The Cook Islands w. AC ANZ & RAR - Part 1 of 3 (pics)

BACKGROUND:
After a lengthy absence from the Trip Reports forum, I return with a three part report that outlines a trip that I’ve been dreaming about doing for the past three years. I remember having a few beers with my father and talking about his dream of sailing from Vancouver to Brisbane, Australia and while discussing the feasibility of it, we started looking at a theoretical route that he may take. While doing that, I came across the Cook Islands. I must admit that I never gave too much thought of what exactly lies between North America and Australia, generally thinking “Well there’s Hawaii, Fiji and lots of other little islands in the South Pacific.” Rarely was I interested to look into their location, let alone reading into their history, political status or economy.

Slowly, I became more and more interested, especially in Tahiti and The Cook Islands. After playing around with the idea of visiting French Polynesia, I quickly realized that it’s a bit out of my price range, so I focused more and more on the “Cooks”. My then girlfriend and I started to seriously discuss a trip there, but there were still other obligations in terms of visiting family in Europe, so spending money on a South Pacific vacation was not at the top of our priorities.

In December 2011, I asked her to marry me and (lucky for me) she accepted. We started looking into a wedding date & location. After different ideas, including a destination wedding, we decided to be thoughtful of our relatives and have a wedding in Canada, since most of my family and friends are in Windsor, Ontario chose to have it there and the wedding date set for June 9 2012. We decided to have our honeymoon somewhere special, and without hesitation we quickly decided to go to The Cook Islands, more specifically, Rarotonga.

To find out more about The Cook Islands, you can visit the Wikipedia site, by clicking on the link below:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cook_Islands

At first I thought I would have to fly through Auckland, New Zealand, but to my surprise Air New Zealand has a weekly flight direct from Los Angeles to Avarua, the capital, located on the largest island Rartonga. So finally our dream vacation was a reality. Since her and I have been living in Winnipeg for the past 18 months, we also had to get to Windsor. Well that’s a pretty straight forward process, since we have very little choice. It was either Air Canada to Windsor, via Toronto or direct flight with WestJet to London, Ontario (200 km Northeast) of Windsor and then have someone pick us up. I don’t like to complicate things, especially since the price difference wasn’t worth the hassle, so we booked Air Canada/AC Jazz.

As you can imagine, the weeks leading to the wedding were a little hectic and I didn’t really have time to think too much about the honeymoon. Besides, the wedding was our primary concern. We wanted to make sure that all our guests, some of which were travelling from Toronto, Montreal,Chicago, Calgary, Vancouver and even Brisbane, Australia (my little sister) would be taken care of and would have a great time.

So below you can see the “route” we took for these 5 flights:






Flight 01:
Date: Thursday June 7 2012
Airline: Air Canada
Flight No: : AC 258
Aircraft: : Airbus A319-114 (cn695)
Registration: : C-FYKW
Departure: : Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson Int. Airport (YWG/CYWG) (6:45)
Arrival: : Toronto Lester B. Pearson Int. Airport (YYZ/CYYZ) (10:05)
Flight Time : 2h 20m

We woke up quite early on the day of our departure. We had to be there at least an hour prior to departure. After ensuring that our house we left in order, and a few “double/triple checks” on my behalf we finally were able to relax a bit and enjoy our taxi ride to the airport. Since it was so early in the morning, we were one of the first people to check in for our flight to Toronto. My fiancé’s primary concern was her wedding dress which we brought with us from Winnipeg. We checked a large suitcase, a mountaineering backpack and we each had a carry on with us… as large as the airline would allow it. Security check in was a breeze and in no time we were at our gate, fairly early though. We boarded quickly and after a long taxi to runway 18, we took off towards the South, then a left turn on-course toward Toronto.
The external departure area at Winnipeg James Armstrong Int’l Airport looks quite empty at this early hour.

