TravelStream™ news feed for member aussiepanda on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/aussiepanda en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Sat, 07 Nov 2009 02:40:01 -0500 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/aussiepanda/3/1256506791/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/aussiepanda/3/1256506791/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/aussiepanda/3/1256506791/tpod.html Sat, 07 Nov 2009 02:40:01 -0500 Sand between our toes - two weeks laying on the beaches of the Cook Islands

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Rarotonga, Southern Cook Islands, Cook Islands

21/10/09 – 23/10/09 Day 13 Aitutaki and Avarua, Rarotonga, Auckland, BrisbaneWe took off at 1am Thursday but within minutes it was Friday. Had two Sundays when we started the holiday, now we'd lost Thursday.For reasons known only to Air New Zealand, breakfast was served not long after we took off.  What the?  Do they realise at 1.30am most people actually want to sleep.  We just pulled the blankets over us and closed our eyes.  If they were going to serve brekkie why not an hour before the flight was due to land.  This wasn't a ninety minute flight.  It was nearly four hours.  Bizarre.  Oh, and no pillows.  Why the hell not?Got into Auckland ten minutes early at 4.30 NZ time.  We were hungry now so went to Burger King.  Ugh!  How very healthy.  Decided we'd get our duty free here instead of Briz.  It's going to be a pina colada and mojito summer - we got Bacardi, Malibu and Galliano.  Plus some more Vodka, needed to make up the four litres.  Gotta love semi-regular OS travel.  Our cocktail cabinet is the fullest it's ever been.Went to the departure lounge and a 767 was pulled up to the gate.  Yippee!!!!  When we'd booked the flights I'd gone in and selected our seats.  Plane itinerary was supposed to be A320/767/767/A320.  Just before we left I'd checked again and it was showing 767 for all flights.  The seat map for the last flight showed we'd be sitting in the 'space plus' section of the last flight.  On a Qantas A330 or 767 this would be the premium economy section.It was bloody fantastic.  There was an amazing amount of room between you and the seat in front.  Our seats in row 13 - F & G - also meant we had no-one behind us.   Never sat in a seat that reclined so far.  Strangely enough they made watching your in-seat TV a bit awkward.   Oh, the difficulty of it all.  Apart from knocking my coffee all over myself, and sitting in a pool of it for a while, it was great.  I need to know why are Air NZ crews so happy?  It's very disconcerting when compared to the Qantas sad squad.  Got to say though, it was the coldest I've ever been on a plane but this time pillows and no blankets.  Air New Zealand has a great product - consistently good service, new planes, nice food.  They just need to fix their frequent flyer programme up and we'd be saying hei kona ra (goodbye) to Qantas.As we descended down towards Moreton Island I even saw two whales just off shore.  What a terrific end to the holiday.Breezed through immigration and customs and we were in the cab at 8am.Highlights - Air NZ service, even with the computer meltdown they still got us to Raro on the same day, Space Plus seats on final flight; Muri Beach Cottages - location, the bigger cottage and especially Gwen; Muri lagoon; quality of food nearly everywhere we went; ease of getting around on Raro on the public bus; Pa’s cross island walk; seeing m/s Amsterdam anchored off Avarua; prices cheaper than we expected for both food and alcohol; easy flight to Aitutaki; Teu - the housekeeper at Inano; our bungalow at Inano; the swimming hole at Inano; Aitutaki - every single thing about it; meeting our Danish friends; both lagoon cruises; hiring a scooter; walking up the lagoon; the weather; the amazing colours; Koru Cafe; amazing Aitutaki night skies; Island Show at Samade.Disappointments -  Air NZ computer meltdown; the Pole House at Muri beach Cottages - too small, ladder too steep up to bed platform, no cover on the verandah; very ordinary snorkeling on Raro, especially at Fruits of Rarotonga, supposedly the best on the island; Highland Paradise show - lost our booking, way too cramped, food pretty ordinary;  Moeau at Inano being a bit odd - we didn't know we could just go and get beer and water and leave money, didn't know there were kayaks and then we had to hire them (didn't bother), maybe would have been better if his wife had been there?; Samada meals (apart from Island night), grog prices, atmosphere - not the happening place we were expecting; overly religious (for us) atmosphere - "No flights on Sunday, keep Sunday holy", grace at every meal.Would we go again?  Absolutely!  I'd go back tomorrow if I could.Less than four months and we're off to NZ.  October next year is still undecided.  Better get planning.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/aussiepanda/3/1256319956/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/aussiepanda/3/1256319956/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/aussiepanda/3/1256319956/tpod.html Mon, 02 Nov 2009 06:12:13 -0500 Sand between our toes - two weeks laying on the beaches of the Cook Islands

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Auckland, North Island, New Zealand

