Cook Islands: Rarotonga
Celebrating New Year in Rarotonga – as close as you can get to the international date line
What better way to spend New Year’s Eve than in a place so close to the International Dateline that you are completely confused about the time let alone the date? En route to Vancouver from Australia and New Zealand, Rarotonga is a little rock, insignificant in the vastness of the Pacific Ocean, yet the vibrant center of the Cook Islands.
Its almost a circle, about 34 km in circumference, dominated by surprisingly high mountain peaks and home to lush rain forests that cascade to a palm-fringed shore. The island is almost completely encircled by a reef, with a lagoon of clear turquoise water between you and the reef drop off, marked by a colour change to deep blue. The lagoon is delightfully calm, offsetting the backdrop of waves that crash against the reef edge in a hypnotic cycle. Swimming, kayaking, snorkelling and small craft sailing are prominent on the menu of aquatic activities.
Arriving late at night on a massive Air New Zealand 747, it was hard to imagine a vast vessel landing with any space to spare at Rarotonga’s International Airport on the North Coast. But land it did, and skillfully so. It was dark and had been raining, but all visitors were welcomed with friendly smiles, music and live crooning, and the mandatory leys: but of fresh flowers, not plastic imitations.
Accommodations: There are plenty of places to stay in Rarotonga. Staying at the premium Muri Beach Club Hotel on the south east edge of the island assured a chauffered ride in a late model, luxury import (BMW perchance) and efficient check-in. It’s a privately owned boutique style resort, not a chain, and had a surprising list of amenities including free Internet access, a boon when really feeling the remoteness of this little island from ‘the rest of the world’. The restaurant is great, there’s a large swimming pool, shopping and business services, and a spa – all the amenities we’d hope for.
Commercial centre: Avarua is the main town on the island and is the commercial centre of the Cook Islands. You’ll find a good selection of shops, banks, cafes and visitor facilities. It is also the main port and where you can find many cruising yachts docked.
Getting around: This is a small yet fascinating place, and getting around is easy. Two main roads circle the island on the Ara Tapu coastal road, through villages and past beaches; or you can take the older inland road, which winds through fields of taro, pawpaw, bananas and local farmlands. The island bus is inexpensive to ride, runs multiple times each hour, in both directions (one circular roadway, so you go either clockwise, or anti-clockwise). Car rentals are available, but many visitors rent motor scooters, as we did for four of our five days there. What fun that was – it provided complete flexibility and made the entire island accessible on demand. You have to pick up a licence to drive one in Avarua, but it’s an easy process.
HIGHLIGHTS
The people: Rarotongans are charming without being effusive. They are never ‘in your face’ and rarely intrude on your privacy. However, show a Rarotongan some genuine interest and they will respond with beaming smiles and friendly warmth.
Home comforts: There’s a brilliant cafe opposite the international airport, owned and operated by a New Zealander, we entered coffee nirvana with excellent baked goods. The patio became a daily haunt. The food was delicious throughout the island, with the hotels such as the Pacific Resort (near our hotel) reaching international standards while also tempting us with traditional island dishes.
Tahitian pearls: Before discovering the convenience of scooter rentals, and stranded in Avarua waiting for a bus in the rain, a local pearl farmer and family kindly rescued us in their pick-up truck. On the way back to the hotel they stopped to pick papayas from their friend’s papaya plantation, and insisted that we took some for ourselves, each timed in sequence to reach the peak of ripeness on each successive day of stay: the best papayas ever. Better than that, they opened their pearl store on new year’s day for a private shopping moment. They have their own island from which they farm oysters, and know the provenance of each beautiful pearly offering. The two pearls we chose were sized and graded, offered to us at amazing prices, and came complete with an official provenance. There’s an entire science to pearl buying, and their depth of knowlege was truly appreciated by us.
New Year celebrations: The entire island came alive. Starting with cocktails at Trader Vic’s in Avarua and an appetizer or three – the place was humming – then, at sunset, heading back to the Muri Beach Club Hotel for champagne. We kicked off our shoes and strolled along the white sand beach to the Pacific Resort for dinner al fresco along with, it seemed, the entire tourist population on the island. It was packed, it was noisy, and the music was loud. It wasn’t really a fifty-plus scene, though pleasant enough, prompting us to head back to our hotel to herald in the new year, just the two of us, with more bubbly on the sand outside our beachside suite – cosy, yet exotic at the same time.
Local culture: Saturday is market day, and it’s a must-see event. Exotic produce, colourful textiles, ‘fast’ food and cultural items abound, including characteristic wooden carvings (that clearly had Viagra users as models). Apparently the whole island came to market day, and the music, sights, smells and mingling with the locals was a heartwarming cultural experience. Touring the island by hiking into the peaks, driving the inner roads, or wandering through the farms gets you off the tourist track instantly and allows you to appreciate the geography and the people.