Check in area of the newly opened terminal at YWG:

Gabriela, on our way to the gate:

Empty departure area:

Local operators that one will find quite common in Winnipeg:

Our aircraft at the gate:

Taxiing to the active runway:

Rolling down runway 18:






Canadian Forces’ 17 Wing hangars:


St. James area of Winnipeg:


Climb-out from Winnipeg:


The flight to Toronto was non-eventful. The service seemed fine and since both of us were tired, we didn’t feel like doing much, so I just took photos and Gabriela tried to sleep. With a few exceptions, the entire flight was free of clouds, so I was able to get a good view and take some photos of our arrival / landing into Toronto. We came from the Northwest and pretty much joined flew East until passing Pearson, then right turn to join the ILS for runway 23. The taxi was rather long all the way to Terminal 1, but I didn’t mind. YYZ is the first airport in Canada that I flew into and it has a special place in my heart. I always love going by it, flying into it or spending time at it. That’s hard to say about too many other airports. I guess you can call me a little sentimental…
Descent into the Toronto area:




Toronto Pearson seen from the Northeast:


Landing in Toronto:

DSC_1475 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr


DSC_1480 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr


DSC_1486 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr


DSC_1495 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr


DSC_1496 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr


DSC_1501 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr


DSC_1505 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr

Our little “bus” parked at the gate in Toronto:

DSC_1520 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr

Flight 02:
Date: Thursday June 7 2012
Airline: Air Canada Jazz
Flight No: : AC 7753
Aircraft: : De Havilland Canada DHC-8-102 (cn171)
Registration: : C-FPON
Departure: : Toronto Lester B. Pearson Int. Airport (YYZ/CYYZ) (12:20)
Arrival: : Windsor Airport (YQG/CYQG) (13:26)
Flight Time : 1h 5m

We had quite a bit of time to kill, so we had a light breakfast and coffee from Canadian famous Tim Hortons and then made our way to the “regional” departure area on the ground floor of Terminal one. I was excited to see the new Air Canada Express painted Dash 8-400Q, but I knew I wasn’t too lucky to fly with one. Our aircraft to Windsor today, was a good old Dash 8-100. After passing the time looking at planes, talking to Gabriela and hoping to see some of my of my colleagues from Winnipeg who moved on to fly at Jazz we were finally ready to board. The boarding process was fast and we walked all the way to the end of the concourse and then exited outside, where I was able to snap some clear shots of the heavies around Terminal 1 & 3.
Toronto Pearson Terminal 1:

DSC_1523 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr


DSC_1534 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr


DSC_1543 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr

And finally our “tired old bird”:

DSC_1546 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr

The flight to Windsor was pretty quick, about an hour and 10 minutes, but most of the time I was busy with pictures / admiring the Souther Ontario scenery with all the beautiful lakes and rivers. We flew over Hamilton, near Waterloo, London and South of Sarnia, and started our descent into Windsor somewhere over Lake St. Clair. We intercepted the ILS for runway 25, which brought us right over the neighborhood where I grew up and started loving aviation by watch Air Ontario and Canadian Regional Dash 8 / ATRs land. I was also able to spot the house I grew up in. The service on Air Canada Jazz was pretty good, considering the length of the leg.

DSC_1553 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr


DSC_1558 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr


DSC_1559 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr


DSC_1562 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr


DSC_1564 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr


DSC_1573 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr


DSC_1576 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr

I think this is Kitchener / Waterloo Airport. Can anyone confirm this?

DSC_1584 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr

This is either Kitchener or London, Ontario. I’m not quite sure.

DSC_1585 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr

Standard Jazz service:

DSC_1589 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr


DSC_1592 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr

The river just South of Sarnia, Ontario. On the far side of the river, is Michigan, USA and the close side it’s Ontario, Canada

DSC_1606 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr

Briefly entering US Airspace:

DSC_1608 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr


DSC_1616 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr

Descending into Windsor, over Lake St. Clair

DSC_1621 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr

St. Clair Beach & Peche Island (part of Canada) can be seen (the first island) as well as the Detroit River

DSC_1625 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr


DSC_1626 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr


DSC_1627 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr


DSC_1628 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr


DSC_1632 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr

The house I grew up in, somewhere over the small city of Windsor, Ontario. Everytime I would hear a plane on approach, I would run outside or to the window to see it:

DSC_1636 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr

The house I grew up in, and if you look to the North, passed the river, you can see Detroit. This is one of the few places in Canada, where you will find USA if you go North.

