Return to Raro

It’s actually unusual for me to want to go to the same destination twice when there’s so many beautiful new places to explore, however back in 2015 the Cook Islands captured my heart and I knew I’d be back. So when I realised I could extend my birthday F1 adventure in March with the Easter holidays for just a few extra annual leave days my mind went straight to the Cook Islands and my fingers tapped in Jetstar hoping for cheap flights!

Lady Luck was on my side, it’s off season in March so flights and accomodation were both really reasonable. A couple of texts later and I’d convinced my water-baby buddy that she should join! The bonus of likeminded mates!

Our 6 hour overnight flight had us waking up in Rarotonga the same day as we left thanks to the date line crossing. As the flight descended to the island the sun was rising and the excitement sparked as we watched from above as the waves lapped onto the fringe reef surrounding the island. Return to paradise I thought!

On our transfer to our apartment a downpour commenced, I could see my friend looking slightly fearful of the decision to come in off season, I reassured her it will pass as quickly as it arrived. I’d visited in March last time -kind of becoming a birthday tradition- and we had couple of brief downpours then too.

By the time we’d checked in and changed into our swimmers the sun was shining again and it was HOT! It was still only about 9am but all we could think about was jumping in the crystal clear water just steps from our door!

I hoped the marine life was as good as I remembered. We were staying at Moana Sands Beachfront Villas in a large self-catering 2 Bedder which from research looked to be another great snorkel spot, my previous visit I stayed at the Rarotongan which is also on the south side and the snorkelling was out of this world.

I watched my friend Maz as she dived into the water, snorkel on. This was the litmus test, still just thigh deep and mere meters from the beach she popped up almost instantly, shocked and excited to tell me she was already surrounded by fish!

YES! It is still as amazing as I remembered and I hadn’t over-hyped it!

Hours were spent snorkelling the lagoon by our place and everyday we discovered something new along with the familiar fish. Even our last day we went for a late snorkel, leaving my camera thinking I couldn’t take any more pictures I came across something unfamiliar. As it seemingly swayed in the water I thought at first it was a new coral, then I saw tentacles and realised this was in fact a cleverly disguised octopus. Our discovery meant we stayed in the water a little too long and then had to carefully navigate our way back in through the coral as it had become too shallow to swim!

Our days were filled with water activities and reading or napping in the sun. Our accomodation had free kayaks and paddle boards so we had a play with those too but even as much as I enjoy that at home, here it was what lay beneath the surface was that excited me. I’d lose track of time completely and only eventually realise I’d been in the water too long when my fingers had pruned or my camera battery had died!

We’d been looking at doing a turtle snorkel tour and we started chatting to some women staying at our villas, they were a group of 4 60 something women having an absolute blast together, playing cards, swimming and drinking wine #lifegoals! Anyway I digress, they told us they’d done a great tour with a guy, Oz, that advertised at the night markets so we figured we’d chat to him that night as we were heading there for dinner.

We spotted him straight away at his booth as we entered from the bus stop. The ladies description was spot on: a cross between Aquaman and Maui from Moana, you really can’t miss him!! Anyway, he told us the details, times, cost etc but then said, “you just got here, go get some food, have a think and come back, I’ll be here all night.” A nice change from pushy salesmen and some good food recommendations too!

We ate 2 very large plates of food, had a beer and then returned to Oz and gave him a small deposit and agreed to a tour the next day.

We expected to see a turtle or two and were told there was a chance of eagle rays too.

The tour was awesome, we snorkelled out from the beach together with Oz, he said to leave my camera behind, just enjoy it and he’d take pics and videos for us at no extra cost - another refreshing change!

We were lucky enough to see several resident turtles who were surprisingly social. We waited for them to surface and swam along beside them until they were ready to dive and then we could follow ensuring we never went too close. Every encounter I have with these elegant creatures reminds me how unique their distinctive patterns are and leaves me blissfully happy and feeling very fortunate.

As if we weren’t lucky enough swimming with turtles, Oz directed our gaze deep to the bottom of the lagoon channel where countless eagle rays floated majestically about 20 feet below us. My free diving skills gave me look but Oz could get all the way down and hold his breath long enough to swim amongst them and capture some beautiful footage. I’ve never seen so many rays together in all my travels, it was truly magical but I’ll let you enjoy this video and judge for yourself…

I don’t remember how long we were out there with the Turtles and Eagle Rays but it was long enough to feel a little tired so I was pleasantly surprised when one of Oz’s team appeared with paddle boards, we lay there like complete princesses on the boards while Oz towed us back to the beach!

Keen to ensure we relaxed on our short holiday we spent most our time at our beach sun baking or in the water. We only did a couple of tours, the second was a lagoon tour on a glass bottom boat.

By going out that bit further in the lagoon we saw much bigger fish and the biggest eel I’ve ever seen! The giant moray eel resembled a python and its teeth ensured we didn’t get too close as we watched it devour the remains of a trevally. We enjoyed a long snorkel off the boat before it took us to a small islet not far off Muri beach where we had a lovely buffet lunch and cultural entertainment. We learned about the native instruments of the Cook Islands, how to crack and get the most out of a coconut as well as some inventive and humorous ways to wear a sarong!

Our evenings were chilled, most nights we jumped on the bus to check out a different bar or restaurant, it was pretty quiet on the island so it was never a chore to leave to catch the last bus. We watched the fish jumping from our table overlooking the water at Trader Jacks where Maz tried the matu. We dined with our toes in the sand beneath the palms at Vaimas restaurant. For a bit of cultural evening entertainment we watched the sunset before a fire show with some rather inventive cocktails at Vaiana’s Bistro and Bar.

And one night we simply chilled at the apartment enjoying a rather delicious crispy chicken burger from Wigmores Takeaway across the road which we ate on our balcony with our gin sundowners and a game of poker.

My previous visit I enjoyed a rainforest walk to the needle but this time we opted for a shorter walk to the waterfall for a cold dip via the dog shelter. We met the man who runs the and ten smiling four legged friends of his as he returned from their walk and swim at the waterfall, you can join them for the day for a small donation but with such a short trip we only managed a short encounter.

That afternoon we decided to go out for lunch. We wanted to check out Charlie’s but it was east from our apartment meaning an evening meal was a bit of a mission as the buses only go one way after 4pm ( in off-season at least). So we opted for lunch there which was perfect as we could enjoy our meal while the azure water sparkled back at us in the sunlight. The fish sandwich seemed to be a favourite here. And you can see why, it’s possible the biggest sandwich I’ve ever seen!

Our 5 days in paradise came to a close, once again I hadn’t managed the trip over to Aitutaki, it is expensive and books up fast. Part of me believes I didn’t book it earlier as I want and expect to be back again soon so this gives me another reason!