A new country, The Cook Islands, and a new island, Rarotonga, is our destination today. Not part of French Polynesia, as might have been mentioned in the port talk recently, the small group of Cook Islands are a country within themselves. Settled by the New Zealand native Maoris in the 6th century, it is believed that they arrived here in double-hulled waka canoes. The highest point of this volcanic island is Te Kou, at 1929 feet in elevation. And these days, the volcanoes are extinct. The mountainous areas are surrounded with rain forests. And for good reason, they get a whole lot of rainfall here. We know of some guests on past visits that have taken 4 x 4 vehicles up to see the spectacular views, the waterfall, and the maraes. We also know some folks that attempted to cross over the mountains by foot. They said it was a one-time experience as it took all day, as well as a very difficult hike.
There were four shore excursions offered today beginning from $70 to $100 for 3 to 3 ½ hours. Two tours included lunch, one with a beach session, and the other with a lagoon cruise and a motu lunch. We have done both of these on past visits. Unfortunately, it had been storming the day before we arrived, and the waters were murky at best. Did not see a whole lot of tropical fish. One excursion did an island drive, while the most thrilling one was a 4 x 4 ride that took in the mountains.
We arrived to the island around 7am to very rainy conditions on the mountain tops. Where our room is located, we have an excellent view of the tender platform and the boats that pull up alongside. There was a swell, but it looked like there would be little problems getting us ashore. So we decided to go over early at 7:45am, skipping breakfast, while they were taking over the first group of tours. This time, there were eight of us waiting by the door that goes down to deck A. Hoping we would not be kept waiting for over an hour like at Easter Island, we were happy that we were allowed to go down and take seats on the folding chairs that had been returned to deck A. The tour folks did fill most of the tender boat, but they had saved 8 spaces for our group. Guess this is the way priority tendering will go from now on.
The ride was quick, and the landing at the Avatiu pier was very easy, as the little harbor protects the pier from the deep swells of the ocean. We were greeted by Maori singers playing ukuleles. But we were also greeted with the hottest and most humid weather we can remember here. After picking up an excellent map, we noticed that there were only a few tents with souvenirs set up today. Last November, there must have been twice that, or more, telling us that this is probably not the high season for tourists.
The town of Avarua is the capital with less than 6000 people. There are many shops, restaurants, and bars in town, as well as grocery and pharmacy stores. They even had a couple of large building stores, similar to our Home Depots. The entire island is full of resorts, hotels, and vacation properties. Actually, this is the first time we checked out the shops, since one of us forgot their visor, a must on these hot and sweaty days. We only found baseball caps for the fellows and straw hats for the ladies.
Many of the passengers that did not take a tour, took the local buses that went around the entire island. For an all-day ticket of $16, you could access anything on this island within that 55 minute ride, either clockwise or counter-clockwise. At either the Bus Stop or dealing with the bus driver, you could pay in New Zealand, Australian, or US dollars. The only thing is that no matter what currency, they made it the same…dollar for dollar, even though the rate is $1.55 New Zealand to $1 USD. We think the Australian dollar is much the same as NZ. Better to use their money in that case. Our tablemate Greg took that bus today, but said that when it was time to come back, a group of them had to wait in that hot sun for almost an hour. In his humorous way, he added that getting on the bus in the morning was tedious, since most people could not understand the money they charged or over-charged. But compared to booking tours, this form of transportation is quite reasonable. We had mentioned to the port lecturer that we recall the days when the bus ride was $2 for a one-way trip. We think he looked at us like we were "old-timers". Maybe we are getting there, but not quite yet.
We turned left, and took the path of the walk we always take. We swear that we had not gone much more than two blocks before we were soaked from the humidity and heat. And we were not alone, since many people we knew were on their way to the Bus Stop, melting all of the way there. Once we passed the fishing charters and the cargo sheds, we came across the Punanga Nui Market with eateries, crafts, and flower and veggie stalls. Most were not occupied today, because this is more of a weekend hangout. One of the vendors told us that we were lucky to have a fairly dry day, since it had been raining on the island for days now. That was obvious because we saw many puddles that were really deep.
Following the road, we went in and out of the Avarua shops, a Catholic Church, then past the police station, bus terminal, the courthouse, and Trader Jack's, one of the iconic watering holes with great sea views and food too. This may be a possibility for lunch later. We continued by the larger Cook Island Christian Church (CICC) and cemetery, which we would save for a visit on the way back. From here, the shops become less, and the bars and restaurants dotted the road for a couple of miles or more. Today, there was a series of gardeners using weed-eaters to clean the grass on the shoulders of the road. Since our last visit, this road has been re-topped giving the shoulders a firmer base. Now we were not walking in so much mud and puddles as we used to. Also missing were the dozens of big dogs that liked to harass us as we strolled by their houses. We only had three friendly dogs that followed us for a short distance. It seems that it was too hot for them today as well.
