| sfanza13:17 UTC19 Oct 2003 | So we took our first trip to the Cook Islands on Oct 1st for 15 nights and have loads to write about. Had a great time. See our earlier post on FOOD, This post is on activities we did on Rarotonga, Aitutaki and Atui. The reason we are doing such large posts is in thanks to all the help we got from people on this board. The next post will be on accommodations/misc/tips and will hopefully be shorter…
THINGS TO DO IN THE COOKS
RAROTONGA-
We stayed at the Little Polynesian in Titikaveka were we did loads of kayaking and snorkeling right off the beach from the hotel. That area and the Fruits of Rarotonga area and further south are protected so there are loads of fish to see. We thought this part of the island had the best beach (sorry Muri, though We’ll make it back for the glass Bottomed Boat and more watersports next time.). It also offered some of the best snorkeling as far as variety of fish in a small area we experienced in the whole of the Cooks.
We took the 7:20am bus on Saturday morning Punanga Nui Market, we ate our way around the market, bought souvenirs ( Cheaper than in Town often!) and listened to some live music( we walked through the market again on the way out of town on Friday Night and came across a Local troupe of good guitarists doing standards like "Born free" and Elvis songs with help from locals that was a riot and a good time). The market was a lot of fun. Go early Saturday for the coconut buns, they were sold out by 9am! Though you’ll endlessly be taught about Coconuts on a vacation to the Cooks, this was also good spot for cheap ($2 NZ) and pre-husked and top chopped for you ready to go "Drinking Nu" if you haven;t got your own husking down already.
On Rarotonga our main way we got around was by bus , (Which is timely to it’s schedule and in no way on "Island time", set your watch to the bus drivers clock) or walking. The Bus fills up with the huge influx of tourists and if you want to get off sooner at the last stop, sit in the back as it always filed out from the rear!! Rarotonga is bigger than you’d think. We would take frequent walks on the inner road (Are Metua), which was very interesting- Went on the Cultural Village tour. They-and for us, by "they" it often means their amazing one man powerhouse James- will pick you up/drop you off, you get a guided tour of different huts about Fishing, weaving, coconut husking, dance show/music and lunch. We enjoyed the tour and thought lunch was really good. Hello rukau!
Our accommodations on Rarotonga included a radio and we’re big music fans, so we enjoyed having that and listening to the "Radio Cook Islands" on AM-it seemingly rotates from Island and local music to the cheesiest of 1970’s and 1980’s hits and then plays "edgier" stuff ( new stuff like enimnem, No Doubt, Evanescence, Beyonce) During the day ( when it doesn’t come in on the outer islands- coincidence?). At night though it does these amazing 360 degree shifts from Island music to Nena’s " 99 Luftballoons" in German to Lynyrd Sknyrd’s "Free bird" then back to Island music then Rupert Holmes atrocious " If You like Pina Coladas’ and getting caught in the rain" ( Escape) 1970’s cheeseball mega-hit then back to Island music. It was pretty amusing and we regretted when we didn’t have a radio on Aitutaki. They cover some local news ( And repeat it in Maori!) but we found it was hard to get international News, and most of the small Cook Island paper’s international stories were amusing anecdotes from around the world and Polynesia News. We were on the bus and a middle aged Australian Man was Grumbling " there could be a world War on and We wouldn’t know it" which was exactly the reason we came to the cooks! Great! The Internet Café in Muri was nice ( and with it’s codes you can log on and off apparently, so if you go through withdrawal I think you can keep going back as long as there’s still time on your code-ask though) I think the resorts have TV’s which would probably change the whole thing. It was a good break to be away from TV and the computer.
We did get a library card at the local Library at Avarua and the library is pretty well stocked, with an amazing collection of Polynesian titles and new fiction from contemporary Authors ( Michael Chabon, Anthony Bourdain, etc) as well as classics. We keep seeing posts "going to the Cooks for a Month" – invest the $25 NZ in a $15 Library card and collect the $10 deposit back before you leave- We donated Books we’d already read on the plane and bought a few from their super cheap book sale. I think I polished off Five and a half books in a two weeks!
Saw the Taakoka dance troop at the Island night at the Edgewater on Tuesday. They were excellent and a good Litmus test to groups we saw later. The buffet was good with lots of local food, almost overkill with a dangerous whole table of desserts. We scoffed at the Australians ( Who seemingly would order Each a Cocktail, a bottle of Wine for the table then some beers for each on top of that!) but once the show started we understood their wisdom of planning ahead…The show does not End , as we found out, by the time of the last bus(ask at the desk), so arrange transport or the Cab fare wasn’t THAT bad by Big City standards(approx 12 KM for $22 NZ for the two of us).
