NEWS # 033
Hi everyone!
The next day I have arranged to go on a Lagoon cruise, with Bishop's
cruises. The lagoon is huge at about 20 km across! It isn't very deep and is
surrounded by coral reef.
No-one surfs here yet and I have been unable to
bring my board out as the luggage limits on the plane don't allow it. Watch
this space for future surf trips out this way.
Bishop's cruise to the islands ... a different sort of bird!
We do some excellent snorkling and then visit the island on which they
filmed the Castaway series.
We then lunch on One Foot Island and I send some
postcards home. It is a great day out and well worth the 20 quid.
the dining room - One Foot island
Over the next few days I move down to Josie's and chill as there's nothing
else to do.
Olivia and I cruise around and in the evening several of us get
a lift down to the Crusher bar to eat and drink. The taxi costs three pounds
each, return! I can just see that happening at home.
crossing Aitutake Reef on the way back to Raro
The last night, we return to the Crusher bar and invite our landlady to join
us. We leave the bar at two, unable to party any more and our landlady comes
home at three!! We fly back to Rarotonga the next morning. Aitutaka is
lovely but there is very little to do and I have to leave before I go mad.
We move back to Vara's and Olivia and I are lucky enough to be given a
studio to share with two more people, for the price of a dorm. Luxury indeed
and the first warm shower for four months!
my buddy Oli
Eventually, the wind changes and I am greeted with the sight of three foot
perfection breaking on the other side of the only channel out through the
reef. There is no-one out but I can wait no longer and after discussing the
way out with a couple of locals I head out alone. For the next hour I score
some excellent, hollow, headhigh waves and I am eventually joined by a local
guy called Res, small world, seems that you find them everywhere!
Res had
snapped a board at the break the day earlier. We get some fun waves and
gradually the crowd builds and I get out after about three hours.
Avarua Passage works at last .....
..... with three guys out
I go back to the hostal and my friend Olivia says that I appear a different
guy after my surf and not as depressed looking! I have to agree and smile
for the rest of the day. The break is very tide dependent and I can only
surf one time that day.
The next day follows the same pattern and I am the first in again. After an
hour, Res paddles out and asks if I have seen the Shark? What shark, I ask.
He tells me that about ten minutes after I had left, him and another guy
became the only people surfing the right as all the other people had moved
over to the left, next to where you get into the water. A tiger shark had
then come over to have a look at them. They had both surfed straight up the
reef and got out on the island for about half an hour until the shark had
moved off again. Then they had paddled like crazy across the channel. Adds a
bit of spice to life!
Thankfully, I didn't get eaten, stand on a stonefish or get too cut up by
the coral during my time in the Cooks. I had a great time and was sad to
leave. I will miss Olivia, Crazy Jon, the Canadian and Helen the Beer
monster who made me laugh! I will also miss Lilly and Poco, from Tiare
Village, who were the perfect hosts.
I left the Cooks on the 0045 flight to
Auckland - and wished I hadn't, as the temperature was 20F colder!
Seeya,
Halesy