We touched down in Auckland at about 5.30 NZ time. Not sure how we made it in just on three hours.  The crew had apologised that they were unable to get any info for those of us who were transferring to either international or domestic flights.  For us with international connections we were told to go to the transit desk but we couldn't see the point as our bag had only been tagged to Auckland.  So we went down, grabbed our bag and headed to the Air NZ customer service counter.  We must have surprised the guy manning the counter because he seemed mighty confused when we told him we were on NZ14 to Raro but had missed it.  A quick phone call and we were being escorted into the Koro Club (like The Qantas Club). As we were walking he explained the flight hadn’t left but we had to hurry.We’d filled in arrival cards for NZ with the belief we’d be staying overnight.  When we went through immigration they looked at us and asked why we’d only be staying one night.  Now that we were going to make our flight we had to fill in departure cards.  Length of stay in NZ? 0 days.  "Why’s that?" we were asked and went through the Air NZ delayed flight saga.  We were back into the terminal just after 6pm and literally ran to the gate.  The boards showed the flight was boarding and was due to depart at 6.30pm.  So we ran straight passed the duty free shops and missed our last chance for cheap booze.  Wished we hadn’t run, or at least had paused to buy booze then run again, because we didn’t even board until after 6.30.  More delays with paperwork saw us off just after 7pm.  Another smooth flight in another newish 767.  This flight was going on to LA so now there would be new lot of people who would be staring down the barrel of missing their connecting flights in LA.  Dinner was a delicious venison pie.  Could have had two. The captain let us know that the weather in Raro wasn’t that flash and he was right.  Luckily we were in the converted shipping container that was the entry to the arrivals hall when the heavens opened again.I forgot to mention that there was an Australia sporting team with us on the flight.  They were heading to Raro to represent Australia in mixed (?) netball.  For those of you who have played mixed netball I have a question.  Were there quite a lot of gay guys playing? If not, then some of those young (and quite good looking) guys were doing very good jobs of imitating them.  One of the chaperones put Julian Cleary to shame.  But I digress…
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/aussiepanda/3/1256319966/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/aussiepanda/3/1256319966/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/aussiepanda/3/1256319966/tpod.html Tue, 27 Oct 2009 23:25:43 -0400 Sand between our toes - two weeks laying on the beaches of the Cook Islands

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Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

11/10/09 Day 1 Briz-Auckland-?In the cab right on 6.15am and we're on our way. Walk into the terminal and the queue seems a little long considering there’s only two early flights.  An announcement comes over the pa - "for all those waiting to check in for Air New Zealand flights 802 and 132...".  What he told us was that the Air NZ computer system had failed worldwide five minutes before we walked in the door.  They would have to check us in manually and they were working out how to do it.  The crowd was remarkably calm and stayed that way for the entire two hours it took us (and everyone else) to check in our bag - to Auckland, not Raro - and then in another queue for over 30 minutes to get our seat allocation. Couldn’t get duty free because we’d be in transit in Auckland and it would be over the 100ml limit (what we'd be wanting to buy would be way more than 100ml). We watched the flight departure time get pushed further and further out.  From 8.30 it eventually blew out to an expected 10.45.  We were finally in our seats at just after 10.30 but due to issues getting the flight plan faxed to Auckland and then getting it back with an approved stamp, we didn’t take off until 11.30, a bit later than 8.30.The flight to Auckland was scheduled to take 3:50 hours and we left Brizvegas after 2.30pm Auckland time.  Our flight to Rarotonga was departing at 4.30 so we knew we’d be spending a night in Auckland.  Someone from Qantas needs to fly Air NZ one day and learn what service should be.   Everyone was quietly (amazingly) pissed off and that crew did their darndest to make everyone happy.   They did a great job.  The funniest part of the flight was the meal service.  By the time service started it was well after 1pm Briz time.  Many people were in the same boat (plane?) as us.  They’d headed to the airport without a coffee or any brekkie and were bloody starving.  ’Lunch’ was a choice of hot cakes with bacon, or cereal and yoghurt!  That’s what they’d been expecting to serve at maybe 9.30 so they had no option. It was all done with biggest of smiles on the crews’ faces.  Accompanied by soothing Steinlager Pures, they were the best hot cakes either of us had ever eaten. 
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/aussiepanda/3/1255283064/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/aussiepanda/3/1255283064/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/aussiepanda/3/1255283064/tpod.html Tue, 27 Oct 2009 23:24:57 -0400 Sand between our toes - two weeks laying on the beaches of the Cook Islands

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Rarotonga, Southern Cook Islands, Cook Islands

We cleared immigration and customs. My hopes of some last minute duty free were dashed as although there was a sign, I couldn't work out how to get to it. Our transport was where it was supposed to be and we were in the van, in Rarotonga, and on our way.Our driver said he did something I didn't know was possible - work a 42 hour day.  I asked how, but he didn’t explain.  We saw nothing of the east coast of the island as we headed to Muri Beach due to the rain and the pitch dark.  Dropped two other couples off and finally backed down the drive to Muri Beach Cottages.  Mr Driver unlocked the door, switched a light on and handed us the key.  Amazingly, the island gods had smiled on us and we had arrived barely three and a half hours late.First thing we wanted to do was have a look outside.  We didn’t care that was still drizzling and that the verandah light wasn’t working so we couldn‘t see anything.  It didn’t matter, we could hear the waters of Muri Lagoon lapping against the shore somewhere close below us. Then it was time to check out the cottage.  To be honest, it was small.  Ok, it was really small.  A little kitchen bench with a small sink and a two burner gas hob with some cupboards and drawers under.  A little fridge and microwave were in a nook under the bed platform.  Tiny bathroom.  A living room that was furnished with a little table and a couple of directors chairs plus a sofa kind of thing. Above the bathroom was the sleeping platform/loft, one of the two reasons we chose this place.  Sadly it was also the reason I’m sat typing this in the cottage next door. I grew up sleeping in a bunk bed.  We both thought it would be fun to sleep up on the platform.  Sadly the reality was I hated it.  The ladder was way too steep.  There was no edge rail around the platform.  Call me a wuss, but I was scared.  There was no way I was going to get up to pee during the night so I just held on until I woke up and it was light.Back to yesterday.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/aussiepanda/3/1256504584/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/aussiepanda/3/1256504584/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/aussiepanda/3/1256504584/tpod.html Tue, 27 Oct 2009 23:24:30 -0400 Sand between our toes - two weeks laying on the beaches of the Cook Islands

