Reflections on the trip

Back home safe and sound after 36 hours of travelling over half way around the earth (it is shorter to go via the USA from the Cook Islands but our schedule and the airlines did not match - don't they know who we are?!).  It was 36 hours worth forgetting as there are only so many films and so much airline food a man can take.  Not to mention the innumerable time lines and the international date line again which gives you jet-lag times 24 hours.

So some reflections on New Zealand and the trip.

1. The New Zealanders are glass half-full folk (in contrast to the UK) and very proud of their country and heritage, albeit a short one.
2. The roads are fantastic, except Auckland, despite the 60 mph speed limit. There is always plenty to see on a road trip.
3. The Department of Conservation walks are superb - well graded, clearly marked and good information.
4. The TV is awful!
5. The towns look like something out of the wild west but are full of independent shops.
6. The motels were a bonus for the traveller - very good accommodation with the option of self catering.
7. The Cook Islands are great places to relax amongst the palm trees on beautiful sandy beaches.  The islands are friendly, safe and laid-back - "island time" says it all.  Kia Orana!

People always ask about the best bits but this has proved the impossible question.  Each day was great and we were blessed with odds-defying weather. Seven and half weeks and only two half days of rain is a freak result in anyone's book. 

Would we go again?  Like a shot.  

Are we going again? No - there are too many other places that are on the Old Farts' list.  

Watch this space.....

World First - a flying Kiwi!

Beach and Lagoon

Hotel Pool

Auckland Airport part III

Here we are, back in Auckland.

Unfortunately we have a seven hour wait until our plane to Singapore leaves so what better thing do to but complete the blog.  The lack of wi-fi hampered the pictorial progress but not the verbosity.

Yesterday was a good slob day but late afternoon we were back on the adventurous trail.  We borrowed the hotel kayaks and set off like......Two old farts in canoes!  We paddled around a section of the lagoon, stopping to snorkel like a couple of old pros.  This shallow area did not have the large fish from the cruise - this lot only went up to side plate size!  There were impressive white and black striped ones but the luminescent blue ones caught the eye.  OF1 found a very long thin one and there was a plethora of aquarium-type fish. 

I was going well in my little kayak until I got cramp!  Somehow the angle of my legs made me cramp up - how OF1 laughed! 

In the evening we walked a mile down the road to have our last meal in the Cook Islands at the #1 cafe on the island....... it was closed!!!.  We trudged towards the hotel looking at hermit crabs the size of your fist scampering (favourite word of OF1's sister) back into their holes in the roadside as we approached.

Eventually we were at the end of the hotel road and revisited the Mexican restaurant.  I had the beef chimmichanga which was packed full of spicy chunks of tender beef but OF1 made the canny choice of fish fahitas which contained the most delicious yellow fin tuna.  We washed it all down with a bottle of bubbly to celebrate the most wonderful of holidays.

Today the weather was...... wait for it........... hot and sunny and very humid. It was a scorcher.  We spent some time packing our cases for the very last time then breakfast by the pool with tropical fruit salad fresh from the trees.  We had a couple of hours to kill so we had coffee and the world famous custard squares (they do qualify this as world famous in Muri!!!) which were delicious, in a cafe just up the road.

We showered and changed then our bus to the airport arrived and the long journey home commenced.  Raratonga International Airport is tiny but our big bags were labelled up to Heathrow so we will not see them for days.  The airport just got hotter and hotter with the thermometer reading 90°F and very humid to boot. From 30° and sun to 16° and rain in Auckland is some contrast

The flight here was good with a lively discussion in the seats behind as a loud woman filled a vacant seat to chat to her mate whilst swilling a significant amount of white wine.  The man behind objected - to her and chief steward.  All good fun.

I hope the 8th of March was a good one as we are only having the fag end of it, having jumped 24 hours crossing the IDL.

We are now residing in the Emperor Lounge in the airport so we can relax, have some food and a shower (I am being teased about my third change of clothes today).

I will write a reflection on all we have seen and done when back at home.

Swimming with the fish

Monday 6^th March

Kia Orana from our tropical paradise island.

Our last full day on holiday with just a marathon of flights to tackle; we are feeling a bit sad that it is all coming to an end.  There is a mix of, “where has all the time gone?” and “we have been away for a long time” – quite a paradox.

Yesterday was a real highlight; the Koka Lagoon Cruise.  We embarked on our glass bottomed boat with six young Cook Islanders in charge who were fantastic throughout the four hours of the trip.  They started as the band - drums and ukuleles - with local songs that had a real beat.  We motored slowly over the lagoon with super views of the main island which rises out of the sea with steep, jungle shrouded hills up to a cloud covered top. 

