Rarotonga May 2015



Happy holidaymakers with leis

KIA  ORANA (welcome,/hello in Cook Island Maori)
We left Auckland with Karen and Blair. Flight from Auckland to Rarotonga went well. I watched the movie Still Alice, a perceptive and poignant portrayal of a 50 yr old woman who developed Alzheimers.

Blair still trying to understand how we went back in time, leaving Auckland at 9.45am on Saturday, and arriving here at 3.30pm on Friday!  Will lose a day on the way home, leaving here at 4pm on Sunday, and arriving in Auckland at 7.30pm on Monday evening.

All four of us were presented with beautiiful fresh flower leis on our arrival. 





Tiny gecko saying hello

             The holiday house we are staying in is great. On its own large section with tropical flowers, coconut and banana palms. A little frustrating as the bananas aren't yet ripe, and the coconuts are, but we don't  have  a machete  to get in to them. A dire warning to not even try with the kitchen knives!! All sorts of interesting visitors - the next door neighbours dogs, roosters and hens, and this morning three pigs wandered through our front yard. Very funny. Geckos, tiny crabs  and centipedes are numerous, and  birds fly in and out of nearby trees.

Pop and Blair between banana palms

The house itself is spacious,  clean, and with all the facilities we need.

The view behind the house is of coconut palms, and shrub covered hills leading up to some steep peaks. To the front we are looking through a coconut grove to the sea. Lovely.




Once we had unpacked we decided to catch the local bus back in to town for dinner. Our understanding was that buses went both ways, but by that time they were only going in a clockwise direction so we had a forty minute scenic drive around the island in to the main township of Avarua. Had a delicious meal at an outdoor cafe beside the sea with the interesting name of The Anywhere Bar & Bistro. Relaxed friendly staff and tasty meals.

At the Saturday market

On Saturday morning we went to the weekly local market, which was colourful, lively, and interesting. Watched some great acts on a central stage - exuberant backing group, singers and dancers. The youngest members were two little girls of about 4 and 6, who had a ton of confidence and wiggled their hips almost as well as the older girls. 

Blair was on a mission to buy Karen a Mothers' Day present and settled on a lovely necklace. We bought a huge bunch of bananas which are divine - lovely creamy texture.



Mothers' Day breakfast in bed

We decided to rent a car for the convenience of being  able to  go where we want when we want rather than have to wait for once an hour buses. Driving is interesting. Motor scooters outnumber cars by about five to one, and the drivers are erratic, to put it mildly. Mainly Cook Islanders aged anywhere between 15 and 90 with a few tourists thrown in to the mix -ranging from timid to gung ho!  Bareheaded and usually with no footwear, the Islanders manage to transport kids, groceries, crates of beer, etc. We even followed one today with a whole hedge trimmimg kit tucked under his left arm!

That afternoon we drove to the lovely and popular Muri Beach, located on a lagoon. We could see waves crashing on to the outer reef. We enjoyed swimming and snorkeling there. Water was warm and enjoyable. 

Mothers' Day dawned with a lively 6 yr old prancing around the kitchen keen to give his mother breakfast in bed. She enjoyed his enthusiasm, and her breakfast!

Ornate altar

Karen and Paul with three elegant ladies

At 10am we went to a service at the Cook Islands Christian Church. Warmly welcomed, the lady beside us took fresh hibiscis flowers off her hat and pinned them in Karen's and my hair. The service was conducted partly in Cook Island Maori and partly in English.

Mothers'Day was acknowledged and celebrated. But the best feature was the singing. The music, mainly unaccompanied, washed over us in melodious waves  of sound. We were astonished at the harmonies, volume and passion. An amazing experience to be stored in our memory banks.

Just across the road from that church, which was in the middle of the countryside, on the coast, was a memorial of seven rocks representing the great migration  of the Maori canoes to New Zealand,which left from that spot. Fourteen left in 1350AD, but only 7 made it to NZ to set up settlements here. Our Maori tribes took the names of the canoes their ancestors had arrived on.

Great climbing tree

Collection of pretty shells

That afternoon we drove to a beach on the north coast which had crystal clear water for snorkeling in. A lovely Cook Islander man named Vira watched Blair splashing around, then proceeded to give him, Karen and me the benefit of his knowledge and experience. Showed us how to drop sand in to the sea to observe which way the water was running, then to just gently float on top with our snorkels and masks on to observe, as he described it, the "movie" underwater. There were hundreds of sea cucumbers, like small squishy sausages, which he described as the "vacuum cleaners" of the lagoon, purifying the water. Pretty coral, and darting fish. A great experience.

