I was really excited to arrive in Rarotonga or Raro as the locals call it. The hotel owner asked if I would buy her some tobacco on arrival and I figured it would be ok to do this. I'm glad I did it as she didn't charge me for having the room for another night. My flight back to Auckland was at the ridiculous time of 2.30am. I arrived at the busiest weekend of the Te Maeva Nui which is the constitutional celebrations. I saw the parade. It's not the best I've seen but the local islanders did try their best. It was all very amateurish but kind of cute. My hotel was close to town and my main mission was to find a bicycle. It took awhile and the hotel manager helped track down a bike albeit the fat tyre kind. It was the only one available on the island if you can believe it so I took it. I was riding a beast. I rode that bike all over the island. I stayed in Avaru town which didn't have great beaches. My so called beach front boutique hotel wasn't boutique or beach front. You couldn't swim only do reef walks. The hotel was old and run down but clean and staff helpful and friendly. I started to love my bike and rode it everywhere.
I soon found out that Muri town on the western side of the island has the best beaches but obviously way out of my price range which is why I was staying in Avaru. That didn't matter because I had my bike and I can get to anywhere on the island. I rode 30kms plus up to a rubbish waterfall near Whigmore stopping along the way. I was lucky to have the fat tyre for this trip to the waterfall as it was very rocky and bendy. I took a dip in the pool to cool off. At Muri beach I walked along it with the local dogs and played with them. There are too many stray dogs on this island. Every time I went to a beach I'd be joined by the local dogs. It's a good thing I love animals. The following day I rode the other way for another 30+kms. Most of the beaches was privately owned by a resort so no access. The beaches I did find you couldn't swim in it so only good for reef walking. It was quicker this side of the island and then it rained half way through my ride. I stopped at a local bakery for a cheesecake and then had to fix the chain on my bike. Then I rode to the airport for a quick free wifi and I missed the jet blast area when the plane flew in. Every time I heard a plane I didn't have time to ride to the jet blast area to get in the way of the blast and the rain didn't help either. I gave up and went back to the hotel. On Sundays the island is closed except for the odd store as everyone goes to church so lucky for me the bakery was open.
