28 March 1999
We flew out of New Zealand 9pm on Friday 19 March, arriving in Rarotonga at 2am on the same day as we had crossed the date line during the flight. Stepping out of the plane we were hit by hot temperatures and very high humidity. The next day, having risen a little late due to not getting to sleep until 3am, we familiarised ourselves with the facilities at our hotel, The Rarotongan Beach Resort. |
| We decided to hire a scooter for the week to get around the Island. It
was a very cheap and easy way of seeing the sights as well as getting
in to town for provisions. The Island has one main road around its circumference which is approximately 32km. Speed is not an issue in Rarotonga where the limit is 50k on the "open" road and 40k in the "town". Perhaps because of the lack of speed helmets are not common, in fact they do not appear to be used at all. Our travels took us to the Pacific Resort on the south eastern coast by Muri Beach which was probably the nicest beach/lagoon we found. On the west coast near the airport we found another beach which was much quieter and had a good rock pool for swimming. One afternoon we ventured inland and saw some of the farming/fruit growing areas. |  |
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On our first night we were invited to attend the management cocktail
party. Both alcoholic and non-alcoholic fruit cocktails flowed freely
prior to the evening meal. The photo shows us on the deck outside the
restaurant which is to the right, with the Nu bar and open air
restaurant in the background. The deck runs along the outside of the restaurant with the lagoon lapping the beach underneath. The large restaurant is used for Island nights which are a showcase for the local culture. The Saturday night show had some very good drumming and particularly good male dancers, while on Wednesday night the performers both male and female gave a more polished performance. |
| Our room was on the top floor of a two storey block set right on the
beach overlooking the lagoon. In the hotel complex there were about
eight of these blocks, some beachfront and some with garden view.
As well there were a number of upmarket suites on the beachfront. The rooms were simple but comfortable with a ceiling fan and air conditioning both of which were essential. As it was the end of the rainy season the weather was very warm and humid. Most nights there were heavy tropical downpours however during the day seemed to clear with only an occasional shower. During the last few days there was a strong easterly wind which made the lagoon a lot rougher than in the photo. Up until the second to last day we managed to slowly acquire a tan, but on this particular day the snorkelling distracted us and we finished up a brighter shade of pink!!! |  |
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The snorkelling was a little limited by the rough conditions which
resulted from the strong wind. However we found sufficient sheltered
areas to see plenty of brightly coloured fish and coral formations.
Belinda found the flippers difficult to master particularly when she
wanted to reverse quickly when face to face with a large fish. Another activity provided by the hotel was kayaking. Belinda had fun with this activity as well when her kayak developed a leak and sank low in the water. The end result was she ran a ground on numerous occasions. Previous users of the kayaks had obviously run a ground once to often on the sharp coral and worn a hole in the bottom. Swimming was a pleasure in the warm waters of the lagoon and we did not need to use the hotel swimming pool. If you look carefully in the photo you can see Gary in a maroon top standing on top of the waterfall by the pool. |
We had a very relaxing holiday as Rarotonga is a quiet, relatively undeveloped tourist destination. The locals are very friendly and the pace of life is definitely not in the fast lane.
If you want more information on the resorts or the Cook Islands in general we suggest the following links: