Pacific. If you dread the limelight, beware the ura piani, when
dancers recruit tourists of the opposite sex for a number.
At an island night, you’ll also get to try local food. Dishes like
ika mata (fresh raw fish in coconut cream), rukau (taro leaves
in coconut cream), taro, and poke (arrowroot and coconut
cream with a pudding-like texture) are available at some shops
and restaurants, but at an island night you can have them all,
buffet-style. Hotels and cultural centres offer island nights for
a range of budgets; talk to your accommodator about your
options.
If you’re on Rarotonga in August, you’ll get to experience
the ultimate celebration of Cook Islands culture. In 1965,
the country became self-governing, and every August,
Rarotonga holds a festival to celebrate. Called Te Maeva Nui,
the weeklong event features a parade of floats decorated with
local foliage and a spectacular nightly show at the National
Auditorium, in which villages and islands compete in singing,
dancing, and drumming.
After dark
Rarotonga does not lack for nightlife.
Live bands play every night at bars and restaurants around
the island; check out The Bond Entertainment Guide in this
magazine for more information.
Weddings
Rarotonga is a popular spot for destination weddings;
hundreds of tourists get married here each year. On-island
wedding planners can design a special ceremony on the beach,
and liaise with hair and makeup artists, caterers, a celebrant,
and photographers/videographers before you arrive. All you
have to do is bring your loved ones and prepare mentally for a
wedding you won’t soon forget.
Cook Islanders are notoriously generous people, some of
the most hospitable in the world. They will make you feel
welcome, as long as you treat them with respect, the way you
would anyone who invites you into her home. Be mindful of
the fragile island environment also; as the travel adage goes,
take nothing but photos and leave nothing but footprints.
But above all, enjoy yourself and a place that makes you feel a
little bit more alive. When you leave, you will join the ranks
of hundreds of thousands of people around the world who
think often of, and talk often about, Rarotonga, who dream
of the day they’ll return.
Escape Magazine • 25