Home and Away in Rarotonga

Fewer than four hours' flight from the depth of a New Zealand winter is an exotic paradise where Kiwis readily feel at home, LOUISE MATTHEWS reports.

Standing knee-deep in a warm, turquoise lagoon, feeding bread to amazing coloured fish, it's hard to imagine why anyone would consider Rarotonga the "poor man's Tahiti".

Equally in the weekly tour of the island's nightspots where, quite frankly, the RSA is rocking, it's a particularly sweeping lack of imagination which describes the island as a "a place to bring your knitting".

They are all dated Kiwi perceptions of the South Pacific tropical island which is experiencing a tourism boom in terms of visitors from the Northern Hemisphere - and Australia.

This little paradise is fewer than four hours' flight from Auckland and, while exotic, retains several influences which make a Kiwi feel strangely at home. The currency and language are the same, as are most of the goods in the shops and supermarket (imported as they mostly are from New Zealand).

The hibiscus flowering everywhere might not excite us as much as other visitors, but the banana palms actually fruit successfully here. Heck - you can even get the New Zealand Herald here (the day after) or watch the TVNZ news every night, although to do so might be defeating the object of getting away from it all and experiencing a different culture.

And that's really the point of coming to Rarotonga. Visitors are encouraged to slip into "Cook Island time" by walking up the beach and coming back at half the pace.

It's not hard to do when the island is surrounded by a beautiful lagoon, whose green contrasts with the deep blue of the ocean just beyond the reef where the sound of crashing waves lulls constantly in the background.

Unlike some other South Pacific Islands, there are plenty of good, coral-free swimming areas, although it pays to check your accommodation is near to one such if you fancy slipping into the sea at all times. If not, you hardly have to go far - the island is only 32km in circumference. You can get around it by the bus which runs clockwise and anti-clockwise about every half an hour from the main township of Avarua for $4 return, with the tickets exhorting you to "please smile". Or you can hire a vehicle after getting your $10 Cook Islands driver's licence and even, when it's less steamy, hire a pushbike.

But by far the most popular mode of transport is a scooter. Tourists are undeterred by the many warnings and still manage to get themselves a "Rarotongan tattoo" - a leg burn from the exhaust - or other injuries from coming off due to mishandling/pig, dog or other people on the road/sharp corners/hedges. Just count how many limp off the plane back home.

Snorkelling is addictive and accessible here. You don't need to paddle or float far to be rewarded with a non-stop visual underwater feast. Myriad brightly coloured fish of all shapes are busy among the coral - unforgettable sights include about 50 angel fish browsing en masse or bright blue starfish the size of dinner plates. When the water's still you may not even bother putting the mask on - it's so clear you can see the fish anyway.

If you get bored with soaking up the sea and the sun, Raro offers a few more entertainments these days. They range from a 4WD safari of the inner island, with its dramatic, rocky mountains, or guided, educational tramps, to a pony trek through lush taro and banana plantations to long, white beaches and a warm, thigh-deep ride through the lagoon.

Several hotels, such as the Rarotongan Beach Resort, host Island Nights, with the unveiling of an umu (hangi) of traditional island food and breathtaking traditional dancing and singing from top local groups whose members have cast aside their often professional day jobs to don colourful costume. It's for everyone - from children just learning, to svelte men and women, and larger "mamas" wearing bright, full-length dresses. Traditionally, fat was beautiful here, although

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Caption1: BLUE LAGOON: You don't need to paddle far to be rewarded with a visual underwater feast.


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Head1: Home and Away


Body1: Western influences have permeated over the years.

With the risk of being grabbed to dance on stage, too - always a highlight for the locals - it's advisable to take advantage of any day activities your hotel offers in teaching dance - it's a lot harder than it looks. At resorts such as the Rarotongan, and even smaller places, you can try your hand at weaving, making eis (flower garlands) or playing the pate (hollowed-out slit drums).

Even with all this, it's worth paying an early trip to the Cook Islands Cultural Village in Aorangi where you'll be enjoyably taught about traditions such as Maori medicine, weaving, history, carving, cooking, dancing and singing. Kiwis will enjoy hearing about how the great waka migration to New Zealand stopped off at Rarotonga, and how they continued their journey with an extra vaka from the island. You can visit the historic departure point at Ngatangiia Harbour on the eastern side of the island.

You'll also come away from the island knowing more about coconuts than you ever thought possible. While a skilled local makes it look simple to dehusk one on a sharpened stick in a matter of seconds, you are likely to find your arms aching after several minutes when all you have managed to do is stab your coconut several times. It's sobering to hear the local champion is a middle-aged woman.

A tourist highlight is watching the Piri Puruto III, "the Master of Disaster", who must be hitting 60, shin up the tallest coconut palm he can find in 16 seconds to stand precariously on the top, as part of his educational display. At the Rarotongan, the lads in the activities centre come off duty to perform a similar feat on a smaller tree.

They are also among the guides of a popular Friday night tour and while it does end up at a couple of disco bars where local youth stay in touch with overseas techno-trends, the highlights include the RSA and the Golf Club. There, garlanded locals are having their own party and don't mind the intrusion of a bus-load of bewildered but happy tourists.

Another stop involves the visitors competing in the male and female island-dancing category and, watching several locals convulsed with hysterics, it's hard to say who enjoys it most.

This is still the attraction of Rarotonga - it's geared for tourism, but has retained the essence of its friendly culture, a curious mix of island tradition and Victorian missionary influence, which visitors can enjoy in their daily dealings with locals.

Every Sunday beautiful white coral churches are filled with worshippers, also mostly in white, the women wearing not eis but the rito hats, hand-woven from bleached pandanus leaves.

If the churches had rafters, they'd be lifted by the dramatic singing. And visitors are welcome though skimpy beach dress is not acceptable.

There's a wide-range of accommodation from bargain backpackers' hostels, to self-catering family lodges and resort hotels.

You can bring packaged food, such as breakfast cereal, from New Zealand (but don't forget to declare it), to counteract the cost of buying imports, but local food, including freshly baked bread (and freshly caught tuna), is fairly reasonable at the stores. And a whole papaya at 60 cents is delicious compared to $7 in one Auckland supermarket this week.

The Saturday market is a place to enjoy drinking and eating coconuts and trying a huge range of $5 dishes. Temperature ranges aren't extreme, from the top 20s and high humidity in January, to mid 20s in August. With its high mountain range, tropical downpours aren't uncommon, but if you're on the beach there's an easy way to deal with these: stick your belongings under a rock and slip back into the warm water to do more snorkelling.