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Rarotonga, Southern Cook Islands, Cook Islands

11/10/09 Day 2 Muri Beach We woke up and apart from busting for a pee, all we could say/I can still say is wow! The living room has some high windows around it and from the platform we could see out across the amazingly blue lagoon.  The rain had gone and the sun was shining.  Yahoooooo!!!The balcony was the other reason we chose the pole house.  It's built right over the rocks that fringe the headland that marks the end of the Muri Lagoon.   I am not a religious person but I found myself in heaven as did Al. Wow. Wow. Wow. Got dressed and walked along the beach all the way up to Muri Beach Club and back.  By that time we were both starving so we headed down the road to the ’village’.  Found a fantastic café where Al had what he described as the best tasting eggs benedict he’d had.  My mushrooms (that had been soaked in raspberry juice) and bacon was equally delicious.  Certainly not cheap though.  We’ve been told nothing here is.  Iced coffees - $8.50 each!!  Over brunch I told Al that I wasn’t comfortable staying in the pole house and that I would ask Gwen, the owner, if we could move to one of the other cottages. Bought some supplies on the way back to the cottage. First up beer - VB (yes, I know) two six packs @$18 each!!!! Then a freshly baked baguette and some French camembert.  Finally milk and cereal. When we were buying the cheese and baguette we noticed a sign that said 'no alcohol sales on Sunday‘.  Mmmm…  That’s why we were getting some funny looks walking along with a bag of beer.  Not sure why they even sold it to us at the supermarket.  Bloody glad they did though. Time to hit the lagoon.  Slathered on the sunscreen, slipped the Big W reef shoes on and off we went to test the new camera.  Didn’t see that much life apart from one starfish, some purple coral, a few fish and ten gazillion sea slugs.  My god! They are everywhere.  Literally millions of them.  I’ve since heard they are an a bit of an ecological disaster and are literally covering the lagoon and everything in it with slug shit.  Sounds yummy heh?  All we know is that they feel pretty gross when you stand on them.We walked - why swim when you can walk? - right across the lagoon to the motu across from the pole house.  It never got over our shoulders although I was on tippy toes a couple of times.  The water varied between Thailand-warm and everywhere else warm.  Was great fun.  Was fantastic to have a camera we weren’t concerned about getting wet.When we’d morphed into giant prunes (Al was only medium sized) we realised it was time to dry off and track down Gwen to talk about moving.  Had our cheese and baguette and washed them down with a couple of VBs (very classy).  Saw Gwen walking across from her house.  Had a long chat about all sorts of stuff, her life etc, and I broached the subject of moving.  She was fine and understood that the loft wasn’t for everyone.  Said she’d check the bookings for one of the other two cottages (some people were arriving at 6am today into the other one) and called a couple of minutes later to let us know we could move tomorrow.  Thank goodness.  I wouldn’t have been comfortable spending another five nights up on that platform.Headed back up the beach to find somewhere for dinner and ended up at the Barefoot Bar at the Pacific Resort.  Our very obviously gay waiter was from Santiago Chile and has been on Raro for a year this week.  He’s off on holidays for two months but reckons he’ll be back even though he’d told us that Raro ‘eez boring’ and there ‘eez no action’. Why come back then?  I can hardly imagine there’s a thriving gay scene but gee there seem to be a lot of us here.  Maybe he likes islanders?  Or holidaying husbands?Dinner was very good - service, presentation and quality.  It was great fun sitting in a restaurant that was just a big marquee plonked on the beach. It was even better fun being able to kick your thongs off and dig your toes in the sand.  Compared to the crazy prices in stores and cafes, the meal was standard Briz restaurant prices.  We walked back along the beach, glad we’d brought the torch as it was very dark again.  Only a few stars were peaking out through the clouds and there was no sign of the moon.Another scary night up on the platform.  Gee was I glad to get down that ladder for the last time.  I knew we’d miss the unbeatable view and felt really bad that Al would have been happy to stay if not for the scared whale.  The sun had gone in to partial hiding Monday, saving us from more sunburn for the day.  Somehow, even though we were sun-blocked up, we both managed to get our chests a bit burned while sitting out on the verandah the previous afternoon.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/aussiepanda/3/1256505759/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/aussiepanda/3/1256505759/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/aussiepanda/3/1256505759/tpod.html Tue, 27 Oct 2009 23:24:08 -0400 Sand between our toes - two weeks laying on the beaches of the Cook Islands

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Rarotonga, Southern Cook Islands, Cook Islands

