Island Hopping Day 20: Rarotonga, Cook Islands

I woke up still feeling blah. I was up and down all night and at 1am took a sleeping pill which helped me rest better. My throat is still on fire, but I don’t see any signs that it’s more than a sore throat. I keep doing what I can and hopefully it’s better soon!

 

Today we are in Rarotonga, Cook Islands.  The Cook Islands is a self-governing island nation in free association with New Zealand. Rarotonga is just one of 15 islands that make up the Cook Islands archipelago.
 
I often found myself thinking about the show Survivor.  I just knew Jeff Probst would walk around the corner.  I had to go search and 20 years ago Survivor was in the Cook Islands filming season 13.
 
I am doing an island discovery tour. It’s a small island and the perimeter road is only about 30 kilometers and takes about an hour to circle the island.
 
It is also Sunday so nothing is open! I wish cruise lines would plan better and have sea days on Sundays and port days when places are open. I just walked around for an hour before my tour. 

The beach was full of large rocks.  Thankfully it is overcast and a nice breeze but you know I’m still hot and sweaty.

 
Our excursion had a Chinese tour group of 15 people and all they did was talk so loud and couldn’t hear the guide; I was super annoyed.  I should have complained.
 

Muri Beach and Muri Lagoon . . . this seemed to be the place to be!  The southeast side of the island had amazing beaches.  

A quick stop at a sacred ground where the chief would meet and only family is allowed on this ground.

A stop at a beach overlook.  We had very little time so couldn't walk down.

 

Probably the biggest waste of a tour. Since it was Sunday, we didn’t stop at the museum. Our only stops were a beach, sacred ground, beach overlook, and a lovely family hosted a stop with a snack of local fruits and cakes.  I chatted with the people about the foods they were serving and then walked the beach which was super rocky.  I was amazed at how different the beaches were at each side of the island.

It’s always a gamble with ship excursions.  I could see returning to the Cook Islands, but these places are so isolated and hard to get to with limited flight schedules.  I am not a sit around for a long time and relax kind of person.  But will say the Cook Islands were surprisingly beautiful!  

At least the sunset from the ship was amazing!