Yesterday we booked to do a boat trip around the lagoon, which was breathtaking. Our first stop was on Honeymoon Island, where we saw some kind of Tern (bird) that is only found here and has a bright red beak and tail. Lunch was BBQ tuna on Tapuaeta'i (One Foot Island). The remainder of the day was spent snorkelling and walking along remote beaches and sandbars. Words are not going to do this lagoon justice, so you'll have to wait until I manage to get so...

Just a quick line to say HI!! Internet so slow, so frustrating, soooooooooo expensive, I'm afraid you're going to have to wait a while!! Cook Islands stunning and cooler and less humid than Fiji - thankfully. Boat trip around the lagoon tomorrow. Will write soon, I promise, when conditions are better. S xx

Today we checked out of the hostel in Rarotonga and headed to the airport to try and get to Aitutaki, which we did by booking to fly with Air Rarotonga at 1530. The flight took 50 minutes and we were met by the customary ukelele player!! We hadn't booked anywhere to stay, but got on a shuttle bus and ended up at Rino's Beach Bungalows, with a room with kitchen area, our own bathroom, 2 beds as well as a ceiling and pedestal fan! Oh and HOT water - hurrah. ...

We flew out of Nadi in the evening of the 2nd and arrived in Rarotonga at about midnight on the 1st, having crossed the international date line. At long last I've got back all those hours I've been losing along the way! Rarotonga is the largest of the 15 islands that comprise the Cook Islands and is home to the capital, Avura. The population is about 14,000 and the people have close links to the New Zealand Maoris. The total land area is only 241 square k...

Yesterday we checked into Mareani's Backpackers next door to the resort and managed to get our own room, with a fan. The only probelm being that the power was pretty temperamental and kept going off, not ideal when the room was like a little sweat box even when the fan was circulating the humid air. The communal bathroom door closed with a rusty nail and there was only cold water in the dripping shower - oh well! All meals were included in the price of the roo...