Back on Rarotonga, we were picked up by our accommodation for the last 2 nights of our trip, Rarotonga Backpackers.  We were staying at the beachside (they also have a hillside location) and the waterfront bungalow ($80 US per night) was beautiful. The bungalows are up on stilts, with an unobstructed view of the ... (read more →)

The following day, our last chance for sun in Aitutaki, didn’t pan out much better than the previous days, unfortunately.  Gray and overcast. However, we were fortunate that the lagoon cruise we had arranged ( Glass Bottom Boat Cruise) turned out to be a private cruise around the lagoon: all other guests had cancelled ... (read more →)

The next day was our day to kayak on Ootu beach. The weather had other ideas however, and it rained almost all day.  We sat and played Scrabble. Ian won. 
The day wasn’t a total washout, however.  For dinner, we went out for our best meal of the trip at Tupuna Café, which was ... (read more →)

 Since every hotel was full of the crew for Survivor, we pretty much had the beach to ourselves.  We toured the island by bicycle – and saw no other tourists. There aren’t many sights to see around the island, but it was a pleasant way to spend an overcast day. 
We tried to eat at ... (read more →)

  Our stay on Aitutaki was unfortunately not very well timed.A lot of the lagoon was closed down due to the filming of Survivor: Cook Islands.  A couple of months before the trip I had spend several hours on the phone calling every hotel in Aitutaki desperately looking for any room, and we finally found ... (read more →)

Ian and I spent 3 weeks in the South Pacific, visiting Tahiti, Easter Island, and the Cook Islands. We finished up in the Cook Islands. We backtracked once again to Papeete where we stayed with our by-now good friend at Chez Myrna, and then it’s only a short 2 hour flight from Papeete to ... (read more →)

The first day, we saw some of the moai that are located close to town – in fact, they are right in front of the Mana Nui Inn (we could see some from our balcony!).  We saw Ahu Tahai, Ahu Akapu, and Ahu Tautira.  It was a great introduction, and took only 2 hours at ... (read more →)

My wife and I took a 3 week trip to the South Pacific in July of 2006.  We visited the islands of Bora Bora, Moorea and Tahiti in French Polynesia, followed by Easter Island (Chile) and finally Rarotonga and Aitutaki of the Cook Islands.
The flight from San Francisco to Papeete is not a very long ... (read more →)

We never managed to get either of our bank cards to work.  We have both Cirrus and Plus bank cards and they have worked faithfully all over the world.  We tried to withdraw money using both cards in several banks in Papeete, several more in Vaitape, Bora Bora, and yet more in Moorea.  They ... (read more →)

Our hotel was the Mana Nui Inn. They met us at the airport. Watch out when you arrive: They make everyone x-ray their baggage as you exit the airport (?!) and the machines are not guaranteed to be film-safe.  They will pass your film around without question however.
The Mana Nui Inn is located about a ... (read more →)