We landed in Avarua
(capital of Rarotonga) at 6:20am on the Saturday morning before we
left. Our tickets said we weren't due until 7:30. Must have had
quite a tail wind or something. Just as well we did get a little
sleep as we still had a whole day in front of us. The airport was
small and cute with a singing performer welcoming us.
Emigration/quarantine was straight forward and we were met by a man
from Cook Island Tours (and gardenia leis - a lei being called a ei in
the Cook Islands) who was delivering us to Lagoon Breeze Villas which
is on the south western side of the island at Aroa Beach, several
kilometres from Avarua.
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| We've arrived |
The traffic was pretty quiet along the
coast road which circumnavigates the island and we arrived at Lagoon
Breeze before anyone else was awake. Our driver showed us to our
villa and left us to settle in before breakfast. The villa is two
bedrooms and quite a large living area. Very well set up (even a
dishwasher) and in a very pleasant environment. Breakfast (included
in the accommodation) was local seasonal fruits (paw paw, coconut,
bananas and oranges along with a selection of stewed fruit, yoghurt
and cereals plus toast and brewed coffees/tea – very adequate. The
paw paw and coconut were particularly delicious.
After booking in it was
back to the villa briefly before catching the local bus back to
Avarua for the Saturday morning Punanga Market. Local buses
circumnavigate the island each hour travelling both in a clockwise
and anticlockwise direction ($8 return). Unfortunately for us
everyone else appeared to be heading to the market as well and the
bus was very crowded and we had to stand up all the way. Christopher
did particularly well although there was concern that he was going to
fall asleep on his feet. The market was very busy – lots of food
stalls and clothing stalls. We didn't really do it justice as we
were a bit keen to get to the supermarket in case it closed at noon.
(we gather that there is not too much opened at weekends,
particularly Saturday afternoon and Sunday). Had a kebab, bought
some citrus and a mango and watched a Cook Island dance sequence then
headed for the supermarket.
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| Punanga Market |
We had heard that food is expensive in
the Cook Islands and that proved to be pretty true. $158 for enough
shopping for a few meals. Fresh veges were particularly expensive
(except for carrots). After the supermarket we caught the bus back
to Lagoon Breeze. We were first on the bus this time so had seats.
We fed Christopher corn chips along the way to keep him awake.
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| Lagoon Breeze |
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| Our Villa at Lagoon Breeze |
When we got back to
Lagoon Breeze we discovered that we didn't really have anything for
lunch so it was corn chips and salsa before Jill and I had a bit of a
kip. Walked down to the beach (across the road in front of the
villas) which is apparently very good for snorkelling. The tide was
well out at this time of day and there were lots of exposed coral
clumps. Will snorkel when the tide is a bit higher. Had a bit of a
laze around before happy hour (1½ hours actually). They would have been glad we
turned up as we were the only ones there. I had a couple of local
beers ($4) and the others had cocktails ($10) while Christopher had a
play on the play equipment.
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| Happy Hour |
Pasta and bolognaise
sauce for dinner before we all had an early night. It had been a
long day.
