After all the problems I've experienced with blogger this week and my own stupid sickness, I'm presenting a belated, muddy picture of the Cook Islands.
South shore
Bike ride around the island
Sat 22Mar: Plane leaves Auckland 7:15PM, arrives Rarogonta, Cook Islands 12:10AM 22March. Yes, the same day, only much earlier. (Courtesy of international date line.) After a quick shuffle through customs, I'm directed to the van from our backpackers waiting to deliver us to our beachfront accommodations. Even though we arrived just shy of 1AM, we got a full tour of the facilities. All this at $20NZ per night? Amazing.
After a few hours sleep, I woke up excited at the prospect of the beach and headed off for a walk and a swim. I saw one man fishing way out, an older gentleman bobbing in the water, and two children playing on the shore. Truly a remote paradise (though I hate to use that word). I returned to the hostel to check in to my room and leave my key deposit. Five kiwi women and I waited for the bus into town but ended up being picked up by the hostel owner in her big white van with her toddler and four week old baby. The rest of the day was spent in leisure, sipping fresh chilled coconut water out of the shell from a retired couple, reading, wandering.
Sun 23Mar: Outfitted self in togs (swimsuit, for you non-kiwis) and set off on free rusty, hostel mountain bike for a round the island tour. It's 32km, not too bad. I did check the bike for working brakes prior to setting off though. Along the way, I stopped off for another early morning swim before continuing on my journey. I returned to the hostel hours later with a slightly sore butt but no sunburn, before heading off to rent snorkeling gear for the most sublime underwater experience I've ever had. I won't even try to describe. But I will say that it made me think about getting a waterproof camera. I ran into an Irish couple from the hostel (Ken and Lorriane) at the beach. We'd actually came in on the same flight and I'd run into them in town the day before also.
That evening, the three of us walked down the beach to find some dinner. We found a restaurant on the beach - a little hut with tables made of polished tree trunks, glowing with lantern centerpieces. We lingered until they closed then wandered back down the beach home again.
24Mar Mon: It was my last day, so I awoke at 6:30AM to sit on the beach, reading and writing before getting myself ready for the day. The three of us had planned to do the "Walk across the island" trek. So at 9;30AM, we caught the bus to the start of the trail. It started to downpour even before we reached the trail head, but it was actually refreshing. We attempted shelter under a large tree, where we watched locals walk by and pick starfruit off the tree across the road.
Finally, we set off up the mountain. It was mildly confusing to find the start of the trail, as it was all quite overgrown. Once starting off, we ran into two girls from LA and a group of about six kiwis, so it seemed like it was well-traveled. (Notice: no locals, they know better!) The walk to the Needle was grueling and muddy, with steps made of tree roots provided by the forest. The view from the top was pretty cool. We could see across the whole island, from where we started to our finish point. I've never traversed an island like that before. The way down required navigation skills. With efforts from all three of us, we managed to stay on the trail. About the time that we thought we were really lost, an orange flag would show up, or I'd see footholds in a rock. By the time it was over, Ken had one broken shoe, we were all covered in mud, I had fallen once, Ken had fallen once and GI Jane (Lorraine) was still in once piece, but also covered in mud. Most of the way down, we walked in silent concentration. One misstep, and we'd have been sliding along faster than a speeding bullet. Intermittent rain showers added to the muddy status of our adventure. Conversation finally resumed when we could hear the sound of mowers looming in the distance.
Upon emerging from the thick rain forest, we were greeted with a waterfall and a swimming hole. The group of kiwis ran up to us and said they got fully lost and ended up sliding down the mountain on their butts at one point. Remarkably, we stayed on the trail, traversing a stream multiple times, backtracking a few. All the while, I had my snorkel gear on my back (we'd planned to go again right after the hike). The three hour hike (according to locals and the guidebook) took us from 10:00 to 3:30. We rewarded ourselves with another snorkel before heading back to the hostel for dinner and rejuvenation.
I had a flight out at 1:35AM that night. (Who makes the flight schedules in the Cooks?) I went through customs and waited in an outside garden for our flight to board. I boarded and found my seat 29A (the second to last row in the plane- I had a dippy check in clerk), only to be moved to 21D (so a sick woman could lay down) and then to 13D (because their seats didn't recline), where I finally fell asleep.
I arrived in Auckland and my bag was off the plane in five minutes. Customs took about the same amount of time, even though in my delirium I'd checked "No" on the question "Did you pack your own bags?"
After a few questions about my trip, the customs officer said, "Welcome back!" I proceeded home, refreshed and ready for my full day of work ahead.
The Needle- our destination on the cross the island trek
Ken and Lorraine (Irish). We were all staying in the Rarotonga Backpackers.
Look down and you'll see what I meant by, "Steps made of tree roots provided by the forest."
A little tired at the top
Heading down again
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