DSC_1639 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr


DSC_1643 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr


DSC_1647 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr


DSC_1650 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr

The newly improved / renovated Windsor Airport:

DSC_1652 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr

Our bird after arriving from Toronto:

DSC_1653 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr


DSC_1656 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr


DSC_1657 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr

The street-side of the airport

DSC_1658 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr

After collecting our bags, we were created by family members. We spent the Thursday and Friday catching up with family and friends that we haven’t seen in years. I was also excited to see my little sister who would arrive later that day into Detroit, after three exhausting flights from Brisbane, Australia (via SYD & LAX). I haven’t seen her since January 2009, since she’s been a student in Australia for the past 4 years, just about to finish med school. She managed to arrange school schedule so she can attend my wedding. I was super excited. Friday was also a pretty busy day doing the final touches for the wedding, including church rehearsals with our wedding party.

The wedding was a great success, something like my “Big Fat Greek Wedding”, except we called it “My Big Fat Romanian Wedding”, but overall the same idea . After getting married at the local Romanian Church, we had a great reception and everyone partied until the early morning hours of the day. A few close friends & family ended up staying with us until 4:00am when finally decided to call it “a day”… and what a day it was. I was extremely happy to marry the girl of my dreams and looking forward not only to a great honeymoon, but a lifetime sharing every moment with her.
My wife and I walking out of the church after being married:

DSC_1658ca by Capt_Vio, on Flickr

The happiest day of our lives (so far…)

DSC_1658da by Capt_Vio, on Flickr

Even though we arrived at 4:00am from the wedding, we didn’t have much time to rest. By the time we got any sleep it was already daylight outside and even then, we must’ve had a couple of hours only. Guests started coming over for the traditional “morning after the wedding party” which already started at 9:00am in our backyard. Close friends and family came and we had beers, a ton of food that was left over from the wedding, including cabbage rolls and we ended up spending most of the morning laughing and having a great time. Unfortunately it was time for us (Gabriela and I) to head to the airport, because we had tickets booked for our honeymoon to the Cook Islands. I must say, that even though I was extremely excited to go on this trip with my wife, I was a little disappointed we weren’t able to spend a few more days with my family, especially my sister which I missed so much.

Flight 03:
Date: Sunday June 10 2012
Airline: Air Canada Jazz
Flight No: : AC 7754
Aircraft: : De Havilland Canada DHC-8-102 (cn199)
Registration: : C-FGRM
Departure: : Windsor Airport (YQG/CYQG) (13:50)
Arrival: : Toronto Lester B. Pearson Int. Airport (YYZ/CYYZ) (14:45)
Flight Time : 1h 5m

Considering how small Windsor is, it took us less than 10 minutes to drive from my parents’ house to the Windsor Airport. We quickly checked in and we were issued boarding passes for the first two flights, Windsor-Toronto and Toronto-Los Angeles. The Air Canada Jazz agent said she could not give us boarding passes for the Los-Angeles to Rarotonga leg and that we would have to get either in Toronto or from the Air New Zealand counter at LAX. She was quite surprised we were going that far and was extremely nice, wishing us a (sincere) nice trip and honeymoon.

Once we got through security we finally relaxed and switched to “VACATION MODE”. The crazy preparations and “stress” with the wedding was behind us and now we were both looking forward to a dream vacation, even though we were nothing short of exhausted, having slept so little, not to mention the early morning beers I had with “Nashu” (our wedding Godfather), my dad and everyone else who decided to be crazy enough and start partying again.
Familiar Dash 8 that would take us to Toronto:

DSC_1664 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr

My wife boarding this Dash 8 that has seen better days. I think it’s ready for a fresh AC Express paint, eh?