12/10/09 Day 3 Muri Beach and Avarua, RarotongaDecided we'd go for a walk in the opposite direction this morning so had some brekkie and headed round passed Te Manava Villas and along the south coast. Some really beautiful villas and groups of cottages along the beach.  No motus around here, just the reef about four or five hundred metres offshore and a long white beach fringed with palm trees.  If it sounds like paradise it is.  We walked passed Fruits of Rarotonga, a café beside the road that marks the beach where Raro’s best snorkeling is said to be found.  We walked back along the road so we could work out the names of the places we’d seen from the beach.  Most spectacular was The Little Polynesian.  This morning’s walk was about 6km.Decided we’d better pack before we headed out to explore Raro by bus.  We’d thought about hiring a car for a day so we’d need to go to the police station and get a driver’s licence.  Jo Jo was already next door cleaning the other cottage that we'd be moving in to. Obviously took us longer to get ready than we thought it would because there was a knock on the door and it was Jo Jo telling us the cottage was ready.  Al said his goodbyes to the pole house and we moved over into the cottage. Hallelujah!  It was huge. Ok, so the view wasn’t quite the same as from the pole house but we could sit in bed and see water (plus the construction site next door), we had a huge covered verandah, it had chairs and a table, a big modern bathroom, but best of all IT HAD NO LADDER!!!  Pretty much dumped everything and headed out to catch the bus. $7 each to go right round the island.  Bargain!  Was great to get away from Muri and see where the locals lived although lots of the places on the beach front were obviously rentals.  Drove passed a gigantic resort complex that was half built.  It looked like it was going to be eventually taken back by the tropical landscape.  A dilapidated sign advertised the Hilton Rarotongan Resort.  We found out later that it dated back to the late 80s and had been started by a developer who ran out of cash (was originally to be a Sheraton).  There was mention of some possible government corruption, and the Mafia, the Italian one!  Cool!   Then another developer took the project over and it was going to be a Hilton but they also ran out of dosh.  Very sad, as it really looks like all of the hard work has been done - at least a dozen three storey blocks of accommodation all built (missing windows though), a huge building in the centre that I guess would have housed restaurants and bars, acres of flat ground that surely wouldn’t take much to turn into the tropical paradise that was originally intended.  Why would Hilton or Sheraton or Intercontinental bother though when they could most likely buy the same amount of land in Vietnam or Thailand and build the same resort from the ground up and it end up costing them less.  Paradise though the Cook Islands are, they are way too hard to get to, way too expensive to get to, and for what you get at least at the big resorts, way too expensive to stay at. But I digress…The bus calls into the big two Raro resorts - The Rarotongan and The Edgewater Resort.  The Rarotongan is literally in the middle of nowhere.  No idea if they have a free shuttle to Avarua but if they don’t you’d have to hire a car or catch the bus to escape.  Edgewater is a bit closer to town but still a long way and it‘s also the bus or hire car to get away.  The Rarotongan looked pretty flash but the Edgewater looked a bit tatty. At least Muri where we are has plenty of restaurants and a couple of shops where you can buy your own supplies.Took about 30 minutes to reach Avarua, the main town on Raro.  Saw the runway in the daylight.  Eek!  Got off the bus in the centre of town and had a bit of a wander.  Bought some postcards, picked up some maps and brochures at the tourist information centre, booked the famous ‘Pa’s Cross Island walk’ for Wednesday - four and a half hours up to The Needle then back down to Wigmore’s Falls to soak what no doubt will be aching feet.  It recommends good walking boots but I’ll be in sandals and Al will either wear his runners or his reef shoes.A Raro institution - Trader Jacks - was calling us so of course we answered its call. It’s a bar and restaurant on the wharf at Avarua.  Had a few beers, two great fish lunches and although tempted to stay for dinner, we decided to head back to Muri.  Just managed to get the last bus (4pm) before the drivers took their dinner break.  The buses wouldn’t start again until 6 but would then go through till 11pm.  A bit about the buses.  There are only two routes - clockwise and anti-clockwise.  It’s a flat fare of $4 one way or $7 return.  They run from 7am till 4pm Monday to Saturday and 8am-12pm then 2pm-4pm Sunday. Every night except Friday and Sunday they run from 4pm-11pm. On Fridays they cater to the party (read backpacker) crowd by running from 4pm-10pm then from 12am-2am.  No evening bus services on a Sunday.  The timetable is in ’minutes past the hour’ at stops.  From our experience they never run early and are never more than a couple of minutes (if any) late. Maybe I should tell this to our idiot Mayor Campbell Newman so he can hear more evidence of how pathetic our buses at home are.Got some more beer and packets of chips at the servo/shop about five minutes down the road - his ‘common’ beer is only $12 a six pack (so $40 Oz a dozen).  We got some NZ beer this time - Export Gold.  Was fantastic to get back to the cottage and sit out on comfy chairs on our big covered deck, chugging a couple of beers and looking out across the lagoon.  Decided against fancy dinner tonight so headed up the road, torch in hand, to one of the burger joints.  The closest one was closed so walked right up to the other end of Muri.Choices were fish, beef, cheese or chicken burgers.  Beef or cheese was $12 including chips and coke. Al wanted fish, I was going to get beef.  But they were out of fish, out of beef and out of cheese. They actually only had chicken. Suppose we should have been thankful they had chicken.  No idea why, but we also ordered two serves of chips, at $5 a serve!  The burgers were good but I had about ten chips.   Was very funny watching other people go through the same ordering process that we had.Headed back to the cottage and picked up our sudokus where we’d left off.  Yes, sudokus.  There is no tv and no radio.  No wifi.  Any music I’ve burnt is on the hard drive at home. We forgot to bring a pack of cards so sudoku is our entertainment.  Was fantastic to get into a bed that didn’t involve climbing up a ladder but boy was/is that bed hard.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/aussiepanda/3/1256504664/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/aussiepanda/3/1256504664/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/aussiepanda/3/1256504664/tpod.html Tue, 27 Oct 2009 23:23:31 -0400 Sand between our toes - two weeks laying on the beaches of the Cook Islands

