I'm back! After 5 days in the Cook Islands, I now have an internet connection to share my experience of the South Pacific. What a different experience it was! I had gone from city to city to city, before turning up at an island which holds 10,000 people and takes 50 minutes to drive the whole perimeter. The first thing I noticed after stepping off the plane was the heat. It was exactly what you'd expect. Hot, sticky/humid and also wet. I had to walk from the plane to the terminal as this airport obviously wasn't as developed as the rest. It was tiny. It made Bournemouth look like Heathrow. I had an airport transfer ready for me and I was soon at my accommodation. It was very quiet as I had been expecting. My hotel was cheap and basic, but right on the beach. It was probably less than 10 steps before I hit sand... I was situated on Muri Beach, which is in the south-east corner of the island.
The beaches in Rarotonga are like none I've ever seen before. They really were Caribbean-esque. Palm trees, clear blue sea and lovely white sand. The views were really stunning. On my first day I took a wander down the beach and had a drink in a local bar. The island has all of it's hotels, bars, restaurants etc on the edge of the island, by the sea. Inland is completely residential, but also mountainous. I felt like I was on the set of LOST. Not a bad thing for me...(Love Jack). The 2nd day I took the island bus which took me to the town centre. The people here are so laid back and chilled, just as you'd expect. The bus driver proved this to me almost straight away! 'Welcome to the biggest city in the world' he said after we arrived in the town. it must have been about half the size of my road... A woman got on the bus and asked to go to the town. He said he wasn't going that way... She had the wrong bus. She started walking off the bus before saying : But I'm going to the city'. He laughed hysterically for a good couple of minutes. I sniggered but it really wasn't that funny. His other gag was: 'Oh, sorry. I forgot to put the air conditioning on'. He then started waving his clipboard back and forth, cackling... You get the idea. Everyone knows everyone on the island. The locals are a very small community. They also love to ride scooters with no helmets... clearly not a law there.
The town was, well... really boring. There was nothing there. Boscombe has more to offer to be honest. I had a drink in the greatly named: Whatever! bar. That took me on to 'Raviz' which was an Indian restaurant overlooking... actually nothing this time. Just a road. The food was really good though. The guy running the place was really friendly. He told me I had come at a bad time to Rarotonga! This time of year is the hot and wet season, meaning many of the local business' were shut... A lot of the snorkeling, diving, cruise companies weren't running or were pretty quiet. I thought they would be everywhere! Apparently they are when it picks up in tourism after March. I mostly relaxed during my stay, just lying on the beach. In all honesty, there isn't a lot else to do! One day, I took a pretty long walk to Titikaveka beach which was really beautiful. Again, just total paradise... If it wasn't absolutely hammering it down. It rained for about half the time I was there over the 5 days. That made me a little bored unfortunately. If I couldn't lie on the beach, I really couldn't do anything. That was the problem I kept having! I heard on the plane, there was a couple having their wedding there. I feel for them as it was probably throwing it down. I've never seen rain like it. It was so loud! But at the same time, it was still so hot... Was really quite uncomfortable sometimes... I could have walked to the summit of the island, but in that heat; I gave it a miss. It really was so, so hot at times.
Rarotonga really is beautiful. It's a paradise island. Everything you expect is there... Palm trees, sun, cocktails, beach etc. An older british couple I spoke to said it was far better than the Caribbean as it was 'natural'. It isn't 'manicured' like the Caribbean, it is very much left to be itself. That was certainly the appeal to many. However, it wasn't really my cup of tea. I'm very much the type of traveller who likes to see and do things. I can't lie on the beach for a whole day, I get bored. With the weather as it was, I wasn't even able to do that. This for me is a place to visit in luxury and in style. There's really no point doing it half hearted. Along the same kind of lines, it is not somewhere to come alone. This is somewhere to come with a partner or family. It really does not suit a solo traveller... Or perhaps it just wasn't for me...I did feel very lonely here, more than anywhere else. No internet, signal meant I felt further than ever from home. Which I didn't mind, and I wasn't particularly homesick; but I didn't talk to anyone hardly for days! Instead, I was busy constantly imagining a zombie apocalypse on the island. Too much Dead Island on the Xbox : / I don't want to take away from the fact it was truly beautiful, and I will never forget the amazing views of the lagoon and beaches. It really was a unique experience for me. I have seen and been nowhere like it. After uploading my photos, it does look ridiculous that I am complaining a little.. I still had a great time :)
I am now in Los Angeles after a long 9 hour flight. I'm watching the oscars on TV which is about a 3 minute drive away from my hotel. I will write more about that in my next entry!
