Last week we were off to visit the polynesian island of Rarotonga. In doing so, we dodged a week long wind and rain storm in Auckland - that's right, it apparently lasted the entire time we were away. Rarotonga is the largest of the 15 islands that comprise the Cook Islands. Getting there is a four hour flight from Auckland, and you cross the international date line en route (we left Sunday at 4pm and arrived there on Saturday at 8pm...weird). Well worth the journey though - when we got off the plane and were greeted with warm breezes, an old Maori gentleman strumming his ukelele, and amazing smelling leis placed around our necks.
Though the largest of the Cook Islands, Rarotonga is still quite small - just 32 km in circumference. It has a wonderful, laid-back vibe where everyone adheres to "island time", ie. no one pays much attention to time at all, so the bus that circles the island comes every hour on the hour (give or take 15 min), the chemist opens at 10am (give or take 30 minutes), etc. Makes you totally chill out about keeping a schedule.
Beach, lagoon, island...amazing
Weeeeee!
Our resort was situated on the amazing Muri lagoon. It was very shallow, so no matter what the tide, you could walk from the mainland to two small islands across the lagoon without encountering water higher than 4 feet. This made it great for water sports, snorkelling, and Georgie splashing. As luck would have it, the little lady got sick the day we arrived with a virus (not surprising considering I was invited to a playdate a few days before we left where the mom neglected to tell me until 30 mins after Georgia had licked every virus-ridden toy in her house, that her baby was quite sick with a bad cold...). The first few nights weren't great for her/us, but she had some major naps during the day, and because our room was on the beach, Scott and I could enjoy the beach just outside while she snoozed away in her 'bedroom' (ie. pak n' play strategically placed in the bathroom - the house cleaning staff either thought us crazy or neglectful, perhaps both). We snorkelled, we kayaked, we explored, we read, we drank Pina Coladas and BFKs (a Cook Island special - frangelica, Bailey's and Kahula), and we replenished our Vit D stores. That about sums up what was a great week.
SW tearing it up
From our patio
The good news about being back in NZ...spring has sprung. The sun is back, daylight savings time has kicked in, and the lambs are plentiful. Next week, we're looking forward to Auntie Court and Granna arriving and celebrating a big first birthday.
Almost one
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