Sabine BaniSadr

"Kia Orana" is a Maori greeting used in the Cook Islands meaning "I wish you a long life" :).



My husband and I just returned from an amazing vacation on Rarotonga, the main island of the Cook Islands group in the South Pacific.
We had an incredible adventure and I wish I was still there. Rarotonga is very laid back und unpretentious: No glizzy shopping malls, no MacDonalds, no Pizza Hut, no Walmart, no CostCo - just simple, spectacular beauty, prestine beaches and lagoons, and super friendly islanders. I went the entire time without make up and nobody cared!

Our accommodation for the first week was at the Muri Beachcomber right on picturesque Muri lagoon. We had a very large and comfortable one bedroom unit with kitchen and ocean view - no phone, no TV and sporadic internet. I have to admit it felt kind of weird at first but then I started getting into the swing of things: Up early in the morning to watch the sunrise (Muri lagoon is on the sunrise side of the island), which was not hard to do due to the three hours time difference between Vancouver and the Cooks. Then play all day in the ocean as the Muri Beachcomber offers free kayaks, standup paddle boards and snorkeling equipment: "Pick a set and keep it for the week", Shelly from reception said, which was a nice change from the usual couple of hours time limit enforced by all-inclusives in Mexico and the Caribbean.




Even though the Muri Beachcomber offers guests BBQs to cook, we never saw anyone using them. The reason why is simple: There are plenty of restaurants and bakeries within easy walking distance plus four nights out of the week, a fantastic nightmarket is held right next door. This is not your typical night market as it centers mostly around food. Fresh, home cooked, local island cuisine at it's best! The chefs are local home cooks whipping up incredible dishes for NZ$ 12.00 - NZ$ 15.00 a plate. We tasted fish curries, ika mata (fresh raw tuna in coconut milk and vegetables), chicken in rukau (local spinach), fettucini with garlic prawns, chicken kebabs, garlic seafood stiry fry, passionfruit cheesecake, etc. The food was unbelievable and people are coming from all round the island to eat here.



Getting around the island is painless: Just stand on either side of the one main road and wait for the bus to come. When you see one, simply motion to the driver and they will stop. They will also let you off wherever you want. The buses go either clockwise or counter-clockwise and, as the island is only 32 km all around, it almost does not matter which one you'll get on :). The busdrivers are a riot and some can sing really well! If you ever end up on Mr. Hopeless' bus, please say "Kia Orana" to him for me.

When renting a car, you must know that Cook Islanders drive on the left. This was our very first time doing it but there is so little traffic and with only the one road it is truly not too bad. Just know that there is one "round about" in Avarua and keep thinking LEFT.
We started out renting a car for only a few days at first but then kept adding on. This was definitely not the most economical way of doing it.

Going in June was a very good time of year to visit. Daily temperatures were around 25 C and out of twelve full days on the island, we had two days with a little rain. It did not get cold, when it was raining, it was just wet and humid. As the sun was in the Northern Hemisphere, it did not feel very strong at all but I tanned better than on my Mexican vacations even with 60 sunscreen. So be very careful even on cloudy days.

The last five days of our vacation we stayed at the Edgewater Resort on the sunset side of the island. This resort is older and your standard family resort type place. The beach was not as nice as Muri, mainly because the reef is much closer to the island here and a lot more stones, broken off coral and sea shells wash up on shore. One definitely needs water shoes here to swim. The snorkeling though was fantastic and the lagoon the warmest we encountered on any beach on the island. The lagoon is generally very safe for swiming but there are some breaks in the reef and dangerous currents can occur depending on weather conditions. 



We had a comfortable, deluxe ocean front room at the Edgewater with a really large balcony and fantastic views of the lagoon as well as the sunsets. All the modern amenities are offered here: TV and telephone in rooms plus excellent WiFi. Even though somewhat expensive, the food was really good and tasty. If you have kids under 12 this resort is fabulous. The kids club is really good and kids seemed to have a lot of fun whether they had drumming lessons, did some kind of races or went out in the evening with their flashlights to catch crabs. The Edgewater hosts an "Island Night" twice a week which is amazing. For only NZ$ 50.00 per person, one gets a fabulous buffet dinner full of local delicacies (try the smoked marlin pie) and the family of Chief Danny will entertain you for a good hour with hulas, war dances, excellent drumming and songs.

Being a travel agent, of course I also took some time to visit other hotels. I toured about  six other properties and discovered some really nice, small luxury accommodations; some with private plunge pools and high end restaurants on site. Others have full kitchens and laundry and will offer services such as stocking up for you and/or bringing in a chef to prepare your meals. To celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary, my husband and I enjoyed a fantastic dinner at the brand new five star Nautilus Resort: Two appies, two entrees with all the fixings, one shared dessert and a bottle of excellent New Zealand champagne came to NZ$ 150.00, including taxes.



I still feel enchanted by the wonderful days I spent on Rarotonga and it was well worth the effort of getting there (ten hour night flight from LAX). Life in these islands is deliciously slow and simple. One savours every moment and it is an excellent place to rejuvenate and just be.
Nothing on earth is like the islands of the South Pacific and Rarotonga should be on everyone's bucket list.