Our first stop was the marine reserve where we watched the lads feed the fish - giant Bluefin Trevelly and smaller yellow butterfly fish were the ones that caught the eye but there were thousands of different varieties of all shapes, sizes and gaudy colours.  There were also giant clams - mega mother of pearl shells if they were opened. Then it was our turn!  We donned masks and snorkels and in we jumped!  The water is like a warm bath but teeming with wildlife!  It was crystal clear and soon we were swimming to a couple of points where the conservationists were trying to re-introduce the coral and clams.  The hour or so we spent snorkelling was memorable as we drifted around the coral with fish just a few centimetres away.  I was hooked (sorry about that) and although I am not a strong swimmer, I loved the whole activity.  Meanwhile 'the lads' were trying to find Roger the Conger Eel but he was not coming out to play that particular morning - not sure that I wanted him to as he is 3m long!

Back on the boat and to some very rhythmic drumming, playing and singing we made our way to an island ('Mutu') in the lagoon - the one opposite our hotel.  Here we were treated to a delicious BBQ which included grilled tuna, which was the best I've ever tasted, and salads.  There was lots of entertainment in our jungle clearing; as well as singing and playing we had a coconut demonstration where we were shown nuts of different stages of ripeness (for drinking through to coconut flakes) and how to de-husk and open.  There was much audience participation including OF1 who was handed a large knife to open the coconut.  This was pretty entertaining as she nearly took the hand off the lad who was holding it at the time!  We also had a coconut climbing demonstration which was very impressive - climbing with just a rope around the ankles and jumping frog-like up the tree.  Some of the tourists had a go but then a member of the crew leapt like a salmon up to the top of a 50' tree and cut some coconuts.  The pareu (sarong) tying demo using the visitors as models was a hoot (the men's 'g-string' pareu was eye watering), as was the hermit crab race.

Ali of this was interspersed with more music and lots of local information.  The six crew members did not stop - boatmen, musicians, cooks, entertainers and happy, smiley people to boot.  

In the late afternoon we slobbed back at the ranch - swimming, reading, painting etc. before launching out into the humid evening to the Muri Night Market.  This is actually a street food market which seemed popular with locals and visitors alike.  I opted for a coconut lamb curry and OF1 for a chicken and spinach one - yummy.  A little belatedly (for Shrove Tuesday) we had a pancake for pud, this was a lemon and sugar crepe.

Today we are having an easy day as the heat seems to have been turned up a notch. We have ventured out for coffee at the trip-advisor rated, deli-licious cafe - it was.  It is on the roadside (as everything is really) and there was lots of people watching whilst sipping our flat whites.  Throughout NZ the system is: order your coffee and be given a number then wait until it is served.  So much better than hanging around Starbucks or Costa for a long time whilst the barista makes the coffee.  Most are straight numbers, others hand with numbers but at the Deli-licious we were given a large plastic animal - we had an elephant.  It was lovely sitting under a tree (this one is very common - very fine leaved and covered with lovely red flowers), with birds, chickens and the ubiquitous dog and watch the world go by.  There is an expression here, "island time" which contributes to the laid back atmosphere; there is no fast food as it all comes when it is ready.

We are now preparing for an island time afternoon.....

Cook of the Week

Saturday 4th March

Kia Orana again.

I am afraid that there is not much to report at the moment as the pace of life has slowed to a swim, followed by  reading on the beach, a swim, a little food and drink, a swim, etc....

Yesterday we stayed around Muri Beach (where our hotel is located) and spent the morning orientating ourselves with the loungers on the beach that overlook the lagoon.  Despite being in the shade all day and factor 50 sun block the sun found those little areas that one forgot by the end of the day.  We did have a walk to the local village which comprises a couple of hotels, a few shops and some eating establishments.  We bought some vital supplies - wine, crisps, lemon puffs (cook Islands style) and water.  It was then time to explore the hotel swimming pool which is large, clean, empty (of people not water) and warm; there is not much more one can say about a swimming pool.  The hotel food is good with buffet breakfast overlooking the sea and a pretty good menu for lunch and supper on the beach overlooking the sea.  Pretty idyllic (did I mention that all meals are taken on the beach overlooking the sea?).

Last night was pork and prawn night and this split us neatly down the middle.  OF1 had six enormous and juicy prawns in lemon and garlic butter and I had three super large BBQ sizzling steaks which were juicy and fell apart like pulled pork.  We went to bed last night full and feeling that we had overdosed on sun and beach.  Luckily we have air-con in the room so we can cool it down to a reasonable temperature (24 degrees).

