Moana Sands Beachfront Hotel Titikaveka

... photography day, clicking pictures of cloudless skies and expanses of white sand. We read on the beach, occasionally moving as the sun did. The water felt slightly cool, but was warm enough for swimming. We watched lasers and optimists from the yacht club race back and forth. We 'oohed' and 'aahed' at the lovely view, shared with only chickens and the local dogs, who took themselves for walks in the tiny wavelets that ...

... comfortable being kissed by very large Maori women 19) Trying the food that's offered...no matter how much it resembles molded gooey bread 20) Figuring out the local bus schedule and what the heck "anti-clockwise" means. Aside from the volunteer duties, we've embarked on a variety of fun social activities. Friday night, to mark the beginning of the Vaka Eiva paddling races, our team leader Debi escorted us to Avarua Wharf for the blessing of the vakas. All of the ...

... on the films we missed on the first flight. Sally dozed a bit but I can't sleep on flights, so the 12 hours dragged. The Air New Zealand attendants kept plying us with iced water, every hour or so. About 5am local time the sky to the East started to brighten and we got a very welcome sunrise. We landed about 6am, 30 minutes ahead of schedule. Up to now the aircraft entry and ...

... chalk and talk. Interested too in the books and noted some very familiar titles from Shortland Publications. Also of interest was the largest building, which seemed to be accommodation for students from the South Pacific University who are studying Marine Science. Returning to the ship by Tender took a while caused by the logistics of moving so many people 150 at a time. We met several more NZ couples today - Thames, Papamoa, Pukekohe, Auckland - from all around. Tonight's ...

... on this island and the native culture. This museum is attached to the local library and they have books for sale - happiness! Wednesday night is Island night at many of the big resorts so we decide to take one in. We choose the Rarotonga Resort which is close by and we have been wanting to see what the resort looks like. Island night includes a buffet, with many of the foods being cooked in the Umu (earth oven). Both the buffet and the ...

... anti-clockwise ourselves. Been on the inner road and the outer road and seen some beautiful sights, the views from the mountain are amazing - the south apcific as far as the eye can see. We're booked to go to Aitutaki, which is supposed to be even more amazing than here, on Thursday until monday and then it's a beach bungalow for Christmas until we leave on 28th. We moved to Tiare Village on thurs for a week and so managed to unpack and feel settled! The Geckos are keeping us company ...

... weer. Gezellig. Samen hebben we nog een tijdje zitten keuvelen en daarna samen de bus terug gepakt.
Eigenlijk wilde ik een scooter huren, maar het bedrijf zat alweer dicht. Dus dan maar even snel boodschappen doen en de volgende bus pakken... ook te laat. Dammit. Dus toen maar gelift; het duurde even, maar goed, ik werd netjes bij het pad naar het hostel afgezet.

Op zaterdag besloot ik vroeg naar de markt te gaan, dus met veel moeite heb ik mezelf om ...

... ook hier weinig koraal gelukkig, maar des te meer schitterende vissen!
Met de boot zijn we vervolgens verder gevaren naar een uithoek van de lagune, alwaar het anker uitging en we de vissen hebben gevoerd. Hoewel ik dus geen fan was van snorkelen, kon ik het hier ook niet laten. De kleuren van de vissen, de verscheidenheid, de stilte onder water.... wauw.... Maar toch ging ik niet te ver uit de buurt; rondjes om de boot vond ik dapper ...

... met een uitgebreid buffet, met allerlei verschillende gerechten, onwijs lekker! We zaten aan tafel bij een vrij jong Brits stel, wiens hut afgelopen nacht afgebrand bleek te zijn. Na een tocht van 6 maanden over de hele wereld (waarbij zij 2 maal in het ziekenhuis heeft gelegen, hij is aangevallen
door een berggeit en nog 48 uur moest lopen voordat de wond behandeld kon worden, een auto-ongeluk in NZ, enz, enz) zou dit hun plek zijn om ...