We got up at 6.00 today so that we could watch the sail in to Rarotonga. The island looked very similar from afar to Tahiti and Moorea, but as we got closer we could see it was less developed in terms of large towns, houses and luxury resorts. It was still very beautiful with lots of lush green hills and a turquoise reef surrounding it. We paid particularly close attention to the water, because we had been warned the previous day that it may not be possible to stop at the island as the waters had been very rough recently and it may not be safe to transport passengers ashore via the tender boats (the harbour is too small for the ship to dock directly alongside). The waters looked calm enough, but when the first tender boat was let down it looked surprisingly rocky in the waves! However before long there was an announcement saying that it had been deemed safe to take passengers ashore, and so we headed for the theatre to meet for our tour - Muri Lagoon Cruise. We were soon informed that due to the slightly rough waters, the loading of the tenders was taking longer than normal, so to please be patient. We eventually got ashore at about 10.15, after a slightly bumpy tender ride, which was 45 minutes later than planned, but at least we were safe and ready to go explore the lagoon! [JL: as we arrived we were greeted with this priceless sign: "welcome to the Cook Islands! Bring more tourists, the last few we ate were delicious!"]
We first got into a minibus which drove us for 20 minutes along the one road which encircles the island, to the village of Muri, in the South East of the island. On the way we passed many small roadside shops and restaurants, and lots of houses, many of which intriguingly had small cemeteries in their front gardens. And lots of chickens! We also passed a few pretty churches.
Once we arrived at Muri, we met our hosts for the day, the team of Captain Tama's Lagoon Cruises (www.captaintamas.com). We were loaded onto a glass bottomed boat with a dry grass covered roof, and set sail around this area of the lagoon, which was dotted with small islets. We sailed round for a while, admiring the views of these, the sea breaking against the reef, and the lovely houses, beachside restaurants and thatched hotel rooms on the shoreline. We then dropped anchor at a site surrounded by coral and had the chance to jump in and snorkel. Unfortunately no sharks or stingrays today, but many beautiful colourful fish and interesting coral formations. There were also a number of giant clams with amazing patterns inside. The crew had brought a bucket of raw fish and used this to attract some more fish along - giant trevally. These were quite menacing looking! One of the crew members threw some of the raw fish into the water close to where I was swimming and a group of the large trevally came swimming straight for me - it was a little bit scary! But I got lots of good photos.
Back on the boat, we drove to one of the islets we had previously seen, called Koromiri, where we went ashore and were given a barbecue fresh fish lunch (bread for me!). There were also lots of gorgeous fresh fruits, including star fruit, passion fruit, papaya, and even barbecued bananas - yummy! Meanwhile, the crew sang to us and played music on the instruments they had brought with them. They also told us that the island is a popular destination for weddings, and that most of the palm trees on the island had all been planted by newly married couples :-)
We were then given a demonstration of how to climb a coconut tree - it was rather scary! Clearly not to the guys who did it though, who at the top hung upside down and took off their shirts! We then had a demonstration of how to husk a coconut and make coconut cream. Finally the crew boasted of how they knew over 300 ways to tie a sarong and were going to demonstrate a few now. I stood at the front with my camera and then ended up getting chosen as one of the models for the demonstration, much to my horror! [JL: photos of Emma being dressed up by hunky guy on Facebook tomorrow]. The guy showed us about 6 different styles, some of which were quite amazing. Apparently there are photos of loads more on the company's website - I will be looking them up when I get home!
We had a little more time to walk along the white sand beach and snorkel again in the warm shallow waters (where there were lots more fish, including some babies, and loads of sea cucumbers).
All too soon it was time to go, so we boarded our boat which took us back to the shore. There most people got back onto their minibuses and headed back to the port. Our group's minibus wasn't there however - we found out later it had a flat tyre - so we got an extra 15 minutes of admiring the scenery, and a personal musical performance by the boat crew! Eventually a different bus arrived, this time bright blue with seats which didn't have a lot of life left in them! Still, it got us back in one piece! We spent a little while looking round the market which had been set up by the harbour, and then boarded a tender boat to go back to the ship. We had to wait a little while, as the captain was in the process of repositioning the ship so that the tenders could meet the ship in the calmest possible waters, and then set off for a rather bumpy ride back.
By the time I had showered and unpacked/ rinsed off all the things we had taken ashore that day, it was time for afternoon tea! I was very excited as I hadn't been for ages, but I definitely felt I deserved it after my tiny lunch! Delicious. Meanwhile JL went and got a beer in one of the bars!
We went to dinner early and then chilled out in the room for a bit, trying to stay awake, before the evening's show in the theatre - a man called Peter Howarth who is the current lead singer of the band The Hollies, who played a number of hit songs by them and by Roy Orbison among others. I just about stayed awake until the end and then collapsed into bed for a very long sleep!
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