That evening Karen took us for dinner to a lovely relaxed restaurant with delicious food, Nubar.

A week later....................On the big silver bird now on our way back to Auckland from Rarotonga. Karen and Blair were given an upgrade to Premium Economy so are sitting up front with lots of leg room. I am being given a payback for making a remark about two very overweight ladies sitting behind us in the breskfast restaurant this morning. One of them is seated beside me, overflowing on to me, and wanting to be my new best friend. Thank goodness it is only a four hour flight. Paul says it serves me right!

We awoke this morning to pelting torrential rain and strong winds. Couldn't see ten metres out from our apartment towards the beach. Couldn't see how any aircraft could possibly fly in those conditions, so hoped for a clearance by the time we were due to depart at 5pm. The rain diminished a little by the time we went to Mass at the Catholic Cathedral at 10.30am. As on the previous Sunday at the  Christian Church, the music and singing were amazing -such harmony and volume. Many of the ladies were elegantly dressed in white dresses and hats. Karen noticed that many of the hats had a mother of pearl shell sitting on the crown. When we asked afterwards why this was, it is to weigh them down a little so that they  don't go flying off in a breeze!  

We were fortunate to be allowed a late check out of 2pm and by that time the rain had cleared and sun was shining. When we arrived in Rarotonga we were told that there had just been two weeks of rain, so we were relieved that they got it over before our holiday. Apart from that last day, we were treated to warm sunny days with pleasant temps of  21 to 26C, and low humidity. 

Captain Tama Cruise passengers!

Fish through boat's glass bottom

Tuesday was a perfect sunny calm day to go on a Captain Tama lagoon cruise, out from Muri Beach. A fun crew of three Cook Islanders played music and sang as everyone was gathering, then took the forty passengers (mainly NZers) out to the marine reserve area of the lagoon, where they tied the boat to a buoy.

Relaxed bronzed Paul

Good advice

Getting ready on boat

Viewing the undersea world and fish

 We were able to watch fish swimming under the glass bottomed boat - of all sizes and colours. Some small ones had zebra stripes, others were a brilliant turquoise, some yellow and white - many different types. We snorkelled around the boat and saw fish, sea anenomes, starfish and sea cucumbers around the intriguing coral structures. One of Blair's favourites were the bright blue starfish. His snorkel loosened one of his wiggly top front teeth, and as Karen pulled it out with wet fingers it slipped from her fingers into Nemo's grasp. One of the crewmen assured Blair that the tooth would become part of the coral and that the fish talked to the tooth fairy. Sure enough, she delivered that night.

From the boat we also saw some giant clams (almost a metre wide) and a turtle lumbering along the sea floor.

Climbing up palm -very fast

Talk about coconuts

We went to a quintessential Pacific tropical island for a delicious BBQ lunch of tuna with delicious salads, and barbequed pawpaw and bananas. Afterwards one of the men impressively scaled a tall coconut palm in just a few seconds.  We were then given a demonstration of how a coconut is opened using a wood spear and machete, and given fresh coconut milk to drink. A very enjoyable day.

We went swimming and snorkelling most days we were there in different places around the island.



Inland bush track

One day we were going to do a Cross Island walk up and over the hills in the centre of the island.. The plan was for the four of us to walk to the top, then Blair and I to return and collect the car and drive around to the other side of the island to have a swim in a waterfall pool, and pick up Paul and Karen. Unfortunately it had rained the night before and the track was muddy and slippery so we had to forgo that plan after only a short walk. We drove around to the Wigmore's Waterfall anyway (the perimeter road right around the island is only 32Km long), where Blair had his swim.

Abandoned hotel project

On the road in there we saw a massive abandoned building project. Paul found out later that it was to have been a luxury 220 room hotel, built by Italians in conjunction with the Cook Islands government.. Unfortunately, when building was about 80% completed, there was a huge bust of the Mafia in Italy, which it transpired were supplying the funding for the hotel, and the project ground to a standstill.

One day Paul and Karen did a tour at Matutu Brewery, a locally owned micro-brewery, which they found interesting. They were happy to sample some of the fine products on the way around, and pronounced it very good beer. We then had lunch at the Hidden Spirit café nearby which was surrounded by extensive gardens filled with tropical flowers, plants and palms - truly beautiful.

Mairenui Botanical Gardens

Ian and Clare

Island Groove duo. Drink is apple juice!

