Rarotonga the largest and most populated island in the Cook Islands. It is a stunning volcanic paradise in the South Pacific with a 32km road encircling its entire circumference. It is known for its lush, rugged mountainous interior—including "The Needle" peak—clear turquoise lagoons, coral reefs, and a relaxed, no-building-higher-than-a-palm-tree culture. A serene pace invited us to exhale, explore, and sink into a paradise that feels personal, authentic, and beautifully unhurried.
What did we do?
Muri Beach
 |
| Low tide you could walk to the island |
Muri Night Markets
Pool Time
 |
| Mozzies & Dengue Pretty serious - we had spray, coils, netting around bed. Even the restaurant had multiple cans of spray |
 |
| This $2 coin can only be used on the Cook Islands even though it is New Zealand currency |
 |
| We have an international adapter but it did not work with this outlet. Luckily the resort had adapters we could borrow |
 |
| There was a Clockwise bus and an Anticlockwise bus |
Where & what did we eat?
The onsite restaurant was the Nautilus Restaurant. It is highly rated on Google maps. Our breakfast was included and we had the option to choose from the buffet or order from a menu.
Breakfast
 |
| Spicy Beans with Hallouomi |
 |
| Coffee with a view |
 |
| Banana Belgium Waffles Served with mixed berry compote, Banana, crème Chantilly & maple syrup |
Lunch
 |
| Club Sandwich A triple decker sandwich of smoked chicken 🐔 , bacon 🥓, lettuce, cheese & tomato 🍅 on multigrain toast Served with fries |
 |
| Aromatic Coconut Parrot Fish Lightly poached local parrot fish on a bed of glass noodles, and bok choy, immersed in a fragrant lemongrass, kaffir lime coconut sauce |
 |
| Thai Pork Belly Slow braised Thai spiced pork belly, lightly sauteed greens, tropical fruit salsa and a green Thai curry sauce with crackling |
 |
| Maple Miso Chicken Roulade Baked roulade of chicken breast stuffed with a herbed chicken filling, accompanied by cauliflower & beetroot puree, charred baby carrots, drizzled with a miso maple glaze |
 |
| Seafood Pasta Pasifika Tagliatlle nero topped with sous vide prawns, mussels & calamari, blended with a mazavaroo chilli & coconut cream sauce & parmesan-coconut wafers |
 |
| Pumpkin & Goat Cheese Ravioli Pumpkin & Goat cheese mousse encased in our own pasta pockets. sauteed in a nutty browned butter with capers, herbs & cherry tomato topped with shaved Pecorino |
 |
| Aromatic Coconut Parrot Fish Lightly poached local parrot fish on a bed of glass noodles, and bok choy, immersed in a fragrant lemongrass, kaffir lime coconut sauce |
Night Market
 |
| Garlic Prawn |
 |
| Dumplings |
TEM Store and Takeaways
 |
| Crispy Tacos - really good and messy! |
Where did we stay?
Nautilus Resort Rarotonga
 |
| Our welcome drink |
How did we get there?
We flew Air Tahiti from Papeete, Tahiti. I'm used to a pat down but I went through the scanner and buzz, buzz, buzz. Please remove your shoes, watch, earrings, no problem. Back through scanner buzz, buzz, buzz, I had to be wanded down, up, and sideways, lol. It was my damn bra.
 |
| Awesome photo bomb |
We retrieve our luggage and go through customs, we exit the terminal and realize we have no Google Fi service. There is a Vodafone store but an airport 'information' lady tells us they are only open for International flights. Also, since it was Saturday, there were no taxis. Wait a minute! Didn't we just fly from the French Polynesian Islands. Oh well, there is a couple getting cash from an ATM so Rob follows suit and I start talking to the couple. They had prebooked their taxi... unlike us. She was going to give me the number but they had no phone service either. She suggested that we speak to their driver and maybe he could call us a taxi or come back for us. We ended up sharing the taxi as we were going further than them. We did prebook the taxi for our ride back. Once we arrived at the resort, Rob was able to use their limited wifi and order an eSim so we could have data.
 |
| They use New Zealand currency |
When did we visit? February 21 - 25, 2026
Kia Orano "May you live a long and fulfilling life”
No comments:
Post a Comment