DSC_1669 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr
Take off from YQG – Windsor Airport

DSC_1673 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr


DSC_1692 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr


DSC_1698 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr


DSC_1701 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr


DSC_1720 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr


DSC_1721 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr

Pearson Airport seen from the SouthWest, Terminal 1 and 3 are clearly visible, as well as the massive 401 Expressway, just South of the airport:

DSC_1726 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr

Landing in Toronto:

DSC_1732 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr


DSC_1735 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr

Downsview Airport, Toronto, “Bombardier’s Airport”

DSC_1740 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr

Some new -400Qs and Bombardier business jets, freshly off the assembly line:

DSC_1746 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr

Downtown Toronto & its iconic CN Tower (Canadian National Tower)

DSC_1754 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr


DSC_1757 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr


DSC_1761 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr


DSC_1762 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr


DSC_1763 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr


DSC_1766 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr


DSC_1771 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr

Terminal 3 at YYZ:

DSC_1776 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr


DSC_1784 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr


DSC_1785 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr

The flight from Windsor was non-eventful. Pretty much the same route, except this time we landed on runway 24R I believe. After landing in Toronto, our bird receives a walk-around from the F/O, a good guy I met that used to fly for Perimeter in Winnipeg. I can’t remember his name, but we saw each other often while he was here and we recognized each other right away. I’m glad to see him move on and he said he was very happy at Jazz. Good luck to him…

DSC_1788 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr

Once in Toronto we collected all our bags and went through US Customs (preclearance). Basically for us Canadians, we see US Customs here in Canada and once we arrive in US we don’t have to worry about the long ass lines that are formed when some 4 747s land at once from Asia  (I have a story about that one in Part 3 of this report). The customs officer in Toronto was an extremely dull, yet hilarious guy, something along the lines of Ben Stein. My wife and I had to try really hard not to laugh, because he seemed to be a great mood and making jokes (with Ben Stein’s monotone voice)… I always try to be polite and to the point with customs officials.
Once through US Customs, we still had two hours to wait, so we had a quick bite to eat, drank some beer and watched some football (Euro 2012 was on). I spent the rest of the time plane spotting and my wife was way too much into her new book.

DSC_1790 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr


DSC_1808 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr


DSC_1812 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr


DSC_1825 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr


DSC_1831 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr

Flight 04:
Date: Sunday June 10 2012
Airline: Air Canada
Flight No: : AC 793
Aircraft: : Airbus A321-211
Registration: : Unknown
Departure: : Toronto Lester B. Pearson Int. Airport (YYZ/CYYZ) (17:45)
Arrival: : Los Angeles International Airport (KLAX/LAX) (19:55)
Flight Time : 5h 10m

We boarded about 20 minutes late and the flight to LAX was packed. We were started to get really tired by now. After boarding, the A321 taxied to runway 23 and soon we were up and away, heading SouthWest toward the Los Angeles.

DSC_1849 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr


DSC_1852 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr


DSC_1853 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr


DSC_1854 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr


DSC_1855 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr


DSC_1856 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr


DSC_1858 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr


DSC_1859 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr


DSC_1860 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr


DSC_1861 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr


DSC_1862 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr


DSC_1864 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr

Take-off From Toronto:

DSC_1872 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr


DSC_1874 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr


DSC_1875 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr


IMG_3037 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr


IMG_3038 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr

The flight from Toronto to LAX felt crowded and hot. Both Gabriela and I were tired and I wasn’t very happy that the flight attendants blocked me for over and hour because they started their drink service. They could’ve moved toward the center of the aircraft and let me go sit down, but chose instead to ignore me staying at the back of the plane. Poor service on this flight to LAX and it’s too bad, because I like Air Canada and I generally had good experience with them, especially with flight crews, but these bunch were far below average in their dealing with customers. Oh well… I did eventually get back to my seat and managed to sleep for a couple of hours. We finally started to descend into LAX when it was already dusk and getting dark outside. Gabriela had the window seat this time, but I did manage to get a few night shots with my iPhone. Unfortunately it’s better than my Nikon D50 for pics at night, since I didn’t have a tripod with me (as a carry on). Once we arrived in LA, we taxied to Terminal 2 and it just so happened that the Air Canada A321 parked exactly besides the Air New Zealand 767 that would take us to Rarotonga.

