So, the time had finally come for paradise and a small island called Raratonga in The Cook Islands, South Pacific and about 3.5 hours flight from New Zealand. The flight was really good on Air New Zealand - their entertainment system is great with so many films and so much music to listen to...as well as ice creams for dessert, the time flew by (get it?)...and we arrived to a blast of super hot air and a man called Jake playing the ukelele to say Kia Orana (welcome) to the visitors. It was so hot and humid you could see everyone beginning to melt as we waited for our luggage.

From the airport, we had a mini van take us to the Aremango Guesthouse which was lovely! We had a great room with a courtyard terrace and outdoor shower to cool off as well as a hammock, and the rest of the amenities were shared amongst the other guests - all of which were very friendly and good company. Raratonga is very beautiful. The lagoon has clear waters, the sand is super soft and as there is a mountain in the middle of the island, it's green and lush. While on the island for 4 days we relaxed with a capital R - there is nothing else to do but relax.

We hired scooters and whizzed all around the island (its only 32 km all the way round) so took in the beautiful sites, sounds and smells from the exotic flowers as we passed through, the wind whistling in our hair and cooling us down. We also spent time on the beach reading and swimming and had a go at snorkelling - it was easy to see a lot of fish!
We also spent time at the police station...three times!...and so the story begins.....

To hire a scooter in The Cook Islands, you must have a licence. When we picked the scooters up, I had to have a scooter test which was driving up and down for 20 metres and not falling off, and getting a certificate. She thought that Max already had a licence so he didn't need a test. Once all the paperwork was done, you had to take it all to the police station so they could issue you with a licence. At the police station, the police woman noticed that Max didn't have a licence and ordered him to take the test, with a police test officer before he could be issued a licence. Well...his test was a little more difficult than mine and included traffic cones, stop and give way signs - it was hilarious!! We had to wait half an hour for a test officer to come (we are on Cook time here) and we must have had the largest guy ever. Even Max had to look up to him and he looked tiny up against him! - I am pleased to say Max passed and we were issued paper licences (we had to go back the next day for the official one as the machine was broken)

So the next day we went back to the station but the machine was still broken. The next day, en route around the island again, we were stopped by a police control wanting to check the WOF for our scooters (Warranty of Fitness, like an MOT) - well of course we had no idea where it was and after explaining to the policeman, he asked for our licences. Well of course we had the paper ones and not the offical ID card style ones and once again, had to explain why we had paper ones. He called the station and advised us that the machine was now working so we whizzed back to the station and the lovely ID woman took our photos, made sure we were smiling and looking good before FINALLY issuing us with our official Cook Islands driving licence and a brilliant souvenir to take home.

On our last day we woke up early and after showering outside (so exotic) we went to take the scooters back but Max's flip flops had disappeared....then other people came out and said THEIR flips flops/sandals/reef shoes had been taken.....we had a flip-flop thief (try saying that quickly) - they also liked DVDs from the hostel as well as, probably the wierdest, our loaf of bread, beans and spaghetti hoops! The police were called and we had to write descriptions down etc and probably in 2011 (Cook time remember) we will get a police report!

We spent the rest of the day at the beach before heading for the airport and our flight to Aitutaki. It was a smooth 40 minute flight but we had a bit of a shock when we arrived. One week ago, the island was hit head on by Cyclone Pat and there is devastation everywhere. The palms and pandanus trees are either uprooted, bent double or brown from wind burn and there are bits of roof and the likes dotted around. We were met by our guest house owner Veia who surprised us with garlands of beautiful smelling gardenia flowers and a very warm welcome.

Once in our bungalow which was really airy and spacious (with own bathroom for those 1am moments), we had a walk to the beach and surveyed the damage near us. The guys here have done a great job in tidying up their patch but it's not the same everywhere. We headed to 'The Boatshed' down the road for dinner before heading back to the bungalow to read and relax.

The next day we hired mopeds and went for a tour of the island. It was so sad. Almost every piece of land, tree and building has been hit and there are pieces of corrugated metal all over the place - just look at the photos we will post. It's difficult to imagine this island as a beautiful one given the fact it is in such a mess now. The local shops don't have much food or water and no fresh fruit or vegetables given the local crops were destroyed. The entire island is just cleaning up and trying to get on with their lives. As there has been so much damage, we decided to change our flights and booked to go back to Rarotonga ealier than planned...a week here is too long given what has happened and the fact that unfortunately, this once beautiful tropical lush island has been beaten to the ground. There are also so few tourists here. People are cancelling their trips all the time. I'm glad we came to see how nature works first hand but it makes depressing viewing.

We did manage to find some beautiful spots by the lagoon and Ooto beach and as the weather was amazing, we sunbathed and relaxed in the crystal clear waters. Max took a lagoon cruise one day to see the other islands around Aitutaki and despite some damage, it was nothing like on the main island. He went snorkelling around One Foot Island and then waded for about 400 metres to get to his own private island where he took some lovely photos and was very romantic in the sand (see the photos). I spent the day at the beach and read a book from cover to cover (519 pages!)

It was a bit sad to leave the island, but we headed back to Rarotonga for the last 3 nights, staying in a self-contained unit (more expensive but worth it) at Vara's on the beach. Unfortunately, the weather turned so we had some days of sun, cloud and rain as well as stormy, windy nights which was a shame but as it is rainy and cyclone season, we haven't done badly at all and we have managed to top up the tans very nicely!

So after 11 nights on The Cook Islands, we boarded the plane for Auckland and a stop over at the airport before beginning the long trip to Asia - Auckland-Melbourne-Singapore-Kuala Lumpur.