It's not every day a full time rider such as me is offered a holiday to a destination that involves not one solitary horse to assess, ride or train. So when my generous supporters Erin and Warwick Mortimer invited me to spend a week at their luxury villa Te Manava in Rarotonga I jumped at the chance. Although I have seen much of the world, the Pacific Islands have never crossed my travel radar - so it was with great excitement I agreed to come.
Accompanying me on the journey would be Jenny, Heather, Diana and Chris - together they are known as the Matakana Collection - and they have about a four year history of horse ownership with me, firstly coming on board with Marceau and then again accepting a part in the ownership of Ali Baba. This lovely (if somewhat eclectic) bunch of ladies reside in Matakana and are all friends of Erin's.
The following is a diary of our all too brief Island Adventure.
Thursday 25th April 2013: It was an early start for me to pack my bikini and sarong and head to Auckland Airport where I met with the Matakana Collection for a few pre flight drinks. Air New Zealand flys into Rarotonga (which is in the Cook Islands) once a day. It was with great excitement that Erin met us at the arrival gates, presenting us with super fragrant frangipani lei's for that authentic island feel. The airport is almost as far from Te Manava resort as you can get - a full 20 minutes away by car. Rarotonga is indeed a very small atoll in the South Pacific Seas. Although I had seen the internet brochure for Te Manava and heard of its 5 Star beauty, nothing could quite prepare me for what awaited when I entered the Presidential Suite. It's a three bedroom affair, with a wonderful enclosed courtyard featuring a superb salt water pool, classy BBQ area and a wonderful outdoor dining room. The kitchen is huge and made for entertaining, enclosed by a bar with a tree as a pillar. A huge TV room and formal dining room are a feature, along with a partially enclosed deck that serves as a cocktail area. It is right on the beach at Mari - just stroll off the deck and into the water. My bedroom has a super-king bed and is delicious - and the room opens out onto the lagoon - with the sound of waves crashing onto the reef are what puts me to sleep at night - heaven truly is a place on earth... When I asked who had previously stayed here I was let's say, more than impressed. Sir Peter Jackson for starters, and many other famous celebrities followed. I was in good company. The highlight of our first night in Raro was undoubtedly watching the full moon rise over the ocean whilst downing Mojito's on the deck.
Friday 26th April: After a delicious two-course breakfast comprising of Pawpaw with lime juice and local passion fruit followed by super scrambled eggs on Vogels, a few of the crew including me went for a wonderful dip in the lagoon outside our door. Then it was off to explore the island. The chosen method of transport on the island is by scooter. So after a brief go at the local shops we hired scooters for those in the group that wanted them. That didn't include moi! Whilst I don't mind riding pillion, the whole riding a bike thing scares the living shite out of me. Scooters in Raro are only allowed to go 30 kms and hour if you are not wearing a helmet - and nobody does - or it's a 50km limit which also is a cars top speed if you did choose to wear one. To ride a scooter you need to get a licence from the Cook Islands Police station - an easy task. Shopping for clothes in Rarotonga is great, with T-Shirts, Swim suits, Sarongs and Dresses available ad lib. You won't find anything suitable for the harsh New Zealand winter here! I was really lucky that Erin shouted me a super Balinese Massage as a relaxing treat.
Trader Jack's is an institution on the island - both with locals and the ever present tourist crowd. Not only is it famous for indiscretions that occurred there with naked All Blacks, but it also boasts great night life where the locals and tourists come together to party. This was our dinner spot Friday night and we feasted on Pizza before setting the dance floor alight until the wee small hours - great fun!
Saturday 27th April: The thing to do on a Saturday morning on Rarotonga is to go to the market. Its huge, it literally seems like the whole of the Island population are there peddling their wares. There is yummy Island and European food, and arts and crafts galore. The best part was watching the traditional Cook Islands dance troops up on stage. Such colour and movement - it was a sight to behold. There were some kids on stage that were so young they were still in nappies - literally! And alongside their older cousins they entertained us for hours. That evening we went to the dinner and dance show Te Vara Nui - and once again the Cook Islands people and their culture blew us away. The show is performed out on the water with our dinner tables spread around the outside edges. The food was excellent and the traditional fire dancers brilliant - and the story they told was spellbinding. A must see for visitors to the island.
Sunday 28th April - I had every intention of heading along to one of the many local churches on the island to meet with locals and hear the wonderful gospel singing. However I kind of slept in and missed church. Not a good look to turn up late. So instead I went out for a kayak on the lagoon out from my bedroom accompanied by Diana. We paddled across to one of the small islands a wee-ways off shore and then went for a snorkel. It was only the second time in my life I had been snorkelling and I remember the first time taking on more water than oxygen at times. But Diana is a bit of a pro so she got my breathing technique sorted and we were away swimming! The waters are so warm here and the reef fish are amazing - it's like being privy to a whole new world. My favourite that day was a huge bright blue star fish, the likes of which I never knew existed. The downside was I got a bit sunburnt on my back and paid for that later on. Oh yeah - and sinking the kayak on the way home just added to the adventure!
