| | Jul 2, 2006 - Rarotonga, Cook Islands | (click to enlarge)
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 | | show all 41 | | Flying in to Rarotonga, Cook Islands | | Arriving in Rarotonga, Cook Islands | | Beautiful Muri Beach | | |
| Rarotonga, Cook Islands - A Tiny South Pacific Island Paradise
Although Rarotonga is the largest most populated island in the Cook Islands, you would never think of it as a busy place or the capital of a country. The island is often described as Hawaii about fifty years ago before tourism took hold. The roads are quiet, hotels are small, islanders are friendly and the laid back pace is sure to lull you into a relaxed, peaceful state of mind. Best of all, Rarotonga is easily accessible from North America with Air New Zealand and a great destination for people looking for a quiet unspoiled piece of paradise with just enough tourism infrastructure to get make your stay enjoyable.
For our stay, we were comfortably situated in a self-catering bungalow on the Southeast coast on stunning Muri Beach. With almost all the comforts of home, and only a 30 second walk to a beautiful white sand beach and the best snorkelling on the island, we quickly settled in to the island life - beach bumming, snorkelling, kayaking, cycling around the little island and meeting new friends. Rarotonga is a small, lush green island covered with colourful, exotic, tropical plants, a rugged unpopulated mountainous interior and shores fringed by coral reefs, white sand beaches and crystal clear turquoise lagoons. The circular island is easily explored with only one main road that rings around the island or if you are looking for a better view of how the locals live you head in to the inner ring road that circles the island closer to the base of the rugged mountainous interior. If you are looking for a bit of hiking, you can actually trek across the island over the peak from the north shore to the south side of the island in about four hours. Without a doubt, the small size of Rarotonga makes it easy for anyone to explore by car, bike, public bus or even by foot.
While in Rarotonga we enjoyed our comfortable bungalow located on Muri Beach and made full use of the nice beach and clear lagoon waters. We met plenty of interesting travellers from around the world who were also staying at the Shangri-La Bungalows including our fellow Canadian friends Jayne and Lorne from Edmonton. We laughed pretty much daily with Lorne and Jayne...okay....with the exception of the day the Oilers lost the Stanley Cup in game seven - they were not too chipper that day!
From the peace and tranquility of Rarotonga we were setting off to even smaller and more stunning Aitutaki just a short flight away. The only time in all of our travels we had read in a travel guidebook, 'Do not worry about getting a place to stay. There is an abundance of accommodation on the island of Aitutaki.' That is until we tried to book somewhere to stay and everywhere was full. At first, we could not understand why. Then we learned about the popular world wide TV series - Survivor. Survivor was on Aitutaki about to start filming their next series. As a result, the island was sold out and after contacting literally every place in Aitutaki that offered accommodations, we had to shorten our stay by one night but luckily were able to confirm a stay of five nights by using 2 different resorts. Nevertheless, we went to the airport for our short and scenic flight into Aitutaki looking forward to seeing the stunning lagoon that is meant to be second best only to Bora Bora in French Polynesia.
TRAVEL TIPS FOR RAROTONGA, COOK ISLANDS
1. Rarotonga is a small, circular island with a road that rings around the whole coast of the island. The public bus system runs 2 buses, one going clockwise and the other going anti-clockwise. Each bus takes an hour to do a full loop around the island so you can easily catch a bus to get you where you want to go every 30 minutes. The exception to this, is in the evenings and weekends when only one bus travels around the island.
2. Cars, scooters or bicycles are readily available for rental around the island to help you explore this tranquil paradise. If you are renting a car, you need to show your driver's licence from home and pay $10 to get a Cook Island Driver's Licence.
3. A lot of the accommodation on the island is self-catering if you like to have a kitchen and cook your own meals while on holidays. If not, there are quite a few restaurants around the island catering to tourists. You can reach them all by public bus if you have not rented a vehicle or they are not in walking distance.
4. Many of the larger resorts put on Island Nights with a big local dinner served accompanied by traditional local singers and dancers. This is a great night out and a chance to see some of the traditional culture.
5. Some of the best snorkelling is located along the south-east coast at Muri Beach. There are also a lot of accommodation options, restaurants and shops located in this area making it a great place to stay.
6. Swimming in Rarotonga is sometimes limited to the where there is not too much coral in the water and to high tide. Often at low tide the water is too low for good swimming and sometimes snorkelling depending on which beach you are at.
7. There are some nice sunset cruises and fishing trips going from the island. Remember that these boats leave the shelter of the island lagoon and head out into the open waters where it may be quite a bit rougher. If you are prone to seasickness, try to choose a calmer days when the sea is not as rough so you have a more enjoyable cruise.
8. Take a day to circle around the island stopping at the various beaches and sights around the island. A good idea is to pack picnic lunch and set off for the day. There are a couple of nice picnic areas around the island set on some of the nicest, emptiest beaches on the island. Don't forget to bring along your swimsuit and snorkelling gear!
9. If you like to hike and walk, there are many hiking trails around the island that lead into the lush, rugged island interior. The longest and perhaps most rewarding walk goes right across the island from the north coast to the south coast (the best direction to walk it) takes you up over the peak known as 'The Needle' and provides you with good views of the island and lagoon. The walk takes about 4 hours and can be done on your own or as part of a guided tour.
10. Reaching the Cook Islands is easy using Air New Zealand from Los Angeles. It makes for a great island visit for those looking to explore the South Pacific or an excellent stop over for anyone that may be enroute to New Zealand or Australia. Flights also stop in Tahiti before coming to Rarotonga for anyone looking to do the ultimate South Pacific Holiday - include Rarotonga, Aitutaki, Tahiti and Bora Bora. A dream South Pacific trip for the island lovers, honeymooners or anniversary getaways.
www.carlhenderson.ca
www.imagestoframe.com
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