Muri Beach Hideaway Rarotonga

... out in a sea kayak for an hour. The best food we had was at a place called Trader Jacks which served pretty simple but very tasty Pizzas and fish. Honorable mentions must go to the Flame Tree which had been turned around a few months before we arrived from a very run down state and Portofino's, an inexplicably empty Italian restaurant. Hotel restaurant was fairly awful: service and food ...

... 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 ...

... the bad weather that we even saw a sea turtle! I spotted it and my guide didn't believe me! He's only seen two ever in the lagoon and the other guide had never seen one! They come into the lagoon for shelter on rough days so they don't drown or get hurt on the reef.

Monday was so much fun! We visited one of the primary schools on the island. We were given a traditional welcoming. With women entering first as a sign of peace, a little boy came to welcome us ...

... 8220;he was probably drinking.” I was deciding I could get used to this island life. However, this being a Sunday one couldn’t buy alcohol on the island except with a meal or if you take an opaque bag and wait for all other customers to leave the shop and then go to the counter with your booty and pay.

I was then taken to my chalet, in the hills overlooking the lagoon, which could be glimpsed through the ubiquitous palm trees. My chalet or hut ...

... We have got a new set of wheels, a little Yamaha 125cc motorbike in electric blue that we have named ´The Beauty´ and have been seen zooming around the island on, enjoying our second honeymoon, We have been getting ready for the next leg of the journey that will be taking us to LA then up in to Vagues, along to South Lake Tahoe (for some skiing), down into San Fransisco and back along the cost to LA before heading to Central America.

... but the walking and touring during the day left us ready for a little TV and sleep instead of the festivities. We have four sea days before our next stop in Auckland, New Zealand. Before arriving there we will cross the International Date Line. We will lose February 10, 2009 and as we are only traveling west, that day will remain lost. *************************************** **************** Where is Harriet? Chrystal was the first to find Harriet on the last hunt in Tahiti ...

... bus' who's name we forgot we got of at the right place near the harbour just before town. Good start, not lost so far!! Then we wandered towards the centre of the island. Pretty easy we thought, after all it's a small island (probably 10km across). It's amazing what you can see cross island, dense undergrowth, strange looking plants and chickens. Yes, chickens.. even half way up a mountain chickens. For those of you that ...

... on the hourly bus!The beaches are more picture postcard beaches than Aitutaki, no sea slugs & no coral, but lots of rocks that the fish swim around so snorkeling is still good. we hired bikes & cycled around the whole island but the straggle of building is more or less continuous so few good sea views from the road. More fish for supper each day! we headed into Avarau ...

... and rocks for 3 hours! He is quite the character and we learned to take 1/2 of what he said with a grain of sea-salt and listened carefully to the rest. Pa is a naturalist, an herbologist, and a medicine man. Our first indication to filter what he said was when shortly after smearing our bodies with a stinky fruit - a natural mosquito repelland provided by Pa, I was bitten by a mosquito. 40 people have ...

... hour or two lounging by the pool trying unsuccessfully to read and not doze off. In the afternoon we enjoyed an amusing movie- 'License to Wed' starring Robyn Williams. The show tonight called 'Save the last dance' was the first production by the Princess entertainers. What an energetic bunch of young people they are, and how polished a performance of song and dance they entertained us with. The only problem we have with these shows is that the theatre holds about 600, and even ...