Hiring a scooter is a must. The freedom tastes almost as good as the freshly caught fish and it’s the best way to take in the island’s scenery and new smells. There’s loads of instagram-worthy spots to stop at along the way, like the lagoon between Aroa beach and Muri where palm trees idyllically lean over the water. Climbing them is harder than it looks.
You’ll get used to disappearing into the occasional smokey haze as you drive – it’s not locals cooking up a storm on the BBQ but the garden burns they do daily. One thing to look out for is flying bugs. I swear a dragonfly or another very large, unappealing insect smashed into my face and it was almost my lunch..I don’t think it would’ve been tasty. Make sure you wear sunglasses for added protection.
One of the best things about scootering is that parking is easy and stress-free. The maximum speed around most of the island is 50km/h and there’s no better feeling than having the wind through your hair and a care-free attitude.
Hiring a scooter is about $12.50 a day and it’s cheap to fill it up. If you have a late flight you can also drop it off after-hours, so there’s no hassle.
VISIT CHARLIE’S
Why not stop off at the famous Charlie’s restaurant/bar in Ara Tapu. You won’t regret it and I couldn’t recommend this enough. The restaurant perches perfectly over Takitumu beach and a ‘weather rock’ tells you exactly what the weather’s doing.
Needless to say it’s a bit of a laugh and a popular photo opportunity.
The fish sandwiches are super-fresh and are so big that it’s enough to feed two people. One family even shared it between four! Order a beer or a cold bevvy while you sit back, relax and stare into the turquoise lagoon and dream of ways on how you can stay here forever. Just remember to say “meitaki” meaning “thank you” after you order. Kia orana is another handy word. It means “hello” but has a deeper meaning of “”may you live long”, so it’s customary to say this back to someone whenever they greet you this way.
The service at Charlie’s is pretty quick too, considering everyone here is on “island time”.
Charlies is open Monday to Saturday from 11am till 10pm. We loved it so much we went three times.
Tip: On the way to Charlie’s is ‘Wigmores Waterfall’ but it’s name is deceiving. A woman randomly stands at the bottom of the road and collects money before you go up. It took less than five minutes to arrive at the ‘waterfall’, which really was a tiny stream of water leading into a very dirty lake. The surroundings don’t look cared for and there really wasn’t much to see. This was the only downfall from Rarotonga and I would hate for someone else to be disappointed.
HAVE A DRINK AT TRADER JACKS AND WATCH THE SUNSET AT SHIPWRECK HUT
Trader’s is in the main town and overlooks Rarotonga’s Avarua Harbour. As we park our scooter up on the first day opposite the stacks of rowing boats, we’re greeted by a ginger cat (who we named Garfield) and some friendly bar-staff. We ordered the chilly mussels and a local beer ‘Island Time Classic Lager’. This brew is worth a try just because it’s local but it isn’t pretty basic and not that tasty. The mussels were delicious though.
VISIT THE MARKETS
An abundance of fresh food is exactly what you’ll see when you turn up to the Muri and main town markets.
The food is cheap and popular, so get in quick. The Muri markets open at around 5pm and by 5.30pm most of the food at one of the stalls we ordered fish at was gone. That just goes to show how good it is! The tropical fruit smoothies are also to die for..just don’t drink them too fast otherwise you’ll get brain freeze. The markets in town run on a Saturday morning and have a range of nick-nacks and delicious-smelling food. Drinking out of a fresh coconut was on my bucket list for this trip and I managed to find one here. Even though the coconuts are all over the ground wherever you go – it was harder to find one to drink than you’d think..and they’re more expensive than I expected, but well worth it. If you find something you want to buy and bring home – be weary of wooden products. It’s safe to get a certificate that says the wood has been treated and most stalls provide this. We bought a little statue and while we declared it in New Zealand customs, they didn’t look twice at it and let us pass quickly. SNORKEL AND KAYAK AROA LAGOON MARINE RESERVE
It’s as idyllic as it sounds. The water is as clear as anything and the tropical fish swimming below are a sight for sore eyes. Hiring a glass bottom kayak is the way to go – that way you can paddle out and peer through the bottom to catch a glimpse of different tropical fish. Just be careful because in parts, the further you paddle out, the shallower it gets and you definitely don’t want to get stuck on the coral like we almost did.
Depending on how far out you go, you may be lucky to see some turtles and even small whitetip reef sharks. We were lucky enough to see angelfish, butterflyfish and parrotfish to name a few.
You can do snorkeling tours and a glass bottom boat tour in the lagoons too, but we opted to save money and just explore the area ourselves.
Depending on where you stay, there may be an option to go night snorkeling for a small amount of money.
CULTURAL SHOW
Waiting at the bus stop outside the resort and seeing a rickety bus driving toward us with no windows and a pointy roof was a hilarious sight, and one we didn’t expect. We crammed onto the seats with the group and all had a chuckle at the ridiculousness of it all. We were greeted by the bus driver who made a joke about holding on tight.
The trip was about 15 minutes long and stepping off was a relief before we were ushered into the restaurant where we were greeted with a glass of champagne.
The Te Vara Nui cultural show tour around the “village” gave us an insight into the history of the Cook Islands and its traditions. Our tour guide was a laugh as he made jokes along the way and wowed us with his ukulele skills. The most exciting part of the tour was learning how to crack open a coconut and hilariously someone from the group volunteered to give it a go, but failed. Our tour guide was an expert, of course, and cracked it open in no time. The tour did drag on for a little bit though – we were just keen to start the buffet!
Once we were seated we delved into a feast of traditional Cook Islands food and waited in anticipation for the Cultural Show to begin.
Drums soon began to beat through the darkness as a group of colorful dancers made their way onto the lit up stage, floating in the middle of the lake. The group performed to The Legend of Tongaiti. The tale is about a voyaging warrior named Tongaiti who, with his family, goes in search of new land to call home. It’s a story of pride, love and celebration.
Safe to say it was a once in a lifetime opportunity and we left with full bellies!
If you’re not keen on the pre-dinner tour then you have the option of booking just the show and buffet, however it is better value to do all three (including the bus transfer).