The Tamarind House, one of the ship's recommendations, was not opened for lunch today. Their sign said it was only opened for lunch on Friday. So much for that one. Bamboo Jacks, an Asian-fusion restaurant was only opened for dinner at 4pm daily. That would not work with the all onboard at 4:30pm. Since there were no more choices for a few miles up this road, we decided wisely to turn around and go back. If it wasn't for the clouds blocking the sun most of the time, we would have been "cooked". Cold beer was sounding better by the minute. We did have vitamin water with us, but that was slowly disappearing.
It was about 11am when we reached the CICC church, where half of the island's residents attend services on the island. This church and cemetery dates back to 1853, and is one of the most photographed spots in Avarua. Crossing paths with Nancy and Mike from Washington state, we had an interesting conversation regarding our itinerary for the remainder of this trip. So many rumors are circulating about itinerary changes, that ultimately, we do not know for sure, where we will be going. After making a visit inside this pretty island church, we took up the seats outside, where a small breeze was blowing. No wonder that so many of the parishioners sit out here on Sunday morning, during the services. Last fall, one of the nicest local ladies came to us, and invited us to stay for tea with the congregation after the Mass was over. If we had time, we would have participated. Anyway, we thought it was so nice of her to ask.
We were happy to find that Trader Jacks had opened for business, and the best part of that, was the fact they had an extensive pizza menu. Other classy meals served there are sashimi and smoked marlin fish cakes and sandwiches. No thanks, we will stick to pizza. From past visits here, we do know that the crew like this place the best, perhaps because it is fairly close to the tender landing. We ordered local draft beers immediately, which we paid for at the bar, and took to our table. Then we ordered a Hawaiian pizza, which after paid for, was delivered to our table on the outside railing. It sure was good too. A few more beers later, we shared a brownie/ice cream dessert. The entire bar and restaurant had filled with customers by now. Watching the beverage delivery being brought into the Restaurant, we noticed that Heineken and Pacifico were the most popular brews, and sodas most ordered were regular Coke, Sprite, and Fanta.
While we dined in the breeze of the shaded patio, we watched three of the local islanders dive and swim by the boat launch across from this iconic restaurant. On the other side of Trader Jacks is a small sandy beach, where many of the crew take a quick swim while they can. Their "off" time is usually short, so they know exactly where to find food they like and WIFI. We also had a good view of the SS Maitai shipwreck, a vessel that traded between the Cook Islands and Tahiti back in the early 1900's. All that is left now, is the engine block that sticks up above the water outside the reef.
We made our way back to the harbor, and there was a tender waiting for us, and also one tour bus that had just arrived. We hustled fast enough to beat the "sticky" guests to the boat. We felt bad for the crew that were tending the dock area. It was blistering hot out there, and very little shade provided for them. The waiter tending the watering hole (lemonade) made us happy with two full cups each of ice cold drinks. Back on the ship, we consumed even more ice water before we felt close to normal again. Yes, it had been that warm and humid today.
While downloading photos in the wonderful comfort of our room, we noticed it had begun to rain again. Guess we planned that one right, although it might have felt good. It appeared that the planned 4:30pm sail away festivities may be moved to the Crow's Nest. Most times, these are passing showers, dumping a lot of rain, then moving on. That's exactly what happened, and the party was on.
We had high hopes of seeing some birds, specifically tropic birds, but it was not to be. The most birds we had spotted today on the island were a few white terns and a handful of common mynahs. It was not much better by the time the ship loaded the rest of the tender boats, and we were on our way towards Tonga. It was always nice to visit with friends at the Seaview Pool deck. One younger couple on rented bikes had passed us on the road, stopped, and asked if we needed any water, since they had lots. Gosh, we must have looked worse than we were, but that sure was nice of them. Well, they happened to be at the sail away, and we asked how far they had gotten on the bikes going around the 52 mile road around the island. They figured they had done around 40 kilometers, until one of them developed a flat tire. Bet they never thought about that when they started out. So a local had told them to take off their helmets, hold them upside down, and someone will stop and ask if you needed help. They did that, and a nice person called the bike shop, and someone came out, swapped out the bikes, and they were in business again. Lucky, or else they might have run into problems pushing those bikes back.
All of us had different stories at dinnertime of their day in Rarotonga. And all of us agreed it had been way too hot. There were some odd selections for entrees tonight, with the majority of our tablemates choosing the stuffed bellpeppers. One of us had the lager gravy sirloin steak (not bad), and the other safely ordered a chicken Caesar salad. The chicken breast had been cooked and grilled fresh, and was delicious. Sometimes the alternates can be the best. One of the desserts was a passionfruit cheesecake, which reminded us of when we ordered one slice of it while in Samoa recently. It cost the equivalent of over $20 USD.
We have two sea days now to reach Tonga, and we sure hope the weather is more comfortable there.
Bill & Mary Ann
Wednesday, February 26, 2020
Report #110 Avatiu, Rarotonga, Cook Islands February 24, 2020 Monday Chance of thunderstorms & 82 degrees
