Rarotonga

Kia Orana

The small nation of the Cook Islands is made up of 15 tiny islands, many once explored by Captain Cook. Almost 75% of the country’s approx. 17,500 population live in Rarotonga. The Cooks are a self-governing nation affiliated with New Zealand, is English speaking plus have their own Maori language.

We only visit the island of Rarotonga – the main island and capital – for 4 days. The only harbor on the island is Avatiu with extremely

limited space and access. They have strict entry rules – we must have permission to enter the harbor where they help us tie up at the quarantine dock and fly the yellow flag while we all wait on board - not allowed to step foot on land. To protect their islands from pests and disease, no fresh fruits or vegetables are permitted onto the islands – we must eat or toss all overboard before entering. We are eventually boarded by Customs and Immigration, Biosecurity and Port Health Officers who inspect the boat, spray with insecticide and confiscate some potatoes and onions we forgot to eat or throw overboard. They even remove some from our plant-based garbage. Unlike other customs experiences, it was so nice to have all these officials come to Nutmeg, all very friendly and happy to share information about the island. A great welcoming committee. Once all authorities have done all their paperwork, the harbor master helps us move into our space and moor Med-style (stern in) along the wall. They even bring a metal step/ladder system to help us go from the back of our boat, step across on our dinghy and up & over the wall. Next we need to visit the Port Authority and Harbor Master office with passports and boat registration papers – where again, everyone is so very friendly and willing to provide tourism info. Being so small and open to the north, cruising boats (there’s only one monohull and us in the cruising boats area) must be ready to move out in short notice if a large ship is arriving or strong north winds make the harbor too dangerous.

Anxious to explore and move our limbs again we walk around the village of Avarua and find an ATM - they use the New Zealand dollar and also have their own Cook Island currency. There are many small shops and food vendors for lunch options. Being high season for all the New Zealand (Kiwi) vacationers, there is not a single car available to rent on the entire island. Mopeds are a popular mode of transportation for the locals and they DO wear helmets. There are buses to take us all 20 miles around the island either clockwise or

anticlockwise – stopping most anywhere you need to go: the night market at Muri (a human feeding frenzy of food trucks), the Rarotonga Brewery (they brew only Cook’s Lager which is well distributed to bars and restaurants throughout the island), the white sandy beaches and lagoon. “Raro” is a lush green island with majestic mountain peaks encircled by a close barrier reef with a small shallow lagoon (too small for Nutmeg sized boats but a popular place for tour boats) dotted with several small gravesites. There are many small villages all with interesting small shops, galleries and cafés, roaming dogs, beautiful roosters, hungry chickens with their fluffy baby chicks and numerous boutique beach resorts. This is a great place to be a small business, an entrepreneur or a dog. This is a foodie’s paradise with so many options for your taste buds to savor. Tourism is the main business here. There are many 4-wheel or jeep cross-island tours and hikes into the mountains, snorkel, dive, watersport, deep sea fishing and lagoon party boat options, night-time entertainment with live bands and cultural shows. Though only about 150 cruising boats visit the Cook Islands each year, there are non-stop flights from Honolulu, Sydney, Tahiti and Auckland (we met many Kiwis here) bringing plenty of tourists to enjoy their friendly, welcoming hospitality and beautiful islands.

Except for the cloudy rainy days with northerly winds, the difficult harbor, and the very inconvenient and lengthy departure system, we totally enjoyed our short visit to Rarotonga.

Kia manuia.
XO XO Gma & Gpa