We met up with Ian and Clare Wheldon at The Café in Avarua, friends of Wally Duff, who is in the Nelson Male Voice Choir with Paul. They suggested that we go to Happy Hour at the Palm Grove bar and bistro on the south coast. The popular Island Groove duo were playing and singing to an appreciative crowd.



View from balcony - Pat in new sarong

Blair,, beach, lagoon and reef

We shifted from our holiday house to Edgewater Resort for our last two days, as Karen wanted to experience it as a possible accommodation option for her clients. We were given an upgrade to a lovely beachfront apartment. Saw a couple getting married on the beach just in front of it on Saturday afternoon! You can see the view from the deck in this photo Karen took of me wearing my new sarong.

On the Saturday evening we went to an island night at the resort. Started with an extensive Polynesian buffet, including delicious ika mata- raw fish marinated in lime juice mixed with coconut cream etc, and rukau -taro leaves cooked and mixed with coconut sauce and onion, that looks and tastes not unlike spinach.



Beautiful dancing - even the little ones

An impressive array of drums

This was followed by a lively cultural performance - stunning drummers, talented singers, and amazing dancers.

Wonderful to watch and listen to.

Those swinging hips!

Hope that you have enjoyed reading this account, and seeing our photos, of a lovely South Pacific island, on which we had a most enjoyable nine days.

KIA MANUIA!!
(Good luck / cheers)

West Coast NZ

Thought I would do this blog page for those of you who don't get to the West Coast very often. It is such a special part of New Zealand. Conde Nast Traveller, a prestigious North American travel magazine, rates it one of the world's most scenic highways.
But to go back a little..............
In January 1968 50 nervous 17 & 18 year old girls arrived at Dunedin Hospital to commence a three year nursing programme. We had a reunion in Dunedin in 1978, and it was considered that 50 years since we started would be a suitable time to have another get together. So Paul and I decided to have a south of the South Island holiday in conjunction with this event.
We left Nelson on March 16 in time to spend St Patrick's Day in Christchurch with some Irish friends. It was quite an eventful day which started with 9am Mass at Sacred Heart Church, Addington, which had been our parish. An Irish priest added to the atmosphere. Then spent most of the rest of the day being led astray by our Irish friends Bryan and Marie Kelly, at the Irish Society, various Irish bars, etc. We bailed out at 9pm!

Headed to Ashburton the next day and took Val and John Shaw out for lunch. John is a bit slower getting around (86 now) but they were both very interested to hear how you all our family are.  While driving south from there we could see fresh snow on the Southern Alps. Beautiful but cool. We stayed that night at a motel overlooking lovely Moeraki, then drove on to Dunedin on Thursday.

Class of 1965

Moira,Sandie,Pam, Pat, Christine

Pat,Barb,Moira,Ros,Sandie

 There were 4 functions for the reunion and all went very well. 17 attendees from our class, and 20 from the April one which amalgamated with ours at the end of our first year. We stayed at a motel on Gt King St in Dunedin opposite the North Ground so just a short walk to the functions at the Nurses Home and Hospital, and even closer to the Saturday night dinner at Cargills where some of the husbands joined us. In between times we enjoyed visiting various friends and relatives. On the Sunday morning we went to Mass at St Bernadettes and saw numerous people there whom we knew.

Pat,Paul,Peter, Barry, Anne

Then stayed a night at Milton with Anne and Barry, so great to catch up with them. They had invited their neighbours over for a BBQ with us. NZ is a small country. Peter, the neighbour, is the brother of a friend of ours at church here in Stoke. The next day drove through to Cromwell, where Anne and Barry had kindly lent us the use of their lovely holiday home there. It will become their permanent home when Barry retires in a few years time. 

Autumn colours-poplars near Bannockburn

Paul with Uncle Bernie

It was a good base, being at the hub with Alexandra, Queenstown and Wanaka only short distances away. Autumn colours starting on the trees were beautiful. Saw Paul's Uncle Bernie Pettit, now 92 and the last of his family of 10 siblings. He has his own house at a retirement village, but is getting a bit forgetful. Sharp as a tack when looking at old yachting photos of him and Paul's father, Cyril. His daughter Judy and her husband, Pete Carroll also live in Cromwell, and hosted us and Anne (who had come through to have the weekend with us) for an evening meal. We visited Robbie and Lyn Wyatt in Alexandra, and also Suzanne (nee Curran) and Kevin MacKenzie there. Jan and Gordon Gutzewitz did some water skiing on the lake before meeting us for a tasty long lunch at a cafe in Cromwell. 

