Rarotonga Day 220

Rarotonga is a tiny but beautiful island completely catering to the whims and fancies of tourists. Most of the hotels are fantastic and the beaches just long stretches of clean white sand, the sea is clear and warm with heaps of fish and giant clams which I find fascinating. Life is spent wandering on beaches, leisurely searching for delicious food in new and interesting restaurants, snorkelling and swimming and generally cruising arond. Sounds like heaven...

There is a down side, All of us are a little travel weary; all the kids want to do is stay in the hotel room and laze around with their toys and the TV. Trying to tempt them with exotic beaches, colourful fish, coconut palms and all things tropical is greeted with a weary response - oh but we have done that, or we don't want to keep going out, we want to bod around and not "go out". Sigh. The other down side (yes there are two) is that the hotel is cruddy and we have signed up and paid for the full 8 days. The pool is tiny (and cold - how is that possible?) the room small and stark, the hotel cramped and gloomy, the food dreadful and the beach is rocky with waves (unlike the rest of the island where the beaches are fab and the sea calm and tranquil. Towards the end of our stay I realise that there are also no views to speak of and I can not see the sky from my window and this jaundices my view about the place. Fortunately the staff are lovely which helps a little, and happy hour exists each evening, so cocktails at sunset become a favourite ritual whilst the kids swim in the pool (again).

Another night flight to Fiji awaits us and soon we set off at midnight for the airport and our penultimate destination...