Today we woke up and guess?  Yet another hot sunny day!  The forecast gave this as 29 degrees with occasional showers - it is now 6pm and although the cloud has bubbled up a couple of times this afternoon there has been no rain.  Our good fortune continues to hold.

We breakfasted then walked out onto the 'ring road (i.e. the one that goes around the island which is also round) and flagged down the bus to take us to the Saturday market at the main town (a very small town in UK), Avarua.  The Punanga Nui Market was the place to be with many local residents and tourists in the bustling market.  There was a wide range of shopping treats including, local fruit & veg, fresh flower garlands, street food, clothes, arts and crafts.  There was also a cultural show of Polynesian dancing and drumming which was well done.  The good thing about the market is that although the stall holders were very friendly ('Kia Orana') they are not pushy and there is no hassle, just smiles and enquiries if you are having a nice time.  What lovely people.  At our second coffee stop of the day I decided to have a spot of lunch and ordered a fish chowder (I reckoned that if you are only 20m away from the sea then it must be good).  What I had done was misread my watch and it was only 11:45 not the 12:45 I thought - brunch then?  OF1 looked on in amazement...but it was very good.

We caught the anticlockwise bus again so that we completed the around the island trip (the whole 30km takes 50 minutes  including stops).  Basically there is a clockwise bus and an anticlockwise bus every hour and you just flag it down wherever you are - its so simple.  There are many lovely to-die-for beaches and a variety of accommodation (backpackers to hotels).  The little homes are rustic but well kept with plenty of lush grass lawn.  The massive graves in the front garden continue to fascinate us - I suggested that we start building our mausoleum in the front garden back home.  The whole place is bedecked with tropical flowers, coconut palms and lots of tropical plants that I don't know.  There are also small fields of tropical vegetables and some pigs and goats.  The chickens are everywhere and we have worked out that a mother and two little chicks seem to visit our little garden outside the room in the late afternoon - they like lemon puffs!  Yesterday the noisy cockerel also visited at the same time and ...... the next bit has been removed by the censors!

We arrived back from our trip with just one art print and lots of photos and then we had a relaxing dip in the pool - this trip is hell!  Then I remembered it was Saturday and to my great surprise Gillingham had won!  This is cause for celebration and we are going out to one of the local restuarants to raise a glass to the Gills.

Tomorrow, we have booked ourselves on a lagoon trip involving snorkelling - more next time.

Must go now, it's merlot o'clock.....

PS sorry about the lack of pictures - I cannot upload images onto this computer.

Groundhog Day

Thursday 2nd March

Kia Orana!

Greetings from the tropical Cook Islands.  

We have arrived safely after a little bumpy 3.5 hour flight and we have already enjoyed dips in the lagoon and the swimming pool.  The hotel is on the beach front with kayaks, paddle boards and snorkelling gear for the residents. I have tried a paddle board for the first time and the best I can say is that I didn't fall off!  Progress was 'stately' with the breeze offering more power than I did. The lagoon is, apparently, teaming with fish and we will try the masks and snorkells tomorrow.  It has a lovely view with a few offshore islands and then the surf of the reef.

Rarotonga International Airport is about the size of a large school sports centre and very quaint with it.  We linked in with our transfer bus and we were given a bottle of cold water and a garland of fresh, fragrant flowers was hung around our necks!  We have images to prove it but the hotel has a computer but limited wifi so I have opted for the former tonight.  Our room is also covered in fresh tropical flowers with even a hibiscus flower on top of the loo roll.  

The island we are on is difficult to describe but first impressions were of happy people and lots of enormous graves - some in people's gardens!  The island is not rich and pristine but it is not back in time either.   I think we will have a better idea in a few days' time.  The road runs around the perimeter of the island and there is a clockwise bus and an anticlockwise bus!  We can use that to explore or the big thing seems to be hiring scooters to make the round trip (it is only about 30km for the complete circuit) - OF1 is keen on this option but it is a long time since I owned and drove my own Honda 50. However, the speed limit is just above walking pace and the main dangers seem to be dogs and chickens in the road.  Lots of fun and relaxation to be had by both of us with the emphasis on the latter. 

The most amazing thing is that we have had the 2nd of March twice!  Yesterday when I wrote the blog it was Thursday 2nd in Auckland and today (24 hours later) in Rarotonga it is the 2nd of March.  We are now 10 hours behind the UK instead of being 13 hours in front. If I wasn't confused before I left, I will be when I return!