Okay, what exactly happened here? I don’t remember doing that “loop / hold”, but then again I was sleeping. Could it be the Air Canada “MAP” was not working properly?

IMG_3046 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr

Approach into LAX… Gabi has never been to LA before and she was extremely impressed with the amount of “build up” around mentro LA area

IMG_3064 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr


IMG_3060 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr

At Terminal 2: An Air France 777

IMG_3080 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr

Flight 05:
Date: Sunday June 10 2012
Airline: Air New Zealand
Flight No: : ANZ 19
Aircraft: : Boeing 767-319ER
Registration: : Unknown
Departure: : Los Angeles International Airport (KLAX/LAX) (23:15)
Arrival: : Avarua – Rarotonga International Airport (RAR/NCRG)
Flight Time : 9h 50m

Once in LAX, we shared a very small pizza, had a drink and browsed around the shopping area of Terminal 2, more specifically the duty-free that seemed extremely expensive. We were told that Rarotonga had a duty free as well, so we opted not to buy anything until we reached to Cook Islands. One thing that struck me right away was the fact that there were very few people at the boarding area. I seemed that there were less than 100 people there, and considering we were flying a 767, that wasn’t a very big load factor. While waiting there we struck up a conversation with a young couple from Poland who were on their honeymoon as well and were going to Rarotonga as well. They were very cool and we ended up being friends in Rarotonga and hanging out with them quite a bit. Boarding was quick, due to the insanely low amount of people, but I wasn’t complaining. W had the first two seats on the right side of the economy class. None of the 3 seats in the middle isle were taken and both Gabriela and I made use of them and managed to get 6 hours of sleep.
Finally, my boarding pass to Rarotonga, Cook Islands:

IMG_3084 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr


DSC_1889 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr


IMG_3085 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr

Take-off from LAX:

IMG_3091 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr


IMG_3092 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr

The flight to Rarotonga was great. On top of the fact that we managed to get a good rest, the crew and atmosphere onboard was amazing and the safety video was a riot to watch. Even though there wasn’t much to see outside the window, there were plenty of things to do in the 4 hours I was awake. The food on Air New Zealand was fantastic, both the dinner and the breakfast, not to mention the “beer suggestions” I had from the crew. Great on them!!! The entertainment system is pretty good on their 767s, except that the movie choices were not very good. I think Air Canada’s product is a bit better than this when it comes to diversity and choice. Otherwise, everything was top-notch.


IMG_3097 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr

Dinner was very good:

IMG_3101 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr


IMG_3110 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr

Like I said, after 6 hours of sleeping on the 3 middle seats, I woke up and it was just in time for breakfast. We were getting closer to our destination, but still no sign of daylight. This would end up being the case even for the landing, which was quite a bummer, because I was hoping to catch a glimpse of the island as we approached it.


IMG_3104 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr


IMG_3107 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr

Two choices of breakfast. This was my choice:

IMG_3109 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr

My wife’s choice of breakfast:

IMG_3111 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr

Nearing Rarotonga. We were starting to get really excited:

IMG_3115 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr


IMG_3118 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr

My first time South of the Equator:

IMG_3119 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr

This is the 3D view of the Island of Rarotonga. You can see the airport on the North-West side of the island. We flew West of the island and came in landing on runway 08. There was hardly a glimpse of lights, until on very very short final:

Rarotonga 3D by Capt_Vio, on Flickr


IMG_3129 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr


IMG_3143 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr

After a fantastic flight across the Pacific, we landed on the small and beautiful island of Rarotonga. The “island feeling” was already very much apparent. I thanked the pilots and the flight crew for their impeccable service and de-boarded via the front stairs. We made our way into the small terminal, being welcomed by a big sign “Kia Orana Welcome to the Cook Islands”.

Our 767 after arrival in Rarotonga:

IMG_3152 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr


IMG_3147 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr


DSC_1905 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr

After buying some rum at the duty-free, we made our way through customs and got the much anticipated stamp in our passports. Since my wife was travelling on a Romanian Passport and I on a Canadian, the customs official was a bit confused that we were married but a short explanation resulted in a smile and “Enjoy your stay on our beautiful island”. Daylight started to creep in as we were collecting our bags and we made our way outside the terminal, where an official from our “resort” was waiting for us to drive us to our accommodations.