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Rarotonga, Southern Cook Islands, Cook Islands

13/10/09 Day 4 Muri Beach, Fruits of RarotongaSnorkeling this morning. Bit windy but still warm.  Headed up the road (easier than walking up the beach) to Fruits of Rarotonga.  There were already quite a few people out in the water.  Gwen provides snorkeling gear but in hindsight I wished we'd bought and brought our own.  None of the flippers were big enough for us and the goggles were also a bit dodgy.  They were ok though and did the job.  When we bought the new camera we were going to buy a spare battery duty free at Briz airport.  That of course didn’t happen.  We found out this morning that not doing this might have been a mistake.Raro is the fourth place we’ve snorkeled after Hawaii, Thailand and Lady Musgrave Island.  So far, Hawaii ties with Lady Musgrave for the win.  The water there was clear, there were a lot of fish and there was at least a bit of colourful coral. Thailand was next. Again, a lot of fish and the water was bath tub warm.  Sadly Phi Phi’s reefs had been devastated by the tsunami so the coral was on the whole, shattered and lifeless.  Raro comes a distant last. If Fruits is the best snorkeling there is here then the rest must be terrible.  We saw hardly any live coral.  There were fish but not many.  The water was murky.  To top it off the camera went through its battery like lightening.  All in all pretty disappointing but we still had a great morning.  The water was warm, the beach gorgeous and we are on holidays so it has to be good!  And the smoothies we had at Fruits were bloody fantastic.  We’d noticed while we were on the beach that the seas outside the reef looked to be getting bigger and the waves crashing on to them were huge.  When we got back to Muri we were surprised to see that the tide hadn’t started to go out and that there were actually small waves breaking against the rocks below the cottage and all along the beach inside the lagoon.  As the afternoon wore on the lagoon got murkier and murkier as the sand (and slug shit) got stirred up. We attempted to go snorkeling again but couldn’t see our feet 30cm under the surface so negotiating the (dead) coral outcrops was too dangerous and we gave up.  We’d booked dinner for tonight at Sails (even though purchasing an afternoon beer indicated that at least one of their bar staff had no idea how to count/give correct change). We also decided we wanted to see an island show so booked the one at the Highland Paradise cultural centre for Wednesday night.  Best thing about this show is that they’ll pick us up and drop us backJ.Dinner at Sails was really good.  Service fantastic.  Just on dusk we were attacked by mozzies, millions of them.  I asked if they had any bug spray.  Next minute I saw someone race out of the restaurant and race back in a few minutes later with two bottles of repellent.  We both covered every exposed bit of skin with Off and proceeded to enjoy an excellent meal.  We weren’t the only people to get attacked and watched other tables of diners ask for spray.Not long after we got back to the cottage the wind started to pick up and it was followed soon after by rain.  At some stage after midnight we were hit by a terrific gust of wind and I raced out on to the verandah to get all of our stuff off the line.  The rain and wind didn’t let up all night.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/aussiepanda/3/1256505132/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/aussiepanda/3/1256505132/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/aussiepanda/3/1256505132/tpod.html Tue, 27 Oct 2009 23:23:16 -0400 Sand between our toes - two weeks laying on the beaches of the Cook Islands

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Rarotonga, Southern Cook Islands, Cook Islands