Richter rumblings

Thursday 2nd March

Back in Auckland after two days of travel, tourist treats and trepidation.

St David's Day dawned cold and bright and after frying up a load of bacon for brekky and sarnies we left Arthur's Pass and our cozy cabin (there seems to be a lot of alliteration in this blog).  Yet another superb journey with a few stops - some more planned than others.  We stopped a couple of times to look at the enormous braided River Bealey and wondered what it must look like in spate.  We were then flagged down to a stop while a flock of sheep were herded up the main arterial road which these gigantic lorries with trailers were blazing up and down.  The sheep dog was obviously a learner as the sheep overshot the gate and there was a lot of whistling as the recalcitrant animals were pointed in the right direction. It was very ..... New Zealand.

We then stopped at the limestone caves (called Cave Stream). We did not make the one kilometre trip underground but lots of wet-suited, helmetted school children were about to.  Coffee was taken at a small café that was not one of the best; it was a long, long wait for very average coffee.  It was run by an English couple!!

We arrived in Christchurch at lunchtime and we ate our bacon and egg sandwiches by the River Avon in Hagley Park in the sunshine.  Christchurch is a garden city with many parks and tree lined avenues.  We found our motel,  just a 10 minute walk to the CBD which was ideal for exploring.  Off we strode and the devastating results of the 2011 earthquake were soon in evidence (just 10m away) and it continued to amaze and sadden us for the whole 24 hours of our stay.  We took a tram tour around the city centre which included an in-depth commentary and orientated us for further exploration.  Over 80% of the city centre buildings were significantly affected and have been (or are scheduled to be) pulled down or rebuilt.  The landscape is one of empty lots (some with just the foundations sticking out), new build and older buildings shored up with vast steel structures.  It was all very sad yet exciting to see the new growth - there are some very architecturally exciting buildings  There were cranes, builders and fitters everywhere and the noise of construction filled the air.  The historic tram ride lasted about an hour and it was quite an emotional trip.  There are so many things I could write about Christchurch but the main things that I am sure will stick in my mind are:
*.  The ruined cathedral
*.  The flowers in the plot where 115 were killed
*.  The 185 white chairs, each with a fresh red carnation, laid out on 185 square metres of turf to commemorate the total number of deaths
*.  The shops in containers: Re:Start Mall
*.  The number of buildings still to be knocked down or repaired

The whole scale of the rebuild is mind blowing but the construction work is being undertaken with great vigour, pride and belief.  Our friends visited Christchurch in 2012 and I cannot imagine what it must have been like just one year after the devastation.

We had booked tickets to watch 'Moonlight' at a small art house cinema with only 35 seats and done out in Egyptian style!  We enjoyed the film (7-8 ex 10 were our scores) and very glad we have seen it.  The hand held 360° shots made me feel quite queasy but the acting is strong with powerful themes.  We concluded the day with a lovely Italian meal and then headed for home.

There were strange forces at play during the night!  At 05:15 I felt the bed move and it also woke up OF1.  It was obvious ground movement that lasted perhaps 20-30 seconds.  Not very comforting. Then we were sitting in bed with a cup of tea watching the 8 am news when the room shook again, this was shorter but with a bit more sway.  I found a website and the 05:17 one measured 4.7 on the Richter Scale and the 08.01 was 5.2, both quite shallow.  There are a huge number of tremors and between 8am and 9am today there were seven with the first the largest, the remainder in the 2s and 3s on the logarithmic scale.  Although I was very taken with Christchurch, I could not live there with such stark daily reminders of tectonic activity.

This morning, after packing up,  we decided to go out for breakfast and opted for an al fresco number in the quaint Spanish mission style street where the trams rumble through.  It was a long breakfast - a two coffee one - and at ten o'clock we were suddenly engulfed with the florescent vests of the building trades having their morning break!  We spent the rest of the morning at the superb botanical gardens which were lovely to stroll through.  However, it was a little weird sitting in a most beautiful, fragrant rose garden on March 2nd in hot sunshine!

The Southern Island phase then ended.  We drove our trusty Toyota to the rental depot at the airport.  We loved our, now dirty white, car which drove beautifully for every one of the 2870 miles it has covered.  We then had a long wait for our plane (dropping the car, transfer and check in took minutes, rather than the hour and half we had allowed for) but we are now ensconced in the Holiday Inn near Auckland airport.  It is a case of déjà vu as we were here 5 and a half weeks ago.

Up before the dawn chorus begins tomorrow to catch our plane to the Cook Islands...... the last phase of our adventure.