Travel to the big smoke - Rarotonga

A nice leisurely start to the day packing and our last breakfast on Aitutaki. We had delicious smoothies (Rosie approved) and eggs… still no whales to spot, which actually we were glad of seeing as we couldn’t swim with them today! We are flying to Rarotonga for 3 nights. Smooth and seamless flight, no need to show ID, just state your name…glad we were on the list! We got picked up and taken to the wrong hotel (a sister hotel), maybe he was distracted by his discussion of politics and NRL with Pete. We got picked up soon after and taken to where we are actually staying. It’s beautiful. Our room wasn’t ready so we enjoyed a cocktail, beer and coconut water and discussed our plans for our time here. As it’s the 60th anniversary celebrations of the Cook Islands (Aug 4), there are no hire cars available. To hire a scooter you need to do a test at the police station and get a licence, if you don’t have a motorbike licence. You even have to wear helmets 😉. Quite a step up in rules and bureaucracy from Aitutaki. We decided we’ll book e-bikes instead- as it apparently only takes about 3 or so hours to circumnavigate the island. It will give us opportunities to stop off where we like and without the hassle of the scooter tests. Since checking into our room, which is beautiful, it has been raining quite heavily. We’ve done some more planning, reading and chilling. We think we’ll wander to a neighbouring restaurant and bar, a 5min walk away. We wandered and found we could get a table and scored the perfect spot and enjoyed a lovely fish curry and lemon chicken. A great guitarist and fun evening.Read more