Pa’s Cross Island Trek is marked "strenuous". I thought I was in shape until this trek. It includes about 45 mins of semi-vertical climbing where you cling to tree roots. Part of my problem is I am really short and it was hard to get my small legs up to reach to the next spot where I would have to step. There were some people accustomed to Mountain Climbing who thought it was relatively easy and moved quickly in flip flops(???) as they recanted the last time they were at Kilimanjaro or Machu Picu. I was super sore for the next 2 days. Great climb though, no regrets, except I wish we packed Tiger balm. Pa is quite a character and packs a good sandwich lunch( though –and we should have mentioned this in the food column- "vegetarian Lunch" here often meant fish, If You’re hardcore Vegan or strict Vegetarian You’ll probably ask questions out of habit, but heads up)!. You can do The Cross Island / Needle trek with out a guide but it isn’t marked well, especially on the Return side. We also honestly felt we would have given up at some point without a guide and Pa was accepting of other people’s levels and a good sport about it. Also went on an easy walk on the trail by Avana Stream, it was pretty flat with a marked entrance from the main road. The nice thing about walking in the Cooks is you’ll get to see the neat varieties of Crabs, birds flora and things that would probably zoom by as a blur on a Motor scooter.
We bought Snorkeling Equipment in San Francisco before going. We were stunned at what the costs were for good gear, but have no regrets no in expense as it performed well, we used it almost every day in Rarotonga and several days in Aitutaki and a lot of the free loaners we saw looked well worn in. We saw Gear available for sale in town as well. And buy those cheap surf shoes from Target, Walgreens, wherever, we used them daily on all of the islands.
AITUTAKI-
We rented bikes (push bikes) and biked around the whole island and out past the airport. The bikes, Like most rentals worldwide weren’t in the best of shape-Maybe one working brake, out of alignment, gears non working, heavy. I think since most people ride motor scooters and Motorbikes (which looks easier with all the grandmothers whizzing by with a kid half clinging to their back than it is for someone who’s never ridden one ) and the rental fees are low, the Push Bikes are not maintained in any form. I think regardless of what Country I go to next, I’ll bring my own Bike Seat if I plan to rent (seriously- after biking for five plus hours., my Bike was a Chinese made Mountain Bike topped with an old style cruiser 1950’s hard seat ) some basic Bicycle tools or an all –in-one Bike tool, and a old tooth brush to quickly clean out the gears and drive train- these bikes are ridden through Sand and were completely filled with grime and sand and the chains moved slowly resultantly. They also don’t have lights, so I’d bring my own light assembly.
We went on the Paradise Island Lagoon Cruise (if you book a day trip to Aitutaki you will go on this boat), this cruise was excellent and very relaxed and tourist friendly. Comfy large boat, excellent lunch (one of the best meals we had on the Cooks) with heaps of fresh fish and local food and fruits. We spent some time at a small motu, then anchored in the middle of the lagoon to snorkel (which was filled with Fish but you got pretty buffeted by the currents and waves) then they took us to One Foot Island where I mailed postcards and got our passports stamped. Bishop’s Cruises seem to run the outpost on the One Foot Island, so make sure they’re there, though They also ran out of Postage stamps when we were there(and the postage office in town gave us-remarkably "Christmas 1990" Aitutaki stamps). On the way back the Paradise crew got out musical instruments and sang many songs. Very enjoyable. 2 days later we went on the larger Bishops boat for another Lagoon cruise. They had a very nice crew as well, gave a bit more history about the various Motus and the boat was spacious with a nice upper deck. We went to Akaiami and One Foot Island and snorkeled by Motukitiu near the reef, which had more coral and seemingly were there slightly longer ( about an hour) than the Paradise boat’s snorkeling time. The largest fish we spotted in the cooks were close to where the Boats park at One Foot Island, but there’s little coral or other things to look at. Bishop’s lunch was good as well though-tons of food again, fruits and Fish though their large boat does not have a Bar service on the boat ( paradise did), but does run the Bar and snack counter on one foot island. If I had time to do only one cruise, we would lean towards Paradise, but both were really nice and it was good to do two as the Lagoon is Aitutaki’s main attraction. If you’re a hardcore snorkeler or want to step outside of the Tourists route, it would probably pay to call Bishops or other companies and check into the smaller boats that visit more Motu.
Wear loads of sunscreen on the lagoon cruise or you will burn to a crisp, We heard innumerable horror stories of people being severely sunburned in an extremely short time on One Foot Island. The Couple next to us on one of the Cruises had visited years before and been severely burned, explaining wearing while putting on UV Swim shirts that a t-shirt while snorkeling doesn’t help because when clothes get wet they don’t block the UV rays , so be sure to take a strong sun screen. The man next to us on return in customs was a One Foot Island French fry!
We also climbed to the top of Maungapu, which wasn’t very difficult and had great views, though again we were happy we had brought Good walking shoes.
On the Saturday night we saw another Island dance show at the market / Blue Nun restaurant in town. It had younger kids, Great drummers and was fun. The audience was 60% locals. You could have dinner and the show but we came later and just had drinks with the show.
