Pacific Island Anniversary - Cook Islands (A47)

[Bolthead]

VA 52 SYD-AKL

I thought it best to start a new thread for this trip report as the intention of this holiday has always been to celebrate 28 years (long years..) of marriage to Mrs. Bolthead. This trip started with us deciding to go to the Cook Islands as we heard a lot of good things about this country. So after the usual checking of package deals, flight prices and accommodation deals we decided to book flight and accommodation seperatley. As it turns out this was a good decison. We have booked at the Royale Takitumu Resort. Not your usual resort but one that had fantastic write ups in Trip Advisor. No restaurant or bar. More of a DIY resort. Exclusive Beachfront Accommodation Looking at flights we decided to book the ANZ direct flight from Sydney. It was cheaper than VA and obviously a direct flight so less hassles. At the time of the booking my wife insisted that we check any flights we could get with FFP's. I told her that it would be a waste of time however being the humble sex slave to my SWMBO I checked and sure enough VA had the cheap Y+ flights for about 10K points each way via AKL. At first I didn't believe it but a few minutes later and 40K FFP less we had booked our flight. The 'A47' was born.

With a seamless checkin process and thank god we had express passes as the queue through immigration snaked it way into the terminal for at least 100 meters. I have never seen that before. We are now in the Koru Lounge relaxing before the flight ahead. Despite the airport being very busy the lounge is very quite. Now for the flight to AKL.

 

[Virgin Bart]

All the very best for your trip mate! Keen to hear about it all, I'm off in August.

 

[serfty]

Was that the "Cool [Cook] Islands" or meant to be simply the "Cook Islands" in the title (which may or may not be Cool ) ...

 

[Bolthead]

Was that the "Cool [Cook] Islands" or meant to be simply the "Cook Islands" in the title (which may or may not be Cool ) ...

Thanks serfty... fixed.

 

[Bolthead]

Made it to AKL. Good flight and the food was OK.

Tried the Koru lounge and was rejected. There was another couple also rejected but not sure where they were going. The lady insinuated that an agreement may be signed soon... time will tell.

Vegetarian Meal was nice. Service was good and the staff were attentive, however no personal greeting. (wasn't looking for one) The gap was smaller than I remember with Y+.



Vegetarian Curry - nice


Thai Beef SWMBO - apparently tasteless

 

[serfty]

I was served something similar in PE MEL-AKL last Friday. It's what they give in economy to those VA / NZ pax on "Flex" / "Works".

I sent mine back and asked for an received a "Gormet Beef" pie instead (as a PE PAX you have the run of the BoB menu at no additional cost).

 

[Bolthead]

Something I forget to mention about our flight from SYD to AKL. We were originally suppose to fly out of gate 55 however unbeknown to us there was a gate change to 27. The flight was suppose to leave at 10:30 and at 10:20 I got a bit suspicious and when we enquired they said there has been a gate change. We then had to run from one side of the terminal almost to the other. Our names where called amongst others and when we got to the gate there was a bus waiting for us. I also got a phone call from Virgin staff looking for us. I didn't think SYD airport was that big to have buses (sorry my ignorance). Our plane (including a Jetstar plane) was parked in the air cargo area. Obviously because of this our flight was a good 30 minutes late.

Back to the trip....

So far the trip have been very relaxing.... our accommodation is fantastic and right on the beach. Being Sunday here we have just got back from church which was memorable. Being mothers day here as well my wife got a welcome kiss and a posse of flowers. I would recommend everyone including the heathens (only joking) out there to go to a church service here.

This is the church


This is our accommodation


This is the beach


The weather has not been on our side however it is warm, windy and thank goodness not humid....

 

[Flywithd]

Somehow I miss that island and that turquoise beach! Glad you are having a good time!

 

[Bolthead]

Today Tuesday it is still windy and we recently had a king tide. The water came past the beach and was lapping at the base of our bungalow. Plenty of debris around and unfortunately the water is a little cloudy for snorkeling. However undeterred we are still enjoying ourselves. Our mate from Adelaide arrived yesterday and we enjoyed lunch at Trader Jacks - a must do if you visit Rarotonga.Trader Jacks Bar & Grill Cook Islands

coughtail Hour at the Little Polynesian


We pick up our hire car today and then we are off to a polynesian cultural show tonight.

 

[Bolthead]

Well it's been a few days and we are now back home. I ran out of down load limit. Like most things in the Cook Islands the cost was high for buying down load time. I couldn't be bothered to buy more as I was enjoying myself too much doing nothing... I will let the balance of the photos do the talking however below are some observations and suggestions if you decide to visit this tropical paradise.

Most things are very expensive considering they have to import most things.
We had accommodation that had a small kitchenette and we took with us breakfast. We usually skipped lunch but that was because we tended to sleep in and ate a late breakfast. When it comes to food you can just about bring anything with you as long as it is packaged correctly and you declare it. We declared the cereal, biscuits and coffee and he didn't bother to check. If my memory serves me right you are only allowed 1 liter of alcohol per person. Alcohol is generally expensive in the shops but we found the beer to be comparable to Australian prices.

Try and get a discount coupon book. Most resorts will give you one when you check in. As well there are some free maps with coupons attached.

When booking into a restaurant ask if they have a pickup service as this comes in handy if you want a drink. Also it makes sense to book especially in the tourist season which starts now. Most restaurants have an outdoor section and these usually go first. The average meal cost is about $100 per couple and that doesn't include grog.

Hire car or scooter. You have to have a Cook Island drivers license which you get from the police station in town. $20 for 1 year and $60 for 5 years. If you pick up the car from the airport or car rental place they will issue you with a temporary license hat will cost $5 until you get the original from the police station. Make sure you take your passport with you as well as they won't give you a license just based on your Australian drivers license. The guy in front of me waited 30 minutes in the line only to be told to come back. Which reminds me. Either line up first thing in the morning or get your license late in the day. The lines are smaller then.

Cook Islands uses the New Zealand dollar however they do have their own coins. (you can use both) There are plenty of ANZ and Westpac ATM's on the island so don't worry if you run out of cash. We took $1200 NZ$ and only came home with coins. Didn't use the credit card for anything.

Petrol was about $2.60 per liter and for an example a 1.25 litre of coke cost $4.80.

Don't forget insect repellent, sunscreen and toothpaste.

There is one main road and a bus service circles in both clockwise and anti-clockwise direction. The buses are identified with these exact names. If you miss one in one direction another will be available in the other direction within 30 minutes. The free maps have the bus timetable. It costs $5 in one direction or $8 for the return. As long as it is the same day. Look out for the discount voucher.

Dress code: There isn't one. Considering the waiters and waitresses wear bare feet in a lot of restaurants don't be too concerned. Most resorts will have a happy hour but check as they are not all 50% off the price.

There are varying cultural shows and we went to 2. One was $85 each and included show and meal. (no drinks) Te Vara Nui: Cultural Village, Over-Water Night Show, Weddings, Genuine Cook Islands Culture Experience. or there is a more intimate one at the Crown Beach resort for $55 including meal. Welcome - Crown Beach Resort & Spa, Rarotonga, Cook Islands

The Cook Islands are more about chilling out rather than trying adventure sports etc... however there are the usual activities that you will find at other island getaways.

In a nutshell we loved the Cook Islands and would highly recommend it, especially for adults that want a relaxing, getaway from it all holiday.

 

[Bolthead]

More photos.....