Short flight to paradise

We had to wake up at 0630 for the 0800 departure from Rarotonga to Aitutaki.  We hadn’t thought of the “2 hour” time difference (but a day behind) when we planned to catch the early morning flight.  Yawn!

We got to the airport at 0715 and the place was dead.  Things opened up shortly after 0730 … and checkin for the 30 seater plane continued till about 0750.  The staff have got it down to a fine art.  Even though we departed slightly late, we got there on time.  Does it matter?  We’re on holiday!

Aitutaki is an island about 50 minutes from Rarotonga (at a horrendous price of NZD$550 return at full price, ouch … but fortunately we didn’t pay that).  It is part of a chain of islands that forms a circular necklace with relatively shallow water in the middle  From the air, land or sea, it looks like heaven.

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Upon arrival, we were greeted by a gentleman who insisted his name was “Driver”. He was incidentally our driver, taking us to our hotel “Paradise Cove” a few minutes away.  Our rooms weren’t ready yet so the lady at the hotel took us to town to see the Constitution Day celebrations but we were too early.

We rented a motorbike and toured the island for most of the day. In addition to the beautiful sights we saw some devastation from a recent cyclone.