We missed the infamous Thursday night at the Crusher bar due to the torrential downpour We were able to make it to Crusher’s Monday night for ala cart and another dance show ( which costs NZ $5 just for the show $20 NZ for the show and dinner). There were about 15 people and the bar so it was more intimate. They had super cute little kids dancing and a few of the same Dancers and Drum troupe from the Saturday show.. It was fun and food was good (Serving nice fettuccine, which made me happy since I was getting sick of eating fish though it and I think Pork were options as well).Local Nightlife in Aitutaki does seem to rotate betwen Island nights at different venues, but not with the drunken Furor of Backpackers we experienced in Rarotonga -stuck on a Bus listening to drunken Aussies singing Beatles "yesterday" and "hey Jude"-we could Hear John Lennon spinning from titikaveka!
Samade on O’Otu Beach rents single person Kayak’s ( not the doubles listed in LP) and it’s not that bad of a paddling to the close Motu’s though working against the wind can be a little hard, and the lagoon isn’t deep in spots. they’re interesting to visit as they’re largely overgrown with a shore filled with thousands of sea slugs, tons of Crabs and crab holes, and different from the developed beaches you find elsewhere. A half day was $15 NZ and an Hour $10 NZ and I think it’s would be a pretty full tilt trip to try to make the First three Motu and back in an hour so is worth the additional $5. Very little is Open on Aitutaki on Sunday, and while Samade wasn;t serving Umu Barbeque ( just their regular menu) on Sundays it's a great destination for the afternoon. They were closed on Saturdays.
ATIU
When arriving in Atiu, we got a brief tour from Roger the owner of Atiu Villas, where we were staying. Atiu is just so different from Raro and Aitutaki, it is mostly forest and Makatea and really beautiful. There are only about 500 people living there now and often hours would go by where we wouldn’t see anyone (except pigs, chickens and goats). We went for a walk to Matai Landing which took about 25 mins from the Villas. There are hardly any signs in Atiu and it seems super easy to get lost so keep an eye out when you are wandering around. Our first full day we rode bicycles to town and down to Tarapaku Landing then around the SE part of the island then back to the Villas. This island is also bigger then you think. Bring PLENTLY of water if you are doing physical activities, I think I was often dehydrated and it was hot. We then went on the Anatakitaki (cave of the Kopeka) cave tour with the Humprey family. This is not as challenging as Pa’s trek but when I saw the TINY ledge you had to walk on to reach the ladder to go down to the cave, I was glad I had purchased travel insurance with Medical evacuation ( Ken didn’t think it was that bad, and the descriptions in the brochure sound more intimidating if you’re not familiar with caving "access is by a 3 meter vertical pothole"- Is that a bad thing???.) Walking on the Makatea, which is like fossilized Coral is tricky and you definitely need good shoes but they give you walking sticks. The cave is very cool and you get to see and hear the Kopeka birds and Ken even swam in the very cold fresh water cave pool by candlelight ( this was awesome! Extremely refreshing after the walk and worth wearing swim suits underneath your hiking gear!). The Humprey’s are excellent guides. After the caves they dropped us off at the Tumunu where we drank locally brewed bush beer with the locals. I thought it was pretty tasty-somewhere inbetween Sake and Cider, I "think" I had 5. Some people on the tour had many more rounds which isn’t wise since it keeps fermenting in your stomach ( You hold up a stop sign hand for a pass and definitely eat something before ingesting other alcohols). I didn’t feel drunk but could tell that I wasn’t feeling normal. The locals are nice, and be sure to contribute to the next batch! That night the Villas arranged an island dance show with a group that was just staring out. It was fun, since this was our 4th island night we had the moves down pretty good. The next day we went on the Atiu Coffee tour and they give you a generous amount of coffee to drink. It was very good, not overly technical and something to mull about the next time you’re downing Starbucks. I definitely should have brought back more Coffee already-on Atiu it’s extremely Cheap-$10 NZ a bag.
In the afternoon we went on the Burial cave tour of Rima Rau with young James Humprey ( The LP book didn’t list a guide but the Kopeka tour /Humprheys do this tour as well, though they only take five people on this tour at a time). It was a smaller cave with lots of burial bones-skulls and rib cages. Pretty cool, shorter and less physically challenging then the Kopeka tour and not that creepy, but just creepy enough. We also got to see some Maraes which would be near impossible to spot without knowing where to stop. Our last day we biked to Tanganui Harbor and then went to see Captain Cooks 1777 landing at Oravaru beach. We wanted to go on the new Eco tour with Birdman George but we weren’t going to be there the day he was doing it for the people currently on the Island/should've booked earlier. Atiu was great but not for everyone a good contrast to the other islands, there’s nice beaches that are virtually and often actually completely empty,though their edged in by coral. There’s A LOT surprisingly to see on Atiu (more than we could see in three days) and we’d head back to cover more of the Island, but it’s not a Beachside water resort like the other two for sure-We even spotted a huge wild pig-luckily at a good distance!!!
Ken and Denise
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