14/10/09 Day 5 Muri Beach, RarotongaWoke up and it was pretty miserable outside. I called Pa's to tell them we wouldn’t be doing the walk but they beat me to it and said they wouldn’t be in any case.  Offered us Friday but we fly to Aitutaki so they will take us tomorrow if the weather is fine.  Fantastic!  We’ve heard it’s a bit slippery when it’s wet so we imagine it will be treacherous today.The rain has cleared as the morning has gone on and the wind has died down to nothing.  Waves breaking out on the reef are getting smaller and the lagoon is clearing but the tide doesn't look like it has gone down at all.  Had a thought this morning that we might just be experiencing the ‘spring tides‘.  If that’s the case, it will explain why the water has been so high the last 36 hours.  Might even venture out into the lagoon again soon because the sky is not far from being all blue again.  Yippee!!Got the snorkeling gear together and wandered along the edge of the lagoon towards the beach near Tiana’s.  It was just too murky to have any idea of what was under your feet.  Too many small outcrops of dead coral and rocks and not worth risking cutting your leg open so we gave up.Pretty much spent the whole day sitting in the cottage reading and doing puzzles.  5pm we’re out on the road waiting for the bus to Highland Paradise.  Bus arrives and we tell the driver our names but we’re not on the list.  Tells us to get on in any case.  Realises the bus won’t have the room for the people he’s supposed to pick up so asks if we’re ok getting off and waiting for the next one.  Of course we are.  So off we get and the next bus comes along.  He doesn’t have us on the list either but he has room so takes us the whole way.The view from Highland Paradise is amazing.  Quite high up on a hill on the west coast.  Go to pay and we’re not on the list for tonight (I know we should be cos I heard Al say tomorrow, Thomson, and describe where we are staying - Gwen’s place) but doesn’t matter, there’s room for us (more on room later).  Get an intro on the history of the site, shown the marae and get blessed.  Take a couple of photos of the coast to try and give an idea of how big the seas are that are breaking on the reef but doubt they’ll show much at all.  The sunset is behind a bank of trees so can’t get a shot of that either.Shown to our tables where we’ll eat and watch the show.  You sit at long tables that are too close together and the handles of the chairs sit on each other in places.  It would do the place good to take twenty less people per night and make it a bit more comfortable for everyone.  Getting a drink, going to the loo, even getting up to get dinner was way too hard.The meal was pretty good.  We have to compare this place to the Old Lahaina Luau we went to in Hawaii.  The scale of this was much smaller.  The food was similar but without the delicious shredded pork. The singing and music was in a different world here, just amazing, although the dancing was the opposite; good, but not in the same class, especially the girls.  They were still good, but the Hawaiians were so much better.  Went through a similar timeline where the music, costumes and style of dance has changed over the centuries.  It was a really great night.  Pretty sure that some of the nights are all inclusive (they also include your drinks) but at least with this one you are putting your money straight into the community and not into a big resort.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/aussiepanda/3/1256505246/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/aussiepanda/3/1256505246/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/aussiepanda/3/1256505246/tpod.html Tue, 27 Oct 2009 23:22:58 -0400 Sand between our toes - two weeks laying on the beaches of the Cook Islands

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Rarotonga, Southern Cook Islands, Cook Islands

