Puttering Around by Rented Motor Scooter in Rarotonga, Cook Islands
Your rented scooter is slightly archaic but still completely charming in your eyes. You figure the mere NZ $110 (US $46) to explore Rarotonga on two wheels is still a rock-bottom deal. Besides, if you want to live like a local for a week, you reckon you must travel like one. Your dollar travels much cheaper here in the Cook Islands than in French Polynesia, so lavishly indulge your senses in the short 20-mile loop around the island. As an introspective traveler, savor the small island charm. Idle your bike in front of an open-air Polynesian shop; slow down to snap a picture of wandering wild chickens on the road; inhale the fresh frangipani blossoms, and quietly reflect upon life and lore in one of Raro’s overgrown hidden churchyards.
The mountainside is littered with curled ferns and emerald green vines. Exposed roots create step-like structures inviting me to explore the dense jungle. My guide, Pa, has a connection to the land like none I have ever seen. He makes the climb daily, barefoot, just to be immersed in this vibrant world. The vegetation is so dense it’s hard to see a way out, but trusting Pa, I follow to the summit. I’m faced with the welcoming call of the wind and pause to take in the surrounding views of cerulean oceans, crisp greens, and mountains. I breathe a moment, creating my own connection to this earth.
Slip off your watch, your shoes, your cares and immerse yourself in paradise at the renowned Rarotongan Beach Resort & Spa on the island’s best beach and crystal clear lagoon. Here on the island’s sought-after southwest sunshine coast you’ll discover the Aroa Lagoon Marine Reserve, a snorkeller’s paradise and Rarotonga’s best snorkelling spot where you can play with the jewel-coloured reef fish to your heart’s content (at all tides!). Join the resort’s friendly Activities Team to hand-feed the fish, go on a Night Snorkelling Safari, paddle a vaka (outrigger), husk a coconut, dance the ‘ura (hula), or make an ei (lei) – all as part of the resort’s wealth of complimentary activities.
The local island clown? Perhaps. But this clown is also a seasoned acrobat who dangles from 100-foot palm trees for a living. Piri Puroto III is the Coconut King of Rarotonga, and what makes his risky act even more remarkable is his age. You’d hardly believe this Cook Island native is almost 70 years old from the way he shimmies up giant palms in only a wig and a loincloth made out of coconut fiber. This legendary Coconut King also bears priceless knowledge of a dying culture. Piri is the only man left on the island skilled in making fire out of a stick and tree trunk. Stay for his entire show: the daredevil act is impressive, but his demonstrations of traditional fire lighting techniques and genuine reverence for an obsolete art are truly profound and humbling.
Your rented scooter is slightly archaic but still completely charming in your eyes. You figure the mere NZ $110 (US $46) to explore Rarotonga on two wheels is still a rock-bottom deal. Besides, if you want to live like a local for a week, you reckon you must travel like one. Your dollar travels much cheaper here in the Cook Islands than in French Polynesia, so lavishly indulge your senses in the short 20-mile loop around the island. As an introspective traveler, savor the small island charm. Idle your bike in front of an open-air Polynesian shop; slow down to snap a picture of wandering wild chickens on the road; inhale the fresh frangipani blossoms, and quietly reflect upon life and lore in one of Raro’s overgrown hidden churchyards.
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