Kia Orana…
I arrived in Rarotonga after a short journey from Sydney. It was my longest Saturday, I started on Saturday at 9PM in Sydney and landed in Rarotonga at 7AM… Saturday morning. That’s because the cook islands are just behind the date line.
The international airport is big for a small island but it still keeps it’s island living touch. From the big bustling city’s of Australia back into the island live time was a bit of a change but I really prefer it. Everything is goin at a slower pace, there is no stress and people are happy and very welcoming and after all it was warm again, jandals time. That’s how they call flip flops or thongs over here.
After a short nap I met up wt Paka, the main organizer for the competition and Paka Pearls shop owner. We went straight to the local market in town, it is a very colorful and busy one. They sell different kinds of local food, fruits and veggies here as well as the Polynesian style gifts to bring home like traditional wood masks, black pearls, sarongs...
It didn’t take me long to adjust to the island style again, and I met all the local kitesurfers down in Muri beach. Rarotonga is a round, volcanic island wt a reef all around it, at some spots it is very close to the beach and on other spots the reef is up to 800m outside the beach and inside are flat water lagoons some wt sandy bottoms and others wt coral heads spread out.
Muri beach is one of the places wt the lagoon inside the reef, two small islands are right in front of the beach which can create wind shadows. So the wind here is very dependent on the direction. I had a good session here, the visibility of the water is crystal clear, so u can enjoy just cruising around.
Another spot is just 10minute drive away, but the wind comes from the other direction since it is around the corner from Muri. This spot is close to the Rarotongan resort and it has a lot of coral heads inside the lagoon, so not really good for learning new tricks but nice to ride.
I spent the first nights in a hotel and then changed over to Conrads and Serena's place, which is Muri Hillside. It is located uphill of the kiteschool on Muri beach. From here u have a fantastic view over the bay. Conrad has a lovely family wt 4kidds, the family bond on the island is much bigger than I’ve seen it in any city or island before. The kids know how to behave and are very helpful in and around the house. Also check out his Koka lagoon cruise business down in Muri beach.
We had a lot of good dinners at his house and in all different kinds of restaurants on the island.
The best food I had here was at a place called island living. It’s not the usual restaurant place, it is more like a plantation wt a big family house where the cook only once a week for a group of max. 15-20people. I was lucky enough to get a invitation from the minister. The food is absolutely free of any kind of conservation crap. Everything is fresh out of the garden and the sea. The whole idea behind this plantation is to preserve the plants, fruits and vegetables that are growing in the Cook islands. There are many different kinds of limes and lemons, papayas, kaffir lime, mango trees and various types of local potatoes and roots.
The buffet meal is just the best that the island has to offer, a few food travel magazines just discovered it and gave em their highest notes.
I met wt a lot of people which are involved in the sailing federation of the Cook islands and in the OSF. It was actually very interesting to talk wt them and find out that the OSF and the Cook islands are far ahead of most other country's, the kitesurfing is included in the sailing federation and they will start a school project together wt New Zealand that will be held in Aitutaki. Students can study the history of transportation and sailing of the Polynesian islands, this will give em official points towards the final exams. The course will then also include kitesurfing.
This is definitely a step I the right direction, the ISAF is just to big, old and slow of an organization to keep up wt these kind of things, so it is very good to have people here that are actually taking action and not just talk about it.
The nightlife in Rarotonga is best on Wednesday and Friday night. Most nights everything shuts down at midnight, so start early or check out where the local style after partys are.
One of my best nights in Raro was wt the kite boys, we were just sitting on Muri beach and downing some beers when we've seen that there was a little party goin on over at the small island, so we took a couple of SUP boards out and paddled over wt some beers. The locals had set out a fish net in the evening, which we went to check at midnight wt a small boat and a torch and we picked about 20fish out of the net. The guys prepared right on the beach and put them fresh on the grill. That was probably the freshest midnight fish bbq i ever had. Surrounded by the stars a beer in hand and some music in the background... how could this get be any better? Maybe only wt the paddle back to the mainland without falling of our boards...
time to fly to Aitutaki...
Kia Manuia
helpful links for kiteboarding in the Cook Islands:
Kitesup, Kitesurfing school on Rarotonga, Muri Beach
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