Rarotonga Pictures
South Pacific
Click on any of the photos below to see images of Rarotonga Beaches
Rarotonga's main road near Muri beach, with the lagoon just visible to the left and the main peak lurking out of shot on the right.
Rarotonga is a quieter, better value, English-speaking version
of a French Polynesian island, 900 kms west of Tahiti and ringed by
a partially broken coral reef.
Some beaches are superb, e.g. Aroa, but some are terrible, particularly
along the north east coast, where there are stretches of smashed coral
that are uncomfortable, unattractive and fundamentally useless as
beaches. e.g. Sunrise Beach.
Rarotonga offers a good range of accommodation, but when booking your
place to stay make sure you enquire about the sand quality of the
adjacent beach and preferably inspect pictures of beaches online.
The
Cook Islands, fifteen of them in two groups [north
and south, with Rarotonga and its exquisite sibling Aitutaki in the
southern group], were mapped in 1773 by Captain Cook and are about
halfway between Tahiti and Fiji, sharing a lot of ancestry, customs
and habits with French Polynesia, though they are less developed and
the people are - as a consequence? - more relaxed and friendly than
their eastern cousins.
The Cook Islands, an ex-colony of Great Britain, became a colony of
New Zealand in 1901 and then self-governing in 1965, though they still
maintain strong associations with New Zealand, including use of the
Kiwi dollar as their national currency. Most of their imported goods
originate from New Zealand so vegemite and strong cheddar appear on
supermarket shelves.
The Cook Island's tiny capital of Avarua on Rarotonga; what you see is just about what you get.
Rarotonga,
like many other Pacific islands, is dominated by riotously green peaks
with a simple, 20 mile [32km] two-way ring road [see picture above] between the rocky
outcrop known as 'The Needle' and the beaches. The island doesn't
even have one set of traffic lights.
Accommodation is mainly just off that road, on the beach side, but
the road is little used and doesn't create much in the way of noise
pollution.
Rarotonga's
best beaches: guide books recommend Muri and Black
Rock beaches but the Bugcrew's viewing suggested that Aroa
on the south coast was best, with soft tan sand, an attractive palm
fringe, some not very lively coral but some colourful fish and plenty
of elbow room.
Muri beach on the south-east coast came
second though the lagoon there is shallow, the beach narrow and some
pricey hotels hog the sand. If you're staying at one of those hotels
Muri would do you fine.
Black Rock beach did not impress at all, large but well scattered
with uncomfortable coral chips, while Sunrise beach is virtually unusable
due to both large and small coral fragments.
Culturally
there's a limited amount going on in Rarotonga. Taking in a Polynesian
dance show in the capital Avarua [picture above] - however touristy it may seem - is a must, and reputedly
more sensual and suggestive than those in French Polynesia. Locals
attend the shows too and show great appreciation. April sees the Dancer of the Year competition
while November is Floral Festival month.
Church services are often stunning - even for atheists, with wonderful
female-led, male backed hymn singing harmonies, though the priest's
sermonising may be dreadfully tedious. Try to wear something smart
as locals will be dressed to their all-white nines.
Otherwise it's a trip to the Cook Islands Cultural Village for a meal
and lively presentation of the local way of life or a guided walking
tour of the island's nature or culture.
Activities:
obviously snorkelling, though the lagoon is quite shallow and not
as colourful as, for example, Moorea or Aitutaki. Scuba diving outside
the reef is low price, high quality; fishing is excellent, and golf
or hiking possible, though not spectacular.
n.b. if you wish to hire a scooter/car on the island you will need
to present your driving licence to the police in order to get a Cook
Island driving licence. It's not expensive or very time-consuming.
Some
Cook Island downsides:
- cuisine is a lot simpler than in French Polynesia, fine if you just
need basic refuelling, not so good if you're looking for style with
your substance.
- tropical islands see a lot of cloud and some rain due to the heat
and humidity, so don't expect constant sunshine even in the dry season
[May-Oct].
- mosquitoes will always be out looking for blood so prepare yourself.
For outdoor patio life, i.e. having a drink outside your bungalow
after dark, the old favourite mosquito coils can't be beaten by electronics,
while inside mesh nets on windows, mosquito nets over beds or electric
mats are preferable.
Visas: A 31 days visa is available on arrival to just about anyone owning a passport and a return flight ticket.
Best months: May, June, September, October. The South Pacific lies in the tropics so all islands are warm and humid year round. The dry season is climatically best, May to October, with less humidity, cloud cover, rain, wind, rough seas and seaweed on beaches. However, July and August get very crowded with visitors, especially Australians and Kiwis escaping winter back home.
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