Sup y'all, long time no speak... Well to be fair the time has flown by for me, but then you'd expect it to when you're staying in paradise!

This blogs going to be slightly different to my previous ones as it'll cover a longer period of time and will detail my overall experience thoughts and stories from the past 2 weeks.

As you can probably tell, it was hell on earth in Rarotonga. I mean realistically, who'd want to spend 14 nights on an island the size of Bristol which has nothing but golden sand, crystal blue water and a cool 25-30 degree sun throughout the day!? Jealous much? If you're not i've got a sneeky suspicion you might be when you look through the photos!

But anyway, it all began with a delightful 9 hour night flight out of LA to the island. We flew with Air New Zealand who were absolutely fantastic and provided us with a ton of in flight entertainment and some cracking plane food. Chicken, spinach and potato wedges... Felt like I was dining at a restaurant after living on noodles for the best part of 2 months. The only worry with the flight was the request of a doctor from the cabin crew - thank god no-one appeared to be in labour or any major distress though.

We arrived at 6:00am in the smallest airport ever to be greated by me. Granted they only have one direct flight a week to the Cook Islands, but I was still expecting maybe one more plane. We arrived in darkness so upon arrival we couldn't take in the actual beauty of the place. However as our shuttle bus began to take us to 'varas beach hut' we started to see the sun rise and caught glimpses of the rainforest covered mountain peaks as we drove around the edge of the island. We were dropped off at our door which was incidentally about 20 seconds from the beach - perfect! After a quick stroll down the beach and a bite to eat we were ready to take in what the island really had to offer. We were staying in a bay area surrounded by 3 isles the water was turquoise, clear as day, calm and full of amazing tropical sealife. The breeze was warm and we watched the tour boat next door to us prepare to take tourists out to see the tropical fish. Like true locals they were singing and just looked completely care free as they went about their work. At that point I knew I'd love my time here. After a while, me, George and Wild decided to swim out into the bay and across to one of the isles. It was easy work with no strong current to contend with and the water only reaching about chest deep. The place just reminded us all of shipwrecked, a tropical paradise with little inhabitance, it really was the sort of stuff you only see on TV. The sealife was amazing too with sights of tropical fish in the bay as you swam by. It may not be the great barrier reef but the underwater camera certainly would be coming out. We also did a bit of exploring in land too and found that we wouldn't be spending 2 weeks on sun loungers. Fishing tours, local history tours/nights out, jungle quad bike tours to name a few were straight on our list. Oh and not forgetting the hikes up through the jungle! The remainder of the day was chilled as we caught up on the missed sleep but the day was a great introduction to what would be a memorable 2 weeks!

We woke the next morning to the sound of cockrells and other local wildlife which awoke with the sunrise. We decided we wanted to go into the main town of Avarua for a shop and to see what restaurants and clubs it had to offer. However, things took an unexpected change when Captain Bob came up the road on his moped and asked us to join him on the Kakao tour. It usually costs 65$ per person but as he was desperate to fill the boat he took us all on board for 100$ - bargain. And so we got our sea legs on and jumped aboard. The tour guides, Captain Bob, Captain Awesome and Captain Cook were all locals who were involved in the marine preservation project. They worked out in the coral reefs where they helped populate giant clams. And sure enough after a short trip to the sounds of their ukeleles we were anchored down in such a beautiful place to go snorkelling. The water was ofcourse crystal clear and after swallowing half the sea getting used to snorkel we were all diving away to simply drift in amazement at the tropical sealife. It was incredible, fishes of all different size, colour and shape which showed no fear at all. I could have spent all day there but after about an hour we were back on the boat being shipped onto one of the isles for our traditional island lunch. It was gorgeous food which consisted of papau salad in a mild curry sauce, coleslaw, freshly grilled Macau, sausages and a ton of local tropical fruits. After lunch Captain Awesome came out in some traditional attire to show us his coconut tree climbing skills and the uses the local people have for the various different types and parts of a coconut. Captain Awesome was actually the cross island champion in a recent competition for climbing the coconut trees. He literally scaled the thing in about 4 seconds and said that the ones in the competition were pushing 30 meters tall. The uses and tastes of coconuts were amazing and it really made you appreciate the fact that nothing is wasted by the islanders. We finished the tour with a hermit crab race on the beach before heading back to drop off our stuff and wade back across the bay to enjoy the sun, sea and sand some more. We met a couple of kiwis who we hung out with in the afternoon before making some night time sand castles just down from our cabins - hilarious. Life is good in the cook islands and thankfully although the place has clearly been touched by tourists it's not overly populated and it still preserves it's culture. 