15/10/09 Day 6 Muri Beach, Rarotonga cross island walk, AvaruaSpectacular morning. Al went down on to the rocks to photograph the sunrise.&nbsp; Came back up after a while and said he'd been sat there for ages wondering why the sun wasn’t getting any <i>closer to the horizon.&nbsp; Mmm….Van picked us up right on 8.30 for Pa’s Mountain walk.&nbsp; Already six others in the van and we picked another two up before picking up Pa.&nbsp; He is a Rarotongan, and possibly Polynesian, institution.&nbsp; He was barefoot, wearing a nappy thing, frond arm bands and frond knee bands and a singlet that was on back to front.&nbsp; Drove up around the island and as we came around the corner into Avarua a Holland America ship is anchored off shore.&nbsp; It’s Rotterdam or Amsterdam.&nbsp; Pa is surprised to see it there as he knows the schedule of ships visiting and this one isn't expected.&nbsp; He suggests maybe it’s been diverted from Samoa or Tonga.&nbsp; Seeing the ship there just out there makes me want to stow away.&nbsp; I think maybe it’s on the world voyage.We head inland at Wigmore’s Superstore.&nbsp; Doesn’t really look that super but maybe it’s a context thing.&nbsp; Headed up a winding road, past the power plant that just looks like a big shed, to our drop off point.Pa stopped to do a bit of a bush/jungle medicine demo and then we all introduced ourselves.&nbsp; Two couples from the US - one on their honeymoon, a couple from Auckland who are getting married this weekend, and us two Aussie couples.&nbsp; The other couple is from Sydney but he has an accent like Rupert Murdoch that he explains he got when they lived in Atlanta.The trek starts up easy enough but it’s soon very obvious that the description of rigorous exercise is correct.&nbsp; A lot of it is scramble and quite muddy, so very slippery.&nbsp; Amazingly, Al and I avoid going over although we are in the minority.&nbsp; Pa points out lots of plants that have medicinal qualities including one that he gets lots of us to chew that has some kind of anaesthetic quality.&nbsp; Also shows us the King banana.&nbsp; It’s bizarre - instead of the spikes hanging down and the bananas growing up, the spikes grow up along with the bananas.&nbsp; They have a beautiful purple flower on the top of the spike.&nbsp; Talking of things growing up.&nbsp; Everyone was amazed at the number of natural remedies for ‘putting more lead in your pencil’. Gee were there a lot.&nbsp; Seemed to be a bit of a recurring theme for Pa.&nbsp; He also recommended bee pollen for arthritis, something I’ll give a try when we get home.&nbsp; Also filling yourself with natural light and not dark light. &nbsp;The list was quite extensive.&nbsp; Although I sound just a tad sceptical, he looked bloody amazing for 69 years old.&nbsp; The highlight of the walk is getting to the base of the Needle.&nbsp; The last part of the walk was along a very narrow ridge just below the Needle.&nbsp; I’m not one for heights so this was a bit of a challenge.&nbsp; Definitely worth it though.&nbsp; You could see both sides of the island form up there.&nbsp; Just before the final climb there is a palm tree that Pa explains was planted on the 94th birthday of an English lady who did the climb 14 years ago.&nbsp; She’s a bee pollen convert and is still going at the age of 108!&nbsp; The walk down was supposed to be easier but if anything it was harder.&nbsp; More slippery.&nbsp; More places where you either grabbed tree roots to support yourself or took a big slide.&nbsp; Lots of backing down in places.&nbsp; Even walking through creeks.&nbsp; Was glad I wore sandals.&nbsp; Finally got to a beautiful stream where we sat on the rocks and had lunch.&nbsp; Little fresh water prawns in the creek that Pa called yabbies.Got to the bottom and we were supposed to have a swim in the pool at the base of Wigmore’s Falls but Michael our driver had a 1pm pickup so we had to go.&nbsp; It had been a terrific morning.One of the other people asked Pa if he could get dropped off in Avarua so we asked if we could too.&nbsp; I wanted to take some pictures of the ship.&nbsp; When we got up there it was actually the Amsterdam.&nbsp; I think it might be on the world cruise. &nbsp;Looked great just sitting off shore.&nbsp; Lots of little old Americans wandering around looking a bit lost.&nbsp; Took a photo for a couple and forgot to ask if they had been diverted here.Had another couple of beers at Trader Jacks and then went down and caught the bus back to Muri.&nbsp; One Amsterdam passenger tried to pay the bus driver with USDs and the driver said to him "I’m not a bank".&nbsp; Some comment from him along the lines of “I don’t want any change, what would I do with <i>your money? “&nbsp; Bit of a tense moment but he got on.&nbsp; Didn’t realise he wanted to ride the 500 metres to the wharf where the Amsterdam’s tenders were docking.&nbsp; Lazy old ratbag.&nbsp; Some people just shouldn’t leave their holes, especially old “bow-to-me-world” Americans like that guy.&nbsp; Stay calm Rarotonga, they’ll be gone soon.This is really such a beautiful place and every time we ride the bus around the island it just reinforces it.&nbsp;&nbsp; Seeing how calm the bus driver was just makes the case even stronger.&nbsp; We picked up some school kids on the way back.&nbsp; The first little guy to get on was really tiny.&nbsp; Don’t think he had any money.&nbsp; The bus driver wanted to know where his mum was so she could work out where to drop him off.&nbsp; Not sure she could get anything out of him so when all the other kids had got on she asked back down the bus “Where’s the boy in red going?” and one of them told her the stop.&nbsp; In Brisbane they would have left him beside the road.As soon as we got back we headed over to Gwen’s with the $40 for the change to the bigger cottage and to ask if we’d booked a transfer to the airport in the morning.&nbsp; We hadn’t, but she offered to take us to the airport on her way to work.&nbsp; She didn’t want to take the money for the change but I insisted as she hadn’t needed to let us move without at the very least charging us a cleaning fee.&nbsp; We wanted to get out in the motu for a last swim and snorkel and to have a look on the motu itself.&nbsp; Gwen asked us back for a glass of wine on the way out to dinner.&nbsp; The water was crystal clear again but a bit deeper than the first time we went over.&nbsp; Was much better with goggles and snorkels as we could keep sticking our heads under and see what was happening under there.Saw a big school of parrot fish, literally hundreds of medium size goat fish and all sorts of other fish.&nbsp; Got up onto the motu and of course I slipped over.&nbsp; Miracle it hadn’t happened yesterday but at least on the walk I would have fallen on to soft mud or bush and not hard volcanic rock.&nbsp; No major damage, no doubt the bruises will be there tomorrow.We just needed another couple of days here so we could have explored the other motus in the lagoon.&nbsp; Maybe we’ll come back.Al wouldn’t go to Gwen’s without taking a bottle of wine so he raced down to the servo to get one.&nbsp;&nbsp; Was wonderful sitting out on Gwen’s verandah watching the light fade across the lagoon.&nbsp; What a view!!&nbsp; She’s just the loveliest lady and has the most amazing stories.&nbsp; We’ve arranged to go in to town with her in the morning early , have a coffee and some brekkie and then get dropped off at the airport.Had booked dinner at Sails for 6.30 and eventually got there at nearly 7.30.&nbsp; The manager had just kept our table, no biggy, we’re on island time. &nbsp;No mozzie issue for me tonight cos I’d coated myself with Aerogard but Al had forgotten.&nbsp; Didn’t seem to be the problem they’d been the last time we were at Sails.&nbsp; Another really good meal.Was a bit sad as we walked back to the cottage because we’d come to our last night on Raro.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/aussiepanda/3/1255628689/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/aussiepanda/3/1255628689/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/aussiepanda/3/1255628689/tpod.html Tue, 27 Oct 2009 23:22:42 -0400 Sand between our toes - two weeks laying on the beaches of the Cook Islands

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Aitutaki, Southern Cook Islands, Cook Islands

