Rarotonga
- a Pacific Paradise
by Rachel Reeves
Rarotonga, the most populous of the
Cook Islands, captivates about 120,000
hearts a year. Whether you’ve been here
once or have been returning annually
for decades, you know Rarotonga as
paradise, an escape from the drudgery
of traffic and consumerism, a window
into a simpler past. were migratory people, comfortable at
sea, but on Rarotonga they built homes
of coconut trunks and fronds, planted
crops, and created a society in which
everyone had enough to eat. Rarotonga’s
inhabitants split into three villages –
Takitumu, Te Au O Tonga, and Puaikura,
each with its own governing chief.
Once you’ve visited an outer island,
your perspective changes; you notice
the modern conveniences available
on Rarotonga, the trucks and
supermarkets and nightclubs, but still
you appreciate the pace of life. Still you
notice that there aren’t any stoplights
and the same musician greets every
flight. You notice that people wave at
oncoming traffic. You notice there are
only two bus routes: clockwise and
anti-clockwise. You notice that on
Rarotonga, time slows down. Centuries later the Europeans arrived,
and were also entranced by the island’s
breathtaking beauty. A book written in
1842 documenting early missionary work
describes Rarotonga this way: “its hills
and valleys are rich in the fruits of the
earth: mighty trees overshadow the land,
and grow down to the very borders of the
sea; not in a dense unwholesome forest,
shutting out the light of the sun; but
scattered here and there among the green
hills, and affording a delicious shade;
some are covered with beautiful flowers
and some with light foliage, waving like
plumes in the wind.”
When there’s nothing on either television
channel, when you don’t have easy access
to Wi-Fi, you learn to be outside, smell
the flowers, taste the fruit, appreciate the
sun and stars, and commit to memory
the natural beauty that’s been seducing
travelers for centuries.
The first visitors to Rarotonga were the
Māori people who came, depending on
who you believe, from either Avaiki – the
mythological centre of Polynesia – or East
Asia or South America. Some continued
on to settle New Zealand – you can read
about their canoes on plaques at Avana,
the site of their departure – but others
were hooked. They had travelled over
thousands of kilometres, searching for
islands, navigating not with GPS but by
reading the stars, swells, and skies. They
22 • Escape Magazine
Nearly 200 years later, Rarotonga’s
splendour continues to make this kind
of impact. Despite the luxury resorts and
24-hour petrol stations that have since
sprung from its soil, the island is still
the kind of beautiful that makes your
heart swell. You can’t watch an Arorangi
sunset or climb one of Rarotonga’s
mountains without feeling awestruck by
the beautiful world we live in. You can’t
drive a motorbike around the island,
with the wind in your face and the salt
on your skin, past coconut palms, banana
and papaya trees, and remain undecided
about whether you love this place.
Rarotonga might be just 32 kilometres
around, but she is versatile, with creeks
and swimming holes and waterfalls some
locals don’t even know about. Take a
walk or ride a scooter along the back road
or into the mountains; hear the air get
quieter and the birds get louder. Watch
the bush get thicker. You won’t get lost
if you remember to use the sound of the
waves as your compass.
From the air
The best way to see all of Rarotonga is
from the air. If you miss the view when
the plane lands, and if you’re willing to
shell out the money, Air Rarotonga does
private aerial tours in a small Cessna.
A cheaper option is to hike one of the
island’s many peaks. Most require a
tour guide, but a hike to The Needle,
and across the middle of the island, is
manageable and clearly marked. You’ll
need good fitness and good shoes. From
The Needle, one of Rarotonga’s tallest
mountains, you can see every shore,
ringed by a translucent lagoon, the white
foam of waves crashing on the reef, and
the yawning blue Pacific. It’s the kind
of view that makes you feel tiny and
insignificant, but also like you rule the
world.
Descending down the other side of
The Needle will lead you to Wigmore’s
Waterfall, one of the locals’ favourite
swimming spots.
For a more informative cross-island
experience, book a tour with Pa, a
traditional healer who grew up climbing
mountains and studying the medicinal
properties of plants. Pa’s Treks takes
tourists across the island five days a week.