Rarotonga - Days 2 and 3

Rarotonga, 06May

Jetlagged, we didn't get going until about 11am this morning... already on "island time". After failing to snag a couple free bicycles from the hostel, we caught the bus to the south side of the island which is known for it's good snorkelling. We had planned to eat lunch at a place called Maire Nui, but the bus driver told us it had just burned down - too bad. So instead we walked along the road for awhile and explored the area and eventually ate lunch at Fruits of Rarotonga - sandwiches and tropical smoothies... Very good!

Located directly across from the best snorkeling beach on the island, they of course rent out snorkel gear - so after lunch we went snorkeling for a couple hours, which is great here! At first we were just in the shallow water, with an impressive array of fish, but once we got out further to about 10-12ft deep, the coral gets better and there were whole schools of big beautiful tropical fish (tasty looking too.) We would slowly float through the coral maze following a particular school of fish or just observing all the activity on the coral. After awhile we realized that we could hear the parrotfish chomping on the coral underwater! It was a great experience... I tried out my waterproof camera bag, and it certainly kept my camera dry, but my pictures were just so-so. I think it takes some practice. Many of the fish were very curious about us and followed us around. And at one point, I had to stand on top of some dead coral to adjust my mask, and these tiny electric blue and black fish started nibbling on my legs! It didn't hurt, but I guess I was in their territory :)

After snorkelling we walked partway back - which was a mistake. We killed our feet by walking in wet Chacos... We learned later to just wear flip-flops like the locals.

Anyways, we caught the night bus (runs after 5pm) and made it back to the hostel in time for the bbq party (the hostel has activites planned each night.) The party was a lot of fun and very tasty - they grilled fresh-caught tuna steaks - excellent. We got to chat with some other folks at the hostel too, and even bought a new Lonely Planet NZ book (to replace my 9 yr old Rough Guide NZ) from a German girl who was on her way home. She thought we were Danish btw... haha.

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Rarotonga 07May:

Woke up to dark clouds and overcast skies so decided to avoid snorkeling. Instead we went down to the beachside house, spent a little time catching up on email and watched part of a NZ movie that a guy had on called Once Were Warriors, about a modern-day Maori family. Looked interesting...

Then we lucked out and got a couple bikes (free) from the hostel. They were not in very good shape, but the brakes worked - mostly -and we took off to ride on the inner island road all the way into town. The inner island road is the older road (pre-european) and goes through breathe-taking countryside and farmland with amazing views of the mountains. We really enjoyed leisurely riding along as there is much less traffic on it and a lot more to see. I made Justin stop every few minutes to take photos but he didn't seem to mind :) He just kept threatening to repair the bikes with his leatherman...

At one point we missed a turn and ended up going up a very steep road to the hospital - it has the best view on the island! Of course, our bikes were completely rusted out and couldn't shift gears, so we had to walk them up - and the brakes barely worked so we had to walk them down too! We got passed in both directions by a pro cycler who was probably training for the Rarotongan triathalon on Saturday. Needless to say, his bike was not so rusty...

After that we made it back to the main inner road and passed all the school kids on their way home. (The island has lots of kids and we got a kick out of riding the bus with them - the main bus is their school bus.) Shortly after this, I got the bright idea to stop at a gas station and air up my low rear tire... Bad idea. The station attendant was very helpful, but the tire had a strange air valve and between the attendant and Justin I soon had a completely flat tire! After some more fiddling they managed to get a little air back in the tire. It was enough to ride home, but that was one bumpy road!

As I reread what I just wrote, it sounds like we didn't have a very good day - but quite the contrary. The bike ride was very enjoyable. That night we ate more of our huge batch of curry and watched some Fry & Laurie (tv show) on the laptop. This is a full day in the tropics!