Sunday lunch was had at a mighty little fish and chip shop just down the road called The Moorings - where we feasted on their famous smoothies and Mahi-mahi fish sandwiches served on fresh baked Turkish bread. Delicious. Warwick arrived with his grandson Fox late on Sunday afternoon - and we got treated to Masterchef Diana's dinner of lime infused Soba noodle salad with duck and Rukau - taro leaf which is cooked a bit like spinach with coconut cream and chilli. OMG!
Monday 29th April: Diana and I were joined by Chris on our snorkelling adventure today - and we went a little further down the beach to a spot that had been recommended to us, just out from Fruits of Rarotonga. This time we thought we would be clever and take a bit of Kai (food) for the fishies - bad idea - we got absolutely mobbed by hordes of fish who were a little too aggressive for my liking - no manners at all! We saw much bigger fish on this adventure - and many more varieties than we had seen the day before just a few hundred metres away.
That afternoon we were booked on one of the (in)famous Island Safari 4x4 Tours. Our tour guide is known on the island somewhat affectionately as Peter Useless, but he was a good guy with a great knowledge of all things Cook Islands. We bush bashed our way around the island, on both the coastal and inland roads (and sometimes off-road too!) and then we drove way up into the mountains for some spectacular views. One of the highlights for me was stopping off at the bay where the Maori of New Zealand are said to have set sail in the mighty waka that included Tainui, Aotea and Tokomaru as they set sail to inhabit Aotearoa, New Zealand. Dinner (as I seem to be doing a lot of food reporting) was a lovely BBQ at Te Manava - our Villa had a fantastic outdoor entertaining area poolside complete with BBQ, bar and small kitchen.
Tuesday 30th April: A small highlight of today was our second lunch at the Moorings - the famous little fish and chip shop just down the road from where we stayed. The Mahi-mahi sandwiches were again legendary and simply to die for. We had of course worked up a huge appetite at the shops before hand.
Dinner that night though was the true highlight and a really special treat as we got to go to the highly revered Island Living. Our hosts Louis and Mina invited us into their home and cooked up a storm. First though, Louis took us through his gardens - everything they cook is grown on site and it was amazing to hear about all the vegetables, herbs and plants we were about to consume! It was the ultimate in organic living, from garden to plate (including the succulant pork that has been hand fed!) The food was the most devine I think I have ever tasted and must have taken most of the day to prepare. As a starter out on the lawn we had wantons of pork, waterchestnut and shikaki musroms with kaffar lime juice dipping sauce. The main course was a smorgasboard with such delights as slow roasted pork belly with a fig marmalade and almond glaze. There was scrumtious tuna carpaccio, baked chicken wrapped in pandang leaf , pandang flavoured rice, black rice with mulberry, island coleslaw and roasted pumkin. I've probably missed something too. Dessert was gluten free chocolate brownie made from Coconut flour with a coconut and pawpaw side. To say we were full upon exiting that lovely house would be the biggest understatement - it was a food lover's heaven for sure.
Wednesday 1st May : This was such a fun day! After an early morning swim in the sea (by early we are talking 9am) I got a personalised motorbike tour of the Island from Warwick. There was no motor-scooter for us, but a proper motorbike - a very stylish made-to-look cool - 150cc bike that Warwick calls his "Hardly Davidson". Warwick grew up in Rarotonga and knows every nook and cranny and back road available. I heard great stories from his childhood and learnt a lot about the local way of life while I was at it. We headed to Trader Jacks again for lunch - and met Jack himself! After a wee afternoon nap to let lunch settle, Diana and I went out for one last snorkel. We swam right out to the outer edges of the lagoon this time - seemingly miles from shore. We saw even more varieties of fish, and a personal highlight was coming across a huge school of tiny tropical wee fishes as we swam over a coral outcrop. There must have been a thousand of the little fellas of all many different colours, shapes and sizes. A huge party was organised back at Te Manava for our final night. Guests included the Manager's of Pacific Resort, Westpac Bank, Cook Island Steel and so fourth - a real who's who of business men and woman on the Island.
Thursday 2nd May: This was to be our last day together in paradise. Erin shouted me to another wonderful massage and this time I even had a facial - such luxury! We visited another famous eatery called Tamarind House which was in former years owned by the family that ran CookIslands shipping and Warwick used to frequent this house as a child. It is now the most fantastic restaurant and once again - well worth the visit. Then all-too-soon it was time to head home, crossing the international date line and going back to the future in New Zealand.
"Kia Orana" Rarotonga - so sad to leave you and your wonderful people behind.