16/10/09 Day 7 Muri Beach - AitutakiGwen called at just before 8.30 and said wander over whenever we were ready. &nbsp; We loaded the bags into her little car, lucky we only had one big case.&nbsp; She drives a little silver Terios just like Jacs.&nbsp; Before we got in Gwen said she wanted to ask us a favour.&nbsp; Could we see if we could find her a mop head for this mop she's had for years?&nbsp; We’re sure we’ve seen them at home so we’ll post her one back.Stopped at a place called The Beachcomber up in Avarua.&nbsp; It’s an old building that has been restored and a gallery, shops and café have been created inside the shell.&nbsp; Great coffee, Gwen reckons the best on the island, and we’d agree it’s the best we’d had.&nbsp; Gwen said "my shout" but there was no way Al would let her so we paid.&nbsp; When we were sat at the airport I told him he has to be more prepared to accept gifts.&nbsp; He is terrible at it.&nbsp; Checked in for the flight and some Germans we’d sat beside at Highland Paradise were also waiting for the flight.&nbsp; Very interesting people and greener than I could ever hope (or wish) to be.&nbsp; They have a two seater electric car (with pedal back-up).&nbsp; Now that’s extreme.Not real crash hot with propeller planes so was a little anxious. Plane was a SAAB 340 turbo prop.&nbsp; Not sure how many rows back but two seats on one side and one on the other.&nbsp; We were in row one that was like an exit row with the emergency door next to us.&nbsp; Right outside the window the propeller spinning at a million miles an hour.&nbsp; Surprisingly I really enjoyed both the flight and the experience.Only 40 minutes to Aitutaki.&nbsp; Went by in a flash.&nbsp; We hooked around the islands and the lagoon and the hostess took some pictures for us out of her window.Met off the plane by a lady who asked if we were Peter Brown and, pause and puzzled look, Alison?&nbsp; Nearly burst out laughing but said no it’s just Al as in Alan.&nbsp; Her name was Teu.&nbsp; Cute little guy with her who introduced himself as Ethan.&nbsp; He was staying with his mum and this was there last day.&nbsp; Drove the kilometre or so to Inano.&nbsp; Oh my god!!&nbsp; The water was the colour the brochures show, the sand white, air warm.&nbsp; Teu took us into the bungalow and it’s fantastic.&nbsp; She apologises it’s not perfectly clean as Ethan and his mum had been staying in it and had only been moved out this morning before she’d some to pick us up.&nbsp; It was fine.Swimming shorts on and we both raced down the beach and jumped into the swimming pool/lagoon.&nbsp; I’m not a religious person but could be converted if I was told that this was what heaven would be like.&nbsp; Wow.&nbsp; Moeau the owner came over and introduced himself.&nbsp; Not sure how many gay couples they’ve had here.There was a family a bit further along the beach with two little kids, all blonde, so most likely Scandinavians (they are).&nbsp; Met Ethan’s mum Vanessa.&nbsp; They’ve been here over three weeks.&nbsp; While we’re talking I brush something on my leg and then feel a burning pain.&nbsp; I’ve been stung by a bloody wasp.&nbsp; Race into the bungalow and stick my hand in the freezer.&nbsp; Can’t believe how much it hurts but at least I'm not allergic.&nbsp; We’ve read that Samade is the best place to drink and gaze across the lagoon.&nbsp; Luckily it’s just around the corner so we head round.&nbsp; The view from there is spectacular.&nbsp; Grab a couple of beers and just lay back on the deck chairs.&nbsp; The bungalows here are $250 a night and look at each other, not the view. &nbsp;Weird.&nbsp; Watched the Italian family who had arrived on the same flight as us make a mess of kayaking.&nbsp; Was hilarious.&nbsp; Vanessa had told us watching dodgy kayakers was one of the best forms of entertainment since she’d been here.&nbsp; Lucky she was going before she could pass judgment on our abilities.Just off the tip of the island is the Aitutaki Lagoon Resort and Spa.&nbsp; Last minute deals there were $500 a night for a garden view room.&nbsp; They can actually all see the lagoon but nevertheless we are paying about Oz$125 for the same thing (ok, we don’t have aircon or a tv or even a radio).&nbsp; When we’d originally talked about coming to Aitutaki we’d considered booking an over-water bungalow at the resort.&nbsp; Two nights would have cost us our more than what we’ve paid for 12 nights accommodation.&nbsp; Glad we didn’t.Had some lunch and booked for the island night next Tuesday, our last night.&nbsp; Back to Inano, swam some more, talked to Vanessa again, Ethan brought over a bloody big crab that he’d just caught under the steps of our bungalow.&nbsp; Met the other family - Nicholas and Louisa and their children Gustav and Ingrid.&nbsp; They’re from Denmark and they’re on a 4½ month South Pacific holiday, partially funded by the Danish government.&nbsp; Really lovely (and lucky) people.&nbsp; While we’re chatting Ethan comes down and gives us the mozzie coils they haven’t used.&nbsp; We’d been warned the mozzies are bad here and they are really, really bad.&nbsp; The mozzie coils could very well save us from heaven becoming hell!We’ve got four restaurants/cafes within walking distance and then everything else is on the other side of the island, maybe five or six kilometres away.&nbsp; There are two at the Aitutaki Lagoon Resort and Spa, Samade, The Boatshed and Koru Café.&nbsp; Vanessa said Koru was fantastic, the resort good but expensive, Samade ok but didn’t recommend The Boatshed.So we headed back to Samade for dinner.&nbsp; Dinner is the same menu that they have for lunch (just with dinner at the top of the menu) and to be honest it was very ordinary.&nbsp; Not bad, but the most ordinary food we’ve eaten since we’ve been in the Cooks.&nbsp; Beer is expensive too, $6.50 for everything.Get a bit lost coming back and end up walking back in the shallow water because we couldn’t find the track.&nbsp; The mozzies were swarming.&nbsp; Luckily I’d lit a coil and left it on the verandah before we’d left so we were mozzie free.The bed is fantastic.&nbsp; The bed at Muri was just less than hard as a board. &nbsp;This bed is wonderful and we got a great night’s sleep.
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