It is always hard to say good-bye

All good things must come to an end, and so it was that we had our last day in paradise exploring the highest hill on Aitutaki, Mount Maungapu, which gives a 360 degree view of the Aitutaki lagoon and island.



From here we observed the spectacular triangular lagoon, the turquoise water, white sand beaches and neighbouring uninhabited motus (small islands), and Aitutaki airfield.









That last night we had dinner at The Boatshed, another fantastic dining experience on the island. The wind continued to whip the island through the day and into the evening, and therefore we enjoyed the view from inside.







We were on the first flight to Rarotonga the very next morning.



We said good-bye to Aitutaki.



~~~~~

Hello Rarotonga.



First stop: the Saturday markets, since they shut down at midday(ish). We didn't think we would make it, but we did, and we got stuck in to some lovely BBQ'ed meat skewers for lunch.



I like seeing little chicks running around at the markets. They were busy, just like these markets.

We had to get around the island somehow, and as we were no longer in Aitutaki we could not do three-up on a scooter with Kien sandwiched between us, so we got a little convertible to get us around instead.



This little vehicle is so damn cute!



We whizzed around the island finding nice spots to stop at. Over on the "quiet" side (not the Avarua to Muri lagoon leg) we stopped and threw some coconuts in this lovely bay that was sheltered from the relentless wind hitting the other side.





In the evening we met up with Leo and Gabby (whom we bumped into at the markets) for the closing of Te Maeva Nui - cultural festival of music and dance, and celebration of the constitution. Really good to see them again! When we said good-bye at the beach huts we were not sure whether we would/could find each other in Rarotonga.



We had dinner and watched one full performance before having to quickly get Kien back to the room to sleep. He was exhausted and definitely showing signs that he had had enough.





~~~~~

Early morning on Muri beach, and I decided to take Kien for a stroll on the sandy shores of the lagoon.



My boy has definitely matured during our time away. His sentences are so much more comprehensive, and he is so much more aware of what is going on around him. We have had to engage and develop his reasoning and negotiation skills; living within such close proximity with others means we have been hyper aware of his noise (whinging/whining) level.

We drew helicopters in the sand.



~~~~~

The wind died down and the sun came out the last day we were in Raro. We enjoyed a bit of time at Muri beach after we checked out of our accommodation.





Kien plucked up the courage to go on the rope swing.



To be honest he enjoyed it a lot more riding with his daddy.



Then it was time to head out to the airport. We caught the clockwise route bus and stopped in the main township of Avarua. It was Sunday, so almost everything was closed. Kien fell asleep on he bus journey, and Jef had the pleasure of holding him, so I was able to go for a walk around the quiet streets.



Kien was happy after his nap.



And then soon after it was bye-bye to Rarotonga.

Destination Cook Islands

We arrived before we even left - that's the thing about crossing the date line. You feel like a time traveller leaving on a Friday and arriving at the destination on the Thursday with  yesterday's date. 

Thanks to Grandma Gun and Rod for dropping us off.  "What?", you say...who's Grandma Gun? Well, Jef has decided (on our way to the airport) that he wants to be a son of a gun, and "Rod and Gun" rolls straight off the tongue, apparently. Where does he come up with this strange stuff? So yeah, Kien was taught to call them Rod and Gun (or Grandma Gun). *Why me?!*



Boarded our plane, and Kien made himself at home.



It was a pretty rough take off with Kien not liking being restrained. I felt sorry for everyone else in our cabin having to listen to him screaming.  



But once we were up in the air he was mischievous as ever. We settled in for some lunch.



He was more interested in grapes and water - dropping them into the bottle, pouring them out, in, out - until they ended up all over the floor. Thank goodness the crew were so lovely and were not phased at all with the clean up. 



Four hours later and we came in for landing at beautiful Rarotonga.



We landed in fabulous tropical sunshine.





An hour later we were strolling along the sandy shores of Muri Lagoon.  It felt like we were in paradise. 







We walked about a kilometer up Muri Beach where Kien enjoyed splashing around on the sand bank. 







The  beach was so beautiful.



It was late afternoon at this point, and we were quickly losing daylight.  



The very next day we were up at 6:30am local time (meaning 4:30am NZ time) to catch our domestic flight to Aitutaki. It was grey and wet, but very warm. The domestic terminal is really neat; chickens (actually roosters) running everywhere. Roosters - what can I say - they are pretty but if I had a shotgun I could have killed every single one that woke me up every 15 minutes. They don't only crow at dawn, much to my surprise. All night.  ALL NIGHT. Then Kien crawled into my bed at about 1am chatting about the roosters.  He took great delight in explaining the noise a rooster makes, and mimicking every one he heard! I can't say I was amused by this. 

Our flight on the Saab into Aitutaki was delightful despite getting coffee spilt on me half way through the 1 hour flight. 



We arrived on this picturesque little island to rain. A short drive from the airport and we in our hut on the beach, situated on the sand, with palm trees surrounding us. The rain eased and we went for a walk to the local store for supplies. When we got back to our hut the sun was out in its full glory.



I couldn't imagine paradise could get better, but I was wrong. 





We had fish swimming around us in the coral. 





We were like whales for most of the afternoon. We rolled and splashed in the shallows of the lagoon.







It was a perfect beginning for a holiday!