On the Sunday we drove through to Wanaka where we stayed with Barbara and Tony Waterworth for the night. Had hoped to see NZ win the Cricket Cup final. Alas, it was not to be, but Barbara's delicious dinner and lively conversation with Lesly(who was one of the reunion organizers) and Graham Stewart also there made for a very convivial evening

Rugged Westland coast

So on to the West Coast the next day. It would have been about 16 years since I had last driven through the Haast Pass - when we lived in Queenstown. Paul drives the length of the West Coast and through to Central Otago quite often, driving/& guiding Karen's North American clients, but always from north to south. I don't think there are enough superlatives to adequately describe this exquisitely beautiful area - all the way from the Haast right up to the Buller Gorge just inland from Westport. I shall work on the "a picture is worth a thousand words" principle and attach photos to this.

A landscape architect couldn't have done a better job than nature itself with the vegetation, bush and trees. Ferns at the roadside, bush and tree ferns next, then taller trees. In most cases extending to the tops of the backdrop hills, and 30 shades of green.

From lookout at Rocky Point

And as for the coast - majestic & rugged with new and stunning views around every corner.Waterfalls of various drops cascading down gullies, and birds wheeling in the air.

Afternoon at Lake Matheson

We stayed at Fox Glacier and that afternoon did the bush walk around Lake Matheson, which is often described as a mirror lake because of the reflections it affords of the surrounding bush and Mount Cook. 

There was a ripple on the lake when we saw it, so I have borrowed someone else's spectacular photo to show it in its glory, with snow capped Mt Cook in the background.

Lake Matheson with Mount Cook in background

Driving on the next morning, mist clung to the gullies running between hills which sloped right down to the road. Stopped at various viewing areas. In Paul's usual style, he struck up conversations with other travellers, who had come from numerous different countries and were awed by the diverse views.

Westland hills and early morning mist

Paul on Hokitika Beach

We stopped for that night at Hokitika. Looked at a motel near the centre of town, but decided against it when a freight train went noisily rumbling along the nearby railway line. The owner would not have been happy with the timing! So next looked at a complex away back from the main street and railway line. Lovely lady welcomed us, and we were very comfortable in a spacious one bedroom unit. Later in the evening heard Paul talking to someone outside, and he came in to say that he had invited the owners in for a drink! They had moved there from Christchurch just 8 months before and were interested to hear of our experience in the industry. They kindly gave us a CD, saying that their daughter had sung the NZ National Anthem at the Gallipoli commemoration last year, and had been invited to do so again this year, at the 100 year ceremony. She is a reservist in the Navy. We played it in the car the next day, and Oh My Gosh, what a beautiful voice Rebecca Nelson has. The CD is named Reflections, and she has several clips on You Tube, some about 5 years ago when she was busking in London and Grafton St in Dublin.

Lake Ianthe

Selfie at Okarito Wetlands (no-else around to take photo!)

The next day was sunny and calm, and we headed to the Okarito Lagoon in the hope of seeing the white herons which nest there over the summer. Paul had done a tour there before so opted to do a challenging walk up a nearby hill. I elected to go out on the lagoon in a kayak. Suitably set up, I set off just before high tide. Paddled up the lagoon for about two Kms with birds of all varieties flying above me, and walking on the nearby mud flats.

Wetlands at Okarito Lagoon

Went off in to a creek through a wetland area where I was delighted to see a few of the majestic white herons. I had expected an easy trip back on an outgoing tide, but a brisk westerly wind had kicked in, so it was hard work. Very worthwhile though, as saw more of the herons on my way back, and it was such a tranquil spot. Only saw one other boat with two people in it during the three hours I was paddling. 

Okarito coastline

Blowhole spouting

As we approached Punakaiki and the Pancake Rocks Paul said we most probably wouldn't see the blowholes in action as usually a combination of high seas and a westerly wind was needed. However, our luck was in, as a very high tide created a lot of spray pluming out the top of the blowholes. In one of these photos, you can see the water line way up on the rocks. I am particularly pleased with the one which caught a rainbow in the spray.

The surging sea at Punakaiki

Rainbow in spray at Pancake Rocks

Coastal view from Punakaiki

And so on up past the last we would see of the coast and through the Buller Gorge, where we had walked a half marathon a few years back (Paul, Marie Jean and me. Dale did the full one!).

Back home to Nelson, with lots of great experiences, memorable times spent at my nursing reunion, and with family and friends, and visual memories of some stunning NZ scenery.
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