And we certainly experienced that culture the following day when we yet again had a random experience whilst waiting at the bus stop. As planned we wanted to make our way into town, but rather than take the bus a local pulled up in his car and offered us a ride for half the price. We knew it wasn't unknown to hitchhike on the island because it was so small but the ride we got was totally unexpected. He took us on the inner island road and was practically a tour guide of the various sights and people. Add to that he was perhaps the happiest guy we've ever come across and he even stopped to offer us a free banana and you've got a strange but wonderful experience. We eventually made it to Avarua and started to look at what it had to offer us. You typically had you gift shops and Internet cafe's, but what was great was the complete non-existence of any chain! Me and Woody picked up a big shop at the supermarket and we made our way back on the bus. Because we're here for 2 weeks it's nice to have the opportunity to buy foods you wouldn't normally to make some real meals. The remainder of the afternoon was again spent enjoying the sea before bumping into Captain Bob who generously gave us a massive slab of yellowfin tuna for our dinner! We cooked it up a treat and it was probably the freshest fish we'll ever eat - gorgeous! We then went and chilled out on the beach to watch the sun set and the moon rise. Because the sky is so clear here you're literally staring up  at a sky full of stars, it's beautiful.

The following day was a washout. Who'd have thought it rained in a tropical paradise eh? However, It didn't stop me and Woody. We were planning to trek the island route through the forest and up to needle point. George and Wild hired a pair of scooters to explore the island by road so we started by hitch hiking our way around to the town side so that we were walking back towards our hostel. We'd heard from the girls that the trek was a tough one and that we'd be scaling some huge peaks. Originally I thought that they were over embelishing the climb but I was soon proved wrong. It was steep, trecherous and god damn slippy with all the rain we'd got in the early hours. The climb was up through and across stunning terrain but over harsh rainforest land that had no clear pathways. They even provided you with ropes to assist some of the climb which was far from the cleared pathways I was expecting! Once we'd reached the top of the needle peak it all became worth it though. Standing in a cloud which, when it broke, revealed the most incredible views really brought a sense of achievement with it. Unfortunately, The decent wasn't much easier and I spent most of it on my backside slipping down the slopes covered in mud - I certainly need a new pair of trainers after that! We hitch hiked our ways back and after showering we decided to head into town to watch an island show that was at one of the bars. The show consisted of a band of drummers and ukeleles accompanied by the most amazing dancers ever. The men, or 'warriors' moved their legs with the beat whilst the women (wearing some awesome grass skirts and coconut shell bras) moved their hips. Quite simply, Shakira has nothing on them!

The next day was a fairly chilled one as we all scooted up the road to try a different part of the island for some snorkelling. The sea was simply filled with colour and it was if  you were swimming in a fish tank full of fish of all different sizes, shapes and colour. However, it was fairly chilly and we only stayed there for half the day before going off to do our own things. We met for dinner before getting ready for our first proper night out on the island. Avarua was only a moped ride away and we soon made our way into Trader Jacks to sample the live music. The town was relatively busy but it was nice to see a number of locals out enjoying themselves rather than it being packed with tourists. After a bit of a boogie and a few pints of the locally brewed beer we head onto another club where Wild (aka Beans) got himself an absinthe bomb - nothing like some spirits to get you in the mood! We eventually ended up in Staircase which was packed. Even Captain Bob and the crew were out in force and buying drinks for us. The night ended pretty randomly for me as I ended up losing sight of everyone and hitch hiking my way home. The only thing is though, the person i caught a lift from was completely hammered! Safe to say the journey was a little sketchy and I was glad he only did about 20mph the whole way back. A really nice guy though who told me loads about the island and it's people.

Sleeping in on the Cook Islands must be completely unheard of. I say that because we were all woken up at about 8ish by a local band going around the island on the back of their truck. I shouldn't complain anyway as it'd be a shame to miss the sunshine especially after we'd had an overcast day the day before. So we were all up early and after the customary morning porridge and toast it was off to the local Market to take in what produce of the local trade had to offer. Rarotonga has a Market in town on every Saturday and it is packed full of trades people from all over the island. The stalls  mainly consist of food, fruits, sarongs and ofcourse the black pearl jewelry that is so prominent here. The sun was shining and it was a great day so after walking around for a couple of hours we headed back to chill out on the beach and soak up the sun with the Kiwi's Kathryn and Christabelle. After letting our stomachs get the better of us we planned the most epic meal ever and cooked up a ton of food. We laid the table and even had a centre piece as we tucked into some 'sweet as' food. 

Maori church is simply incredible. I never thought I'd be typing that when i arrived in rarotonga but wow, me and George went along with kathryn and christabelle and it blew me away. The hymns and majority of the pastors message was in Maori but they had pieces in English too. They even welcomed the island visitors and put on a huge spread of food for us once the session had finished. I originally went along to see how the locals worshipped Christianity but took soo much more from the experience. Once it had all finished and we'd filled our stomachs full of grub we head back to have a nice relaxing afternoon on the island again. It was the Kiwi's last night on Rarotonga so we had plans to come back and go have some happy hour cocktails. Off to the local hotel and 8 different variations later we were all pretty happy and decided to have some fun giving piggy backs down the beach. After a face plant or two we got out the cushions and had ourselves a snuggle and stargaze - nothing better to finish an evening!

I appreciate that this is getting pretty long and the day by day summary might be a bit tedious. So congratulations if you've made it this far! It's Monday here now and me and George have spent the whole day on the beach chilling out and cracking on with our books. We're now sat in with another couple of awesome people we've met as they teach us yoga, give us an itinerary for New Zealand and we scruitinize their music. Their names are Aly and Sarah and they're from New Zealand and America but know one anotrr from the time Aly spent in NZ. They (along with Kathryn and Christabelle) have convinced me that Kiwi's are officially the nicest people we've come across since going away. Offers of places to stay, all the information we've been given and just the most bubbly people around. It's no surprise so many people emigrate there! It's hard not to get excited about it now but we've still got around a week here to enjoy.

The next day was a bit of a washout. I shouldn't be too disappointed because although we are in their winter the temperatures are still around 24-26 irrespective of the weather. The good news was that Dan (not Ben) and Sarah had arrived and they came down to visit us before we decided to head into town for a bite to eat and a browse. George and Woody bought themselves a massive burger called the paradise burger which literally stood at about a foot high. We didn't do much other than that though because the weather was a bit of a disappointment - and what made it worse was a storm came over on the evening which postponed our deep sea fishing till Saturday! The storm was like nothing I've ever seen - listening to the thunder crashing and watching the lightning flash up the grey sky was comforting and alarming at the same time. 

And it's true what they say... The calm after the storm was unreal. The lagoon was sucked out and had clearly been hit by the gusts of wind. However, the weather was hot and the water motionless as the rain drained itself from the mountains. We had a really chilled out day once more and spent most of the day sunning on the isle. I risked not using sun tan lotion and seemed to suffer minor consequences on the evening - yes mum, I never learn! In the evening we went around the island to watch the sun set. It was gorgeous, a mixture of reds, oranges and yellows breaking through the clouds as the waves crashed in. Mind you, to take it all in we did have to hitch hike through about 6 different cars and vans just to see it. Because the sun sets early in roratonga we then went to the point to enjoy their English pub night with happy hour all night - needless to say we had a few cocktails! 

Wehay, the burn turned to tan. Maybe an Englishmans skin can adapt to the warmer climates! On the Thursday we had our much anticipated Coconut quad bike tours arranged. The brochure said it was a thrill filled tour which took you into the heart of Rarotonga, and by god it didn't disappoint. We all suited up and familiarised ourselves with the quads before tour guide 'the man' Tony took us down a variety of offroad tracks into the jungle. The first couple of paths were tame-ish but still put you through your paces as you cut across harsh terrain. We stopped in places where Tony explained about the water supply, local wildlife and plants which was really interesting. But the main fun was to come as he lead us around to the most challenging route which took us in and out of streams, up 45 degree mud slopes and right into the thick of the rainforest. You fight to stay on you quad in places as you gun up and down the trail stopping to admire the incredible views of lush tree covered mountains. Beans had a little trouble in places but we all managed to get around in one piece before we stopped for photos and a much needed 'bath' in one of the water pools. We all came out relatively clean before Tony taught George how to wheelspin his bike whih lead to a huge spray of mud heading in my direction. Nice way to get yourself a free mud bath... Definitely beats paying one of the spa's! Overall it was a fantastic tour and I'd thoroughly recommend anyone to go on it, whatever the weather. The rest of the day we spent in our usual fashion after cleaning out the mud from all those nooks and crannys you didn't know existed!

And so onto Friday and time for tattoo number 2 of the trip. This time it was Beans to go get some ink as he went for a Mauri design on the back of his leg to symbolise travelling. Unfortunately me and George didn't manage to make it into town quick enough to witness the winces of pain but the end product was absolutely amazing. The artist apparently free hand tattoo'd the turtle design on to Beans calf. It's meant to symbolise our travels and the individually designed arms and legs represent each of us. After we'd all signed the tat with our seal of approval Woody went off to his scuba diving appointment whilst me and George went out to sea to try and reach the crashing waves at the edge of the lagoon. It was clearly a bad idea with no reef shoes as we were soon treading on bits of broken coral - ouch. We all then geared up for a night on the town where we hit the familiar spots of Trader Jacks and Rehab. However, this time Rehab was a little busier as the All Blacks were playing the Springboks and they had it on big screen. They also had a dubstep DJ who was playing really chill out stuff which didn't really give people much to dance to.

And so came the morning of our big fishing trip. Me and George had been really looking forward to some deep sea fishing since arriving in rarotonga but due to weather and double bookings we'd postponed it until our second last day. Up at 6am and strolling down to the small marina as the sun started to rise. The 4 of us were on a 8 meter boat which would be trawling around the island for big game fish. It was one of the first times most of us had been out to sea on a smaller boat and it wasn't long before we were crashing through waves and being rocked back and forth all over the shop. Woody and George didn't exactly find their sea legs but Capt. Beans was in his element as we voyaged off past the lagoon. Unfortunately we were really unlucky and didn't catch a single thing. Calls from the boats radio let us know that other boats had landed 32kilo yellowfin tuna though. We did have a quick bite but the fish was gone before any of us got the chance to try and reel it in. I'd be lying to say I wasn't gutted about not catching anything but at the same time the experience was fantastic and the views of the island were stunning. Hopefully we'll get the chance to go again later in he trip and our luck may fair better. But anyway, after the early disappoitment the legendary Captain Bob gave us some cooked up fish and sausages to ease the pain. Safe to say the relaxed afternoon in the sun was very welcome to catch up on sleep. On the evening we simply chilled out in the hostel with a ton of new guests that had arrived, but also had the sad farewell to Ali who we'd met earlier in the week. As I'm sure I've said before, it's strange saying goodbye to someone you only just met, but it's nice to know you'll stay in touch over facebook and other means.

And so onto our last day... After getting up early to catch the solar eclipse and the first half of the world cup final we realised we couldn't check out before the suposed 10 o clock because the office didn't open till 11 - good ol' island time! So we simply rolled up some the picnic bench and hung out with Papa 'Captain Awesome' Jack playing some cards and French bowls. 

I've had the time of my life in Rarotonga and I won't forget the tours, people and most of all it's unique culture and way of life. The local people are some of the friendliest people I've ever met and it's made me realise that being open and welcoming just gives you a great sense of well being. On top of that you're in a tropical paradise surrounded by turquoise sea, incredible rainforest and the sun never fails to shine.

I hope the blog didn't end up too long and I'll try keep them up more regularly when we get to New Zealand. 

Nick x