Mar 10, 2005 - Rarotonga

A week in the Cook Islands will not change your life. But it will ask you to question - I think even more than an ice-storm - why you live in a place like Maine. Paradise is a funny place. The experience of a place you thought would be a paradise inevitably turns out to be an experience of something quite different that what you imagined. If I was Adam and Eve, stuck in some garden, looking at the manicured foliage, and twittling my many thumbs I'd be downright ready for some knowledge to expand me, too. On the other hand, the garden didn't...

Dec 21, 2004 - Rarotonga, Cook Islands

Hi everyone! We arrived in Rarotonga to rain, and were told by the security at the airport that there was a cyclone warning! (luckily she was joking) Although it had been torrential rain for about 3 days prior to our arrival! We got the plane form Fiji with Karl and Natasha who we met while in Fiji. On the plane Karla and Natasha met Joe and Mendez, who we ended up sharing an apartment with, to cut a long story short we ended up spending 11 days with these 4 people, and had a fantastic and hilarious time (thanks guys). On our first day it...

Dec 7, 2004 - S: Scooting on Rarotonga, Cook Islands, South Pacific

Dear Friends, Where the heck are the Cook Islands? After crawling around in tiny caves in even tinier wetsuits in New Zealand, we flew from Auckland, NZ to the island of Rarotonga in the Cook Islands. When we planned our global jaunt, we decided to end it all with a couple of relaxing weeks on the beach and the Cook Islands fit the bill since we could get a layover there as part of our Air New Zealand flight from Auckland to Los Angeles. Just over a year ago, I discovered the Cook Islands while researching honeymoon destinations in the...

Dec 7, 2004 - Rarotonga

After NYC we were both starting to feel much more with it, let me tell you its not the place to be when you need to recover from a cold. After approx 28 hours flying time, a stop in LA and Tahiti, we finally arrived in the Cook Islands and on Rarotonga. After resting our heads for the first night in a BB on the edge of the main town, we set out the next day to find ourselves some more permanent digs (the pictures speak for themselves.........and yes we blew the budget again) The highlight of the excitement this week has to be taking my...

Oct 21, 2004 - Karen's birthday! Rarotonga, Cook Islands

Got a result on the plane with a bottle of bubbly at midnight, courtesy of Air New Zealand. Stopped at Tahiti for an hour or so before arriving in beautiful Rarotonga at 6am to celebrate Karens birthday, to be met by rain (we weren't suprised!). After some shut eye we checked out the island a little and booked ourselves a slap up feed! Very laid back life style in the Cook Islands and really lovely people everywhere. Perfect place to relax, even if the weather wasn't playing ball...

Oct 21, 2004 - Cook Islands - Rarotonga

Hi All Arrived safely in the Cook Islands though long long day. Flew from San Fransisco to Los Angeles, caught a connecting flight to Thaiti then to Rarotonga 14 hours later! Staying in hostel 1 minute walk to Muni beach which is fantasic beach surround by a lagoon - peace of heaven I call it after my intensive tour of the USA! More updates re my 28 day adventure will be later! In the meantime I am enjoying doing absolutley nothing! Ok not quite nothing - Went to the local market this morning & off on an 4wd tour of the island tomorrow with...

Sep 19, 2004 - Cook Islands - closed on Sunday!

After another flight from hell we arrived at Tahiti (Papeete) Airport at 4am. We had to put our watches back another three hours which just messed with our brains even more than before!! We were greeted at the airport by a band and a girl handing out flowers to us!!??!! We were in Tahiti for an hour, then we jumped back on the plane and carried on to Rarotonga (Cook Islands). We arrived about 7am Sunday morning. The guy from the hostel picked us up and took us to where we were staying. It was at this point that we realised that we were...

Aug 27, 2004 - Rarotonga - the wedding, the beaches, the coconut crabs - everything

Rarotonga. 10 hours flight from Los Angeles. Pretty much in the middle of the South Pacific nowhere. There are 15 Cook Islands in total, scattered over two million square kilometres of ocean, extending from Penrhyn, 9 degrees south of the equator, to Mangaia, just north of the Tropic of Capricorn. The Cook Islands are home to 19,00 people, half of whom live on Rarotonga. We arrive very early in the morning, the Coronas we drank at our stop-over in Tahiti wearing off. We are in that fuddled, time zone weary state as we enter the arrivals...

Jan 28, 2004 - New Years in the Cook Islands (text)

The term "tropical paradise" is overused to the point of meaninglessness, but the unspoiled Cook Islands are truly a rare find. We interrupted our tour of New Zealand to celebrate New Years on Rarotonga, the southernmost jewel of the Cook Island necklace. We left Auckland on December 27th, crossed the international dateline and thus arrived in Rarotonga the day before, on December 26th. Our island hosts greeted us at the airport with a softly-played guitar and sweet-scented flowers and we settled in for a week of sand and ocean. Rain,...