For something off the beaten track, a little out of the ordinary, and a stop-off point on the way to or from Australia or New Zealand, it would be a shame to miss the Cook Islands.
by Editor
[Tags: Cook Islands, exotic destinations, exotic holidays, lagoons, luxury travel, new year, New Zealand, out of the way travel, over fifties travel, Rarotonga, Travel]
Historical Kleinburg: closer than you think
Vaughan’s little jewel, many people don’t know where Kleinburg is. You should go!
This sleepy little village used to be way out in the country but, firmly part of the GTA, is now surrounded by estate lots, prime real estate for the affluent and sits just north of the almost unstoppable march of Woodbridge development.
Residents are clinging steadfastly to the green spaces included in the City plan for the area. It’s historic, quaintly beautiful, and hangs its hat on the boutique businesses that offer a charming alternative to the soulless big box retail model.
Many haven’t heard of Kleinburg, or aren’t quite sure where it is. It’s in Vaughan, about 30 minutes drive from downtown Toronto, and five minutes from highways 400, 427 and the 407, at Major Mackenzie and Islington. This is a suggestion for a day out in Kleinburg.
Undoubtedly, the burgeoning Sunday brunch business at The Doctor’s House influences the many GTA residents, who sample from its groaning boards, to then spend a lazy afternoon poking around in the specialty retailers, cafes and one antique store. The whole place is hardly bigger than, say, an average Costco warehouse. This makes for a great stroll which you can do in a couple of hours. You could spend an entire day if you take advantage of the walking and biking trails too, and spend a few hours at the McMichael Canadian Art Collection.
Influence in the village is an interesting blend of nouveau Italian and WASP, where gelato rubs shoulders with custom framing, and a talented pastry chef displays his food art just up the street from the McMichael Gallery. There’s a Historical Walking Tour booklet that’s worth picking up in from one of the retailers and which will bring your visit to life once you get familiar with the history.
Highlights for a day out in Kleinburg could look like this, in no particular order, and no map required because everything is pretty much in spitting distance from everything else.
‘Do’ the McMichael: it’s not huge, has special exhibits periodically, and houses works of the Group of Seven, which are worth seeing at least once. Added to this it’s in a spectacular setting, and you can take a pleasant stroll in the grounds, which take you down to the banks of the Humber River. You really feel like you’re in the middle of nowhere.
If you decide to stay overnight, there is one really excellent B&B in the heart of the village, McNeil House. Proprietors Geri and Greg Harper offer a night to remember in one of two huge, luxurious suites in their 180 year-old converted farmhouse right on mainstreet.
If it’s a Sunday and you have a big appetite, The Doctor’s House brunch is varied and vast, if a touch on the pricey side. Other days you could get a sandwich in the village, or just stop for coffee and a small something. Dolcini has to be the place to do this as the coffee is great and made with great care by Maria or one of her staff, and Joseph is her superb pastry chef husband who offers tiny sweet things (“dolcini”) as an art form, and quality gelato, plus there is a great patio from which you can watch the Ferraris and Lamborghinis go by.
Next door to Dolcini is a custom framer and art gallery, Artista. Proprietor Dawna does great framing work and displays the work of some really interesting artists – I bought a couple of pieces myself, and had her frame one. Husband Roman has a cigar business in the same storefront.
There are hair salons and spas all over the place here, the most notable being Salon DanielLuis whose clients come from all around the GTA from early morning to late at night for great personal service, and the Kleinburg Spa whose owner Candace Morison is a massage therapist, lymphatic technician, and offers the new rage European Body Wraps as well as mani-pedi, make up artistry and esthetic services.
If you don’t know what a lapidary is yet, visit The Rock Shoppe where Wendy can explain rock power, and you can browse the new age books and other such spiritual stuff. It’s a fascinating store, and great for buying a gift for someone who has everything (except perhaps for that one special rock).
Jeremy Workshop sells and makes (and repairs) jewelry for all tastes and budgets, and the store itself is really neat (it used to be the village post office). If you have a design in mind, talk to one of the sisters who run the place and they’ll make it for you, all custom work.
Nobody who goes to Kleinburg misses visiting Hawthorne House, run by Dorothy Salter who is a magician in buying quality clothing and giftware because she understands her clientele so well.
Longchamps Pub and Chartreuse restaurant are next to one of two art galleries in the main street. Most hungry visitors to Kleinburg end up in one or the other (they are in the same building, same owner, but offer different dining experiences).
Kleinburg New Forests (north and south ends of the village), a large area of which was planted by the community over a decade ago, links to the Humber River Valley Trail for a pleasant nature jaunt. You can take your dog as long as it’s on a leash.
It’s a charming and beautiful place, completely walkable, and there’s lots of parking. Depending on when you visit, you might encounter wedding parties wandering around having photographs taken. This is most common on Saturdays and you’ll be either enchanted by the hopeful young things in their wedding finery, or frustrated by the congestion caused when groups of them descend on the village at the same time for the same thing – photo sessions. It’s quite a spectacle.
Tina Rogers
by Editor
