| meg811:11 UTC29 Sep 2006 | Better late than never! My husband and I returned in early August from two glorious weeks in the Cooks and so I am just sitting now to type out a little summary.
We arrived in Rarotonga on a Saturday morning and went straight to the Punanga Nui Market. It was a nice way to start off our holiday as there was music playing, smiling faces all around, and a good variety of new foods and fruits to try.
We stayed at the Sokala Villas in Muri and were pleased with our choice. The villas were clean and the whole place just felt quiet and relaxing and the staff was great as well. They are not as shiny and new looking as they appear on the website, but most places are not. We settled in right away with a kayak on the lagoon and just couldn’t believe how beautiful the water was. We paddled down to the Fruits of Rarotonga and found great snorkeling there, as we expected from previous posts. We had dinner at Sails and while it was a beautiful setting and the atmosphere was nice, I didn’t think that the food or atmosphere was particularly special.
We woke in the morning to the rooster who started crowing at 2am! I loved it though as it was just a nice reminder that I was far from home. We took full advantage of the balcony off of our room and enjoyed any meal, coffee, or cocktail that we had at home out there. You couldn’t beat sitting there looking at the lagoon with the motus and the reef in the distance!
We rented bikes for the day and ended up biking the circle island road. It was nice to enjoy the scenery from the bike and also to pull off to explore all of the beaches along the way. Orange Fantas definitely hit the spot after our warm and humid ride! My husband then went out with Pacific Divers for a double tank dive and had a great experience. They were very laid back and professional at the same time and allowed me to join them on the boat for no additional fee.
The next morning we took the bus into town and started the Cross-Island trek from north to south. It was steep for a bit to the top but not as bad as I expected. We do a lot of hiking where we live however. It was easy to follow the trail but when we got to just under the needle, there were 3 choices. Far right brought us to the Needle and the middle path brought us down the other side where we wanted to go. The left path I think just led to a little lookout. We were greeted up there by a rooster, apparently he lives up there!
The way down was a little wet here and there and we were hiking on a perfectly sunny day. You had to watch your footing and then just pay attention once we arrived at the water because there were many stream crossings. The water was not deep but you just had to pay attention to keep on the path. I think it would be really tough to do the hike from south to north for that reason. We ended at Wigmore’s waterfall- what a great end to the hike and it was truly the first place we encountered any mosquitoes!
We met some other tourists and joined them for a wonderful dinner at the Waterline. It is tucked away on West coast, right on the water. My husband had fresh mahi mahi and the cook fixed a delicious vegetarian dish for me. We sat outside on the deck and enjoyed a wonderful view and great hospitality from the owners Chris and Akisi. Inside is a cozy little bar where they sometimes have live music. Sunday BBQs there are also supposed to be great!
We rented a scooter for the second half of our time there and it was a great splurge because the rest of our days were rainy or sprinkling and when it was just sprinkling, it was still fun to scooter around and explore the island that way. We definitely got caught in some downpours but just made sure we always brought along our rain gear. We had coffee and breakfast at The Café in town and found the best espresso drinks on the island (and we tried a few places!) We also enjoyed a great dinner at the Tamarind House. We thought the food was wonderful and I just loved the atmosphere. It has a large open area dining room in a restored colonial house.
We then headed to Aitutaki for 4 nights. We were supposed to stay at the Aitutaki Seaside Lodges but they were overbooked and instead ended up at the Etu Moana (long story!) Everything I had read about the Etu Moana was definitely true- it is a very special place. The owners Jim and Jo-anne could not have been more hospitable. We biked down to the Seaside Lodges and I have to say that from the outside, they looked a bit run down. The hammocks were ripped and mildewed and the bungalows just didn’t look kept up. We did not see the interior however.
We spent a day on kayaks, exploring around and surfing the small waves out at the reef. We found some good snorkeling but not as great as on Raro. We went to the Pacific Resort island night and the resort was gorgeous and the buffet was delicious, especially the desserts! But it was a bit too much of a production for my taste. I had heard from everyone that the Samade island night was the best but we were not there for the right night.