DSC_1908 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr

The small airport international arrivals

IMG_3155 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr

The tail of our 767 and the control tower of Rarotonga International Airport:

IMG_3156 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr

Since we got a great rest on the flight from LAX, we were quite active on our first day there, despite the fact that we arrived at 6:15 in the morning. The day was filled with some essential “musts”, such as changing our currency to New Zealand Dollars (official currency of the Cook Islands) and renting a scooter. Bus service in Rarotonga is quite expensive so it was cheaper to rent the scooter, despite having to get my Cook Islands Driver’s license. The next 3.5 days were spent in Rarotonga, exploring the beautiful island that is 32 km in circumference (the road… ), snorkeling, meeting with our Polish friends from Warsaw and meeting new people, both locals and tourists alike.

Our bungalow, which would be our home for 9 days:

DSC_2011 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr

Doing my “driving test” in Avarua, the capital of the Cook Islands, the largest town on the island of Raroatonga:

IMG_3161 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr

Great souvenir:

License by Capt_Vio, on Flickr

The beautiful Pacific Ocean & lagoon, on the South side of the Island:

DSC_1952 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr


DSC_1938 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr

Looking toward the North, inland:

DSC_2006 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr

Caught in the act… I managed to find an awesome brewery on my first day on the island (Matutu Brewery… local made beer… YUM)

DSC_2143 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr

Muri Beach Lagoon:

DSC_2179 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr


DSC_2188 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr


DSC_2201 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr

Lagoon Cruises:

DSC_2244 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr

More Muri Beach:

DSC_2259 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr


DSC_2289 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr

Me snorkeling. The fish around the corals are amazing:

DSC_2325 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr


DSC_2347 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr

View from one of the mountains, Highland Paradie, a historic and cultural center of the native Maori people:

DSC_2374 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr


DSC_2388 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr


IMG_3177 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr


DSC_2090 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr

We spent a few nights partying with other tourists from Switzerland, Germany, US, Australia, UK and of course, lots of Kiwis… Gabi having fun with my beer. She stuck with girly drinks, seldom drinking beer… oh well… more for me….

IMG_3222 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr

Matutu Beer:

IMG_3229 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr

Some more pics from the airport:

IMG_3212 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr


IMG_3205 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr


IMG_3207 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr

The first 4 days were full of adventure and we were busy every day. We decided to buy tickets to Aitutaki, an island North of Rarotonga, which holds the world’s most beautiful lagoon. We booked two tickets on Air Rarotonga, for $109 NZD / person, each way. That worked to about $370 Canadian Dollars I believe for both of us, to fly Air Rarotonga… an airline I’ve been waiting to fly on for a very long time. That’s coming up in part 2 of this report.


zzzToBeContinued01 by Capt_Vio, on Flickr

Comments / questions and suggestions are always welcomed…
Come back soon for Part 2 (hopefully in a day or two)

Regards

Vio

Foarte tare, Vio! Felicitari ptr vacanta. Propun ca urmatoarea intalnire RoSpotters sa se faca aici.

Superb ! Deabia astept continuarea !

Casa de piatra si multam for sharing!

Nice! abia astept restul povestii... Sa aveti parte de o viata luuunga si frumoasa impreuna! Felicitari!

Casa de Piatra !!!

Asta in primul rand Capt_Vio...in al doilea rand, excelenta vacanta a fost, cu pisaje de vis si linistita.
Am citit cele 2 episoade, astept si ep. nr. 3. Super !

Cat a costat permisul pentru A&B si cum l-ai obtinut ?

Felicitari Viorel! Casa de piatra!

Casa de piatra

Faina destinatie de luna de miere

Felicitari

Felicitari intarziate si din partea mea si multumiri pentru fotografii.

Felicitari ! Casa de piatra !
Multumim si asteptam continuarea !!!