It rained overnight and was windy and overcast when we got up, so we decided to go for a run. It doesn't take much to work up a sweat on a muggy 28 degree day. We ran approximately seven kilometres along the southern coast of the island to Vaima'anga. Along the way, we passed "Fruits of Rarotonga", Titikaveka, the 1/2 way point, the Government House for the Queen's Representative, etc. After lunch, we bought groceries and took the bus back to our guesthouse. We once again walked along Muri Beach, watching the kite-surfers take advantage of the winds. We went to the night market for dinner, enjoying a generous portion of spare ribs, rice and local cabbage, as well as fish, chips, and an egg. It poured rain overnight, but it didn't effect us watching "People Like Us" on our laptop in bed. |
Our last day on this side of the island turned out to be our first SUNNY day in Rarotonga. With better weather and calmer seas, I spent much of the day snorkelling the easternmost portion of Titikaveka Beach known as "Fruits of Rarotonga". Most of the time I was in approximately ten feet of water and about 50 metres from shore. There were many varieties of fish and as usual, I took far too many photos. Since there was no night market tonight, we were back to macaroni & cheese for dinner before popcorn while watching "The Runaways". |
Saturday morning on Rarotonga means the Punanga Nui Market, so we caught the first bus from Muri to Aroa on the opposite side of the island, arriving much earlier than check-in at AroaKainga, our Airbnb apartment. Tricia wasn’t expecting us until later in the day, so she hadn’t had a chance to place flowers, but allowed us into the apartment immediately. We had planned to simply drop off our bags behind the building and then kill some time until the next bus headed to town, so access to the apartment was great. When she realized why we were so early, Tricia said that she’d soon be driving to the market and would give us a lift. This permitted an earlier arrival at the market to purchase bananas and take a look around. We ended up walking the length of the island’s main town of Avarua, doing a little grocery shopping, and eating a brunch of steak, spare ribs, hotdog wieners, rice, pasta salad, bread, and a few raw veggies from a roadside vendor at the Avatiu Harbor. After bussing back to our new digs, we spent the afternoon at the southern tip of the West coast at the Rarotongan Beach Resort where the snorkelling is excellent. One need not even snorkel to view fish as some are visible from the beach and the water in the entire area is only about three feet deep. I swam and floated around taking many more photos of the plentiful reef life. Perhaps the best part of this side of the island is viewing sunsets, and tonight was our first opportunity. We spent two hours hanging out at Aroa Beach just watching the waves and the light change before the actual setting of the sun. |
Light rain overnight had us second-guessing the wisdom of attempting the “Across Island Trek” today, so we opted for the Raemaru Mountain hiking track instead. From our apartment, we walked the inland backroads approximately three kilometres to the trailhead. The path was clear, but overgrown as it hasn’t seen much recent use. It was a steeper climb than we had expected to access the ridgeline that the trail follows. Near the top, we encountered ropes and metal handholds added to allow ascent of a sheer rock wall. This section certainly added a more adventurous feel to the hike! While enjoying the views from the top, another fellow summited and explained that his wife had “bailed on climbing that last part” – once again, my wife succeeded where others fail. :) After the hike we checked out some of the West coast Arorangi beaches, then walked the main road back so that we would pass a starfruit laden tree that I spotted from the bus yesterday. We have a greater appreciation for the two bags of starfruit we picked after seeing the fruit for sale at $1 apiece in yesterday’s market. The yard of our temporary Aroa home features passionfruit, oranges, limes, pomegranate, papaya (none are currently ripe), spinach, basil, mint, and chili peppers. |
We awoke to yet another overcast day; since it hadn’t rained overnight, we decided to attempt the “Across Island Trek”. The advice we kept getting is not to go when it’s just rained or is about to rain, so of course it started to rain shortly after we began our ascent. The cloudy weather prohibited fantastic photos from the top, but we were able to clearly see both the North and South coasts at the same time from “The Needle”. Not only did we get completely soaked (no big deal), but the trail became quite slippery and treacherous (bigger deal). We were cautious and careful with each muddy step; we used our hands far more than usual to provide stability on the descent. Once we’d completed the most difficult portions, I relaxed; then slipped and fell in the mud. Despite too much rain for the trail, there hasn’t been nearly enough rain to maintain the waterfall at the end of the hike. Both a shower and laundry were required upon our return. By midafternoon the clouds had largely dissipated and revealed some blue sky. We had crab and fries on the beach while watching this evening’s sunset, then returned to the apartment for coffee and biscotti. Finally, we concluded with “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang” (it’s a movie, not a euphemism). |
After yet another night and early morning of rain, the winds continued. Eventually we decided that we better head to Black Rock Beach regardless as tomorrow’s weather could be even worse. By the time we reached our destination, lo and behold, the sun had come out and the sea was calm. I saw two more types of fish while snorkelling and we enjoyed the area’s scenery. We bought steak pies and a macaroon for lunch. Much of the afternoon was once again spent reading and napping (while the winds returned). We went for another beach walk to see the sunset and then watched “Jarhead”. |
A side note - I read five books on this trip:
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