polynesian guys stomping their feet and whooping (however one looked like a Maori version of Peter Crouch, even dancing like a robot!).
Aitutaki The next morning we flew to Aitutaki, which many people say is the most beautiful
Rarotonga sunset
Sunset at the beach on day one (the last sunset we saw on Rarotonga!!!) island in the South Pacific. We flew in a tiny twin-propeller aeroplane and despite the stormy-looking skies over Rarotonga the 50 minute flight was surprisingly smooth. Better still, we landed in glorious sunshine….and after just a short bus ride, we arrived at Paradise Cove.
Our accommodation, like the rest on Aitutaki, was largely booked up with the film crew for the US series ‘Survivor’, which had made it virtually impossible for anyone who hadn’t booked way in advance to get a room. They’d also managed to make many of the islets (or “motu”) in the lagoon ‘off limits’ for the duration of filming… pretty upsetting for some of the honeymooners we met while we were there.
It turns that Rod is actually a romantic (yes, this was a shock to me too). When he booked us in to a ‘hut’ he obviously imagined that this would be cosy and rustic and back-to-nature-esque. Actually, it was just a hut, and within 5 minutes of stepping inside it we’d acquired several dozen mozzie bites. Fortunately, we were right on top of yet another beautiful beach and we spent the rest of the afternoon sweltering in sunshine and watching the fish
View from Raemaru
View over the west coast as we hiked up to the top of Raemaru dart around in the crystal clear waters above the somewhat ugly and freaky Sea Cucumbers.
On our second day on Aitutaki we went on a cruise-trip on the huge lagoon that surrounds the atoll of Aitutaki, protected by an outer coral reef. Rod and I got our first taste of snorkelling on the trip and, after much spluttering, we found our feet/flippers. We made it off the sandbar where the boat was moored and saw loads of fish and giant clams around the coral. Rod also saw a huge (circa 2 metres) eel - he tried to point it out to me, but fortunately I was oblivious.
The snorkeling was followed by a tuna BBQ-buffet, trips to two of the stunning motu, coconut cracking lessons, an onboard hermit crab race and a demonstration in the many ways to tie a pareu (i.e. sarong), for which I was roped in as a mannequin - deeply embarrassing. All in all, a fab day, and the sun even shone down for most of it. On return to the harbour, we managed to catch the weighing-in stage of the annual Raro-Aitutaki fishing competition - a 27kg Wahoo was the winner (i.e. a
Rod climbing up Raemaru
The fun bit at the top of the climb.... 6 foot monster - though they can reach 40 - 50kg!).
Sunday in the Cook Islands is a decidedly quiet day, especially when it rains. After watching the rain beat down for a good chunk of the day we finally made it out for a walk at about 4pm, only to discover that nothing opened until 6pm and most of the Islanders were still at church (and from the enthusiastic singing going on in there, they seemed to be having a great time).
By this stage, we were regretting not taking the token scooter test for a Cook Islands licence that most backpackers seem to do. Aitutaki is not a big place but when you have to walk everywhere it’s not small either. Most of the locals also drive scooters, in the laid-back way that they do everything. More than once, we saw people driving one-handed with the other hand holding a small baby on their shoulder... Britney Spears should seriously consider moving to Aitutaki!
Another cloudy day and a jaunt to possibly the prettiest spot on the Island: we lazed on Ootu beach and Rod husked and cracked his first coconut - very proud he was
too. Afterwards, we drifted in to the popular Samade’s bar, where we got a taste of home: a whole clan of Mancunians on a trip to watch their friends get married on Aitutaki (and sink most of the beer on the island).
Our final day on Aitutaki was a beautiful one: sunshine and a strong, cooling wind. We lazed the day away on the beach, before heading to our last Island Night at Samade’s bar. The dancers were the current Cook Island champions, and I was one of the unfortunate bystanders that got dragged up for a bit of audience participation! We had a lovely evening under the stars, chatting to other holidaymakers, most of whom seemed to be on honeymoon!
Back to Rarotonga The following day we flew back to Rarotonga, staying this time at Muri Beach on the Southeast of Raro’. This is apparently the best place for snorkeling and kayaking, although after some initial sunshine, it’s been too blustery to try either! As ever though, the views are spectacular.
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Rachel's Mum
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Polynesian Beach Babe
Rach Despite the unexpected rain it does look absolutely stunning and so do you! The beach shots of you and Rod are great.