Saturday 28th June

Today saw us taking to the water with Suzanne going on a local glass bottom boat cruise and Nikki flying off to Aitutaki for a lagoon cruise.

Phil was the tour leader for Aitutaki – a cross between David Hasselhoff and Tom Jones. More than a few of the 10 Student Teachers from Melbourne snapped photo’s of him throughout the day and compared them when he wasn’t looking. He was a great character, the perfect tour guide, who along with the rest of the crew gave us an absolutely wonderful day.

The waters in the lagoon are a multitude of turquoise colours – pure beauty. We visited Moturakau where the British ‘Shipwrecked’ program was filmed, before dropping anchor near large coral formations for snorkeling. Here we were able to see one very large giant clam – apparently imported from the Great Barrier Reef – and three smaller giant clams. We were honoured with the sighting of two turtles before heading to One Foot Island (Tapuaetai).

Lunch was a smorgasbord of traditional and modern foods and the tuna was to die for, with one girl saying she had three helpings, even though she was full, because it was so unbelievably good. Aside from the Aussie students (2 of whom were South African), fellow passengers consisted of 2 retired couples from New Zealand and a group of travel agents, also from New Zealand on a whirlwind trip of the Cook Islands. This was the last of their 4 day trip in which they had visited 15 hotels on the first day.

As we prepared to return to Rarotonga some were thinking of future holiday plans back on Aitutaki. Other comments included: “I know where I’m going for my honeymoon”, “Rarotonga is going to be blah after this”, “I just want to stay and sleep on the beach”. Personally I’ve decided no-one should visit the Cook Islands without going to Aitutaki.

Phil advised us that the whales have apparently arrived with two guides having seen some humpbacks from the Whatever Bar.

Suzanne’s cruise took her to various points within the lagoon surrounding Rarotonga, viewing the wildlife through a glass bottom boat. She also took to the water with snorkeling gear and got ‘up close and personal’ with the locals.