Even though it was time to regrettably leave Australia, we couldn’t hide our anticipation and excitement about the last part of our journey which included a short stop in Rarotonga, our fantasised escape to a remote desert island. Together with other 14 tropical islands they form the archipelago of the Cook Islands, scattered over two million square kilometres in the vast South Pacific.

First, we had to catch 2 flight connections, waited 3 hours at the airport and boarded on a 7 hours flight. Hence, with the time difference, we landed in Rarotonga at night pretty tired out. But to cheer us up, on arrival at the airport we were all welcomed by a local performing the traditional Maori songs ... probably trying to cover up the sound of the pouring rain outside.
Little we knew that the weather wasn’t going to change for the rest of the week.

In fact for the next days we were pretty much dictated by the bad weather. Yet, that didn’t prevent us to hire a scooter and try our luck exploring the island. We were told that while was pour raining on one side of the island, the sun was shining on the other side, so we played hide and seek with the sun. However, that didn’t seem to work quite as wished, considering the island it’s easily circling in less than 45 minutes, there were no much room to run away from.

Resigned, between each rainstorm, day ‘n night, we explored all beaches, hiked the peak through the dense, muddy jungle, visited the commercial hub of Avarua and the local Saturday’s market, experienced the traditional entertainments of an Island Nights and circumnavigated the island and its back-roads many, many times. We even had a fleeting glimpse of the underworld while snorkelling under the rain, in the cold, crystalline water but we regretted not to be able to truly relax in the dazzling, white sand beaches kissed by the sun and scanned for hours the azure waters of Muri and Titikaveka lagoons.


We even thought to escape to Aiutaki’s, one of the world’s top largest, untouched coral lagoons, but unfortunately the bad weather took its toll once again and we were stuck in our bungalow in Rarotonga. Well, this could be a reason to come back to this archipelago, maybe next time by boat.

Insights:

• the island is not really a backpackers’ haven; groceries are quite pricey and they lack on choices and if you are travelling on low budget eating out here will surely blowing it away;
• you need to obtain a Cook Islands Drivers license if you want to hire a scooter, which include also a short practical test, otherwise there is a bus that ran anticlockwise every hour each direction;
• the flight from Rarotonga to Aiutaki takes only 50 mins run by Air Rarotonga; prices are around NZD 300-450 return pp but there are last minute offers if book directly with the airline the day before the wished departure;
• we stayed at Rarotonga Backpacker (hillside) and managed to knock down the price while there at NZD 50 at night for a room with private bathroom and kitchenette; we also hired the motorbike directly from the hostel at NZD 90 for a week;
• be prepared to pay a tax of NZD 55 when leaving the island;
• internet is also pricey at NZD 6 for 20mins.