A quick jump from New Zealand to Cook's Islands – a hidden corner of the Pacific
A trip to New Zealand can easily be a unique and unforgettable experience. A month is about enough to see most of what this beautiful land has to offer. A land of thousands of natural wonders will impress every traveler. The green mountains, beautiful glaciers, national parks, crystal clear lakes, long abandoned sand beaches, adrenalin sports and friendly people are just a few of the things that describe New Zealand, that all who visit the land agree upon. This is the land of the long white cloud, as the native Maori call it.
We started at Auckland, which is the most populated city on the Northern Island and ended up in Christchurch on the Southern Island. To make it more fun and interesting we traveller the whole month in a van, where we mostly also slept. Only every now and again did we decide to get a bit more luxury and sleep at a camp or a hostel.
If you get to New Zealand it’s hard not to imagine jumping on one of the smaller islands nearby. The air fare is much cheaper than going from there from home. After a month it was thus time to leave New Zealand and go to a paradise island… but it still wasn’t easy saying goodbye. From Christchurch we had a flight back to Auckland and from there we headed to Cook’s Islands. If you’ve ever wanted to get away from it all, go to a remote island where you’ll lose the sense of time, away from the hectic life, and just dive in the clear greenish-blue sea, the Cook’s islands are the right choice for you!
From Auckland we took the Jetstar air company to Rarotonga, which the natives also call “the crown jewel.” Cook’s island consist of 15 smaller islands and Rarotonga is the largest and most inhabited among them, featuring rocky mountains, green jungle and long sand beaches. A true paradise on Earth. Administratively the islands are under the jurisdiction of New Zealand, so we could still use the same currency. Upon arrival we were already met by friendly locals, who took us to our hostel. Despite being tired, we put down our backpacks and followed the sound of the sea in the darkness. Just a hand throw away the full moon has lit the sands of the beach. We sat down for a moment to hear the whispering of the waves.
We spent the first day to explore the island and since it is so small, we chose bicycles as the best mode of transportation. We crossed the whole island in less than two hours and on the way found a spot we decided to become our very own beach and stopped to take a swim, lay in the sand on the sun and snorkel. Cook’s islands are just perfect for snorkelling, and you can borrow the equipment right there on the beach with local vendors. The heavenly blue, clear, warm sea will impress you with the coral reefs and fishes of numerous colours that are neither scared or shy, for they do not avoid the swimmers and keep on with their business while you admire their colours.
It’s a special experience to visit the Punanga Nui Market – the local market – which is held each Saturday. From morning until evening you can walk amidst stands of local food and homemade product, all from local resources. You can see the arts and craft of the local people and enjoy the traditional dances, which are organized for the visitors. The food is very exotic, but I do have to warn you, that it is really spicy. Understandably the fish is the main ingredient in their cuisine. Traditionally they prepare food by cooking it underground. They dig a hole and heat it with hot rocks, on which they put layers of food. The most famous dish is the »matu rori« - the sea cucumber, which they serve with lemon and boiled bananas. Also it’s good to know, that they eat most of their food with their hands.
Since both my sister and I love hills, we took the oportunity to head inland and made a little trip on our own. There’s a beautiful hiking trail leading over the island, taking you through the green jungle. It takes about four hours to walk along it and it takes you pass the incredible rocky peaks called the Needle. Once we reached the top, we simply had to stop to soak in the beautiful view of the island coastline and all the beaches. We’ve concluded the trip on the other side of the island, where we found many abandoned buildings, while exploring the less touristy parts of the island. Later on we discovered, these were planned to become a large and luxurious tourist resort, but the project got cancelled, due to the lack of tourists.
Despite the small size of the island, our week was over really quickly and we had to leave. We still had an afternoon off before the flights, so we decided to walk from the hostel to the airport. The friendly people kept stopping and asking us if we need a ride, but we thought the walk was a better choice, especially when we found a bar along the way, that was serving our favorite coffee brand – Lavazzo. This was just the icing on the cake of our trip to the Cook’s islands, which was truly remarkable and unforgettable!
