A very small and charming island

Monday, September 24, 2012
Rarotonga, Southern Cook Islands, Cook Islands
Monday Sept. 24th

Once our flight took off from L.A. we were served a meal and then the lights went out. Our seats became recliners so we were able to get some sleep. It was amazing when I had to go to the washroom and the whole cabin was dark ---- no one was watching TV even. It was something of a novelty for me to see everyone sleeping. We were awaken about 90 minutes before arrival to be served breakfast.
We arrived in Rarotonga which is the only airport of any size of the Cook Islands. These islands are situated in the south Pacific off the coast of New Zealand. Even though they are independant they are still protected militarily by New Zealand and use NZ currency. Yes they speak English as well.
We had to disembark via stairs onto the tarmac and once through customs we picked up our car.
This car should never be on the road as it was a piece of shit.Eric had to keep pounding the front fender back on so we could drive. However since the island is only 32 kms around it did serve our purpose. Once we settled into our room we went off around the island. It reminded me of the Grand Caymans as the folage is the same and there are roosters and chickens running around all over the place.
We also learned that one has to have a Cook Island driver licence so we drove into town to the police station. The line up this morning was unreal so we decided to go back in the afternoon which we did and Eric was successful.
This is a very quaint place and completely surrounded by a coral reef. There isn't much to do here except read, relax and snorkel. Unfortunately it rained for the rest of our first day. There was a restaurant at the end of the road so we had an early supper and then went to bed.

Tuesday Sept. 25th
The next day it was raining so we drove back into town to pick up Eric's licence which is quite a keep sake for $20.00. We then drove around the island in the opposite direction and went off and explored some of the tsunami evacuation routes. This was interesting as all these roads lead inland towards the mountain. This is where the farmland is andthey grow taro, tomatoes, lettuce along with groves of mangos, bananas and cocoanut palms. Here we also saw goats, cows and pigs.
The soil is very black and the beach is a light coloured sand. There really isn't any beaches per say but people have the special shoes on to go in the water.
The sun came out this afternoon so we went for a walk and we saw alot of people gathering at the end of the road so we asked what was happening -- it was a relay around the island culminating with a BBQ on the tennis court at out resort. It was still going strong by the time we finished dinner and lasted until about 9pm. Most of the schools participated and there are alot of schools here.
One thing that we noticed was that there are no big-name hotels ar fast-food places here. This was a pleasant change to see.

Wednesday Sept.26th
It is sunny as the rain clouds seem to have blown out. We went and sat down on the beach this morning as it was lovely. If we were staying longer we would have gone swimming. I Didn't want to travel with wet bathing suits as we have to pack up to leave as our flight to Auckland leaves at 5:30 pm. We had lunch and headed off to the airport where we got rid of the heap and waited to board our flight.
We left through overcast skies and arrived in Auckland about 9pm Thursday Sept. 27th. Now we are 18 hours ahead of you. It is cold here so it won't be shorts.

Sorry for the delays as we haven't been around internet much so will try to catch up as we can.


WE are currently at Ulura (Ayers Rock) in the centre of Australia. A little tech problem, so the pictures and more stories to come





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Comments

susan
2012-10-09

Hi there - I like the sound of the recliner seats. It sounds like the only way to go on a long trip. I would imagine that you arrived much more rested.

2025-02-10

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