03/09/2016 Cook Islands # easy going on Rarotonga

After more than a week, we have the first rainy day on Rarotonga. Finally an opportunity to sit down and type again. The initial concerns about the lack of WiFi on site have also been dispelled after buying a BlueSky Sim Card. For 49 NZD, you get 200 SMS, 30 free minutes, even abroad, and 3 GB of data, which is completely sufficient for our purposes.

The island is a lot of fun. It's not only the pleasant climate, we always have around 25°C in the winter, but also the incredibly relaxed lifestyle of the locals. There is no stress anywhere, which of course also has a pleasing effect on the tourist visitor. The best example is the traffic. Driving on German roads at night is not nearly as relaxed as here during rush hour. There is no pushing, no honking, no need to be the first. Well, here you don't usually cover long distances either. The road that goes around the island is only 32 km long. But at home, that can be enough for several near-death experiences. There are no traffic lights here either, just like there are no McDonald's branches, which is a good thing.

Apparently, there is also almost no crime here. You can leave your vehicle unlocked somewhere for half a day and the backpack will still be there.

This time we are staying in a villa about 50 meters from the beach. The fitted kitchen is almost standard. But what we especially appreciate is the washing machine that we have here. After a few days of being on the road, our clothes have been through a lot.

Shona and Paul Lynch, our landlords, are very warm-hearted people. After we moved into our accommodation (the key was under the doormat), we received a phone call shortly afterwards, asking if everything was to our satisfaction and if the beer they kindly put in the fridge for us had the right brand :-) Occasionally, they also drop by for a chat. Paul, with his German-Irish roots, is usually mischievous and always in a good mood.

Since we have no time pressure, we can live wonderfully from day to day. Lying lazily on the terrace or the beach or exploring the area in a relaxed manner. Actually, after about 4 weeks, we have reached the point where we would normally go back home. It's a nice feeling to know that it's still a long way off :-)

Here you can rent a scooter or small motorcycle for 16 NZD per day. The smaller version is enough for us to cruise around in a relaxed manner. Since 2014, you don't even need a local driver's license if you have a national class A. It would have been a nice souvenir, but it saves us half a day at the authorities and a driving test.

We have already driven around the island several times. Actually, there is always something new to discover. And if you're tired of the main road, you simply switch to the old road that runs parallel to it, which is also almost continuously accessible around the island. You don't find many tourists there either. Only occasionally a few barking dogs if you get too close to a private property. But they usually have more fear than patriotism.

It's a pity that there are no drivable paths through the interior. The hilly landscape would certainly have offered one or the other worthwhile photo motif. The inland tracks are easy to walk, but unfortunately we don't have our hiking boots with us. Instead, we have dedicated ourselves to the national sport. A rugby match in a tropical environment is something special. A half time is enough though, if you don't understand the rules...

A popular tourist attraction is the daily arrival of NZ 46, a Boeing 777-200 of Air New Zealand, around 3:20 p.m. The approach to Rarotonga crosses the coastal road just seconds before touchdown at a height of less than 50m. Usually a few onlookers gather at this spot to get a new hairstyle from the jetblast at deafening noise. It looks quite impressive when the giant bird seems to be standing above you for a moment and you can see the logo on the pilot's sunglasses :-)

Of course, we also went diving again. This time with Sabine and Sascha, two German expats, and their Big Fish Divecenter. The dive sites are somehow similar, mostly bizarre landscapes made exclusively of stony corals. Not without charm, admittedly, especially the small canyons or caves have something special, but not as rich in fish as we expected. However, we saw a Spanish dancer for the first time. For the last dive, there was a special highlight. After swimming through a small cave, we were already on our way back to the boat when James, our guide, suddenly stopped and pointed alternately to his stomach and ears. Finally, we all heard it, the song of whales, and it seemed to be very close! Indescribable. The deeper bass tones actually made our stomachs vibrate.

Sascha, our skipper, later said that a female humpback whale with a calf had been only about 20-30m away from us. Unfortunately, we couldn't see them underwater, as the visibility in the blue water was too poor. At least we finished the dive in time to be able to observe the two giants from the boat for a while on the way back. Amazing. Actually, we were expecting to see whales in Tonga. Now that we know they are here, we keep an eye out for them every day on the beach. During the time of the nursery, the animals are fairly sedentary. We have already seen them again twice, but too far away to take decent pictures. Well, Tonga is not far away anymore.

A great invention is the Saturday weekly market Punanga Nui in the capital Avarua. Not that we have a particular fondness for markets. But this one is special. A bakery stand that offers real dark bread. After several weeks with only baguettes or soft white bread, it's an absolute pleasure! That's why the yellow lightning had to defy the pouring rain again this morning. It's our last Saturday on Raro and who knows when there will be something like this again. :-)

We still have three days to spend on this beautiful island before we continue to Tonga via Auckland. Finally, the rain stops. I think I'll do the same.