We spent a day at O’otu Beach. We walked across the lagoon over to the Aitutaki Pearl resort and walked around the grounds. The best part of doing that was swimming off of their beach, which juts into the lagoon! We enjoyed some drinks at Samade afterward and the entire time you are there, it is truly hard to take your eyes off of the water! It was Saturday so we went into town to see what the Blue Nun was all about. When we arrived, the Blue Nun was still fairly quiet but the Fishing Club across the street had music blaring and a huge party underway. We checked it out and before we knew it, the locals were all saying hello to us and inviting us onto the dance floor with them. It was such a blast and the locals were so friendly! A live band played all night and whenever they took a break, we ran across to the Blue Nun to watch the island night and dance there. It was a highlight!
In the morning, we went on a lagoon cruise with Kia Orana cruises. I personally liked that we were in a small boat (8 or 10 people). We stopped on the way out to Maina for snorkeling and it was just amazing! I felt like I could have stayed and looked all day. We were dropped on Maina and walked around the island, watching the terns in the bushes and a HUGE storm blow in! It began to pour and we were all wet and cold for lunch on Honeymoon. Unfortunately we had to head in early in a driving rain. It was still worth it though. We went to Maina and Honeymoon as Survivor was still finishing up filming.
The storm blew through by late afternoon and we were able to scooter to one of the higher points on the island and watched a gorgeous sunset. We could see both sides of the island from where we were and we just stood there in awe for almost 2 hours. We spent our last night back at Samade for the Sunday BBQ. A man was playing the synthesizer and singing and then it turned into people joining him for karaoke and everyone dancing again!
We then were off to Atiu for 3 nights. We stayed at the Atiu Villas and loved the grounds and setting in the woods. We spent our days attending a couple of tours and exploring the island and all of its wild beaches. The contrast of being on Atiu after Raro and Aitutaki was something. Tourism felt so non-existant in comparison and I just felt like I was privileged to enjoy a glimpse of a life that is truly a world away from anything I have known. The scenery was so wild and natural- bright green vegetation growing out of black makatea cliffs above truly desolate beaches. We had a great time scootering to the little villages and down the side roads. Wild pigs and goats were everywhere. We went out with Birdman George for his eco-tour and learned all about the flora and fauna. Watching him retrieve the coconuts and prepare them was worth the tour alone! We ended with a picnic lunch on the beach with fresh coconut and fruits. I think if you have the chance to head out on a tour with him on Sunday, he provides a complete meal which sounded delicious!
The Kopeka cave tour was very much worth it! It was a nice walk in the woods to the caves and seeing the birds fly around and hearing them clicking overhead was something to see. The candlelight cave swim at the end was also not to be missed!
We thought the dinners at Kura’s Kitchen were great and it was fun to meet up there with the other tourists for a drink before dinner.
We were both really glad that we went to all 3 islands as they all seemed very different. Raro was wonderful for the great many things to do, places to eat, etc. The mountains in the center of the island were so lush and beautiful and the energy of Avarua was invigorating. I thought that Aitutaki had such an incredibly peaceful feel to it. The people were so warm and friendly. And Atiu was so unique and wildly beautiful with plenty of places to explore and things to do with a most certain off the beaten path feel. We met so many great tourists and locals in the Cooks and that was certainly one of the highlights. I loved waking to roosters everyday and waving to everyone we passed on Aitutaki and Atiu. I loved having nothing yet so much to do at the same time. I loved being on Atiu as one of 8 tourists. I loved hearing the surf crash on the reef way far out. I went there not feeling like I needed to relax or escape but came home feeling like I had discovered a whole new level of relaxation.
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| chinagazer19:07 UTC29 Sep 2006 | Very nice report, Meg!
The three islands are so different indeed!
"Birdman George rules, man". He rules.
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| lordbalfor00:17 UTC30 Sep 2006 | Yeah, good thorough report.
You are right about doing the Cross-Island Walk from north to south. Just days before we did it (and then again shortly thereafter) lost hikers had to be rescued. In these cases (and virtually every other case that I've heard of where rescue was required) the hikers tried to make the crossing from south to north. It's just too hard to follow the trail that way.
Ken
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| boogiebass01:03 UTC03 Oct 2006 | Hey Meg,
See...I knew your report would be terriffic. Looks like you and your husband did lots of great exploring, a true Cook Island experience. If I had gotten married a year later, this report would have come in handy....as I'm sure it will come in handy for people planning on doing the Cooks in the future. Excellent job!
Looking forward to Thursday nights!
- - - - Mike
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