Living in the Cook Islands

 

In some ways, Rarotonga feels like a tropical small town in New Zealand – perhaps somewhere remote in Northland but hotter and with more coconut trees. You can buy most of the food brands we have in NZ, so the kids still have their weetbix and marmite, and the petrol stations sell the most enormous Tip Top kiddy cones in the world for $1. In others, this really is a different place altogether. The kids put together a few things they have found especially unique about our first few weeks in Rarotonga. 

The kids and me before school began, at one of our favourite spots, Muri beach

1. 1.  The money

While the Cook Islands uses NZ currency, they also have some unique coins and notes: the $5 coin, the triangular $2 coin, the $1 coin, the 50c coin, and the $3 note.

 

 2.   Drinking water

Tap water is not safe to drink here, so the island is dotted with free water stations. Every couple of days we take our huge water bottles down the road to re-fill them with filtered and UV treated water that’s safe to drink and brush our teeth with.

Filling one of our bottles at the free water station near our home

 

 3.   Swimming

Rarotonga is surrounded by a lagoon, with the reef some way off shore. This makes for a beautiful natural 'swimming pool' that’s always warm, shallow, and almost always calm. Perfect for an evening dip, sailing lessons, fish spotting, and even school swimming lessons! No pool, no worries, swimming lessons take place a short walk from school at our local beach.

School swimming lessons

 

4.    4. The animals

One of the biggest culture shocks when we first arrived was the number of animals wandering everywhere – around our house, across the roads, along the beaches, at the market. Everywhere. Dogs are very popular pets here and they are free to wander about during the day. They’re inquisitive and gentle, and leave you alone if you don’t show interest in them. Even E who was frightened of dogs when we arrived has learnt mostly to ignore them. There are also loads of chickens and roosters all around. We have gotten used to the constant noise during the night. Moko (geckos) are also plentiful, especially at night as they crawl along the ceiling of our deck areas. We hear they eat mosquitos, so we’re happy to have them camp out at our place. We're also enjoyed spotting the many hermit crabs on the beaches, especially in the evenings.

 

5.   5. The pace of life

No shoes, nothing open on Sundays, no traffic, no time pressure. Also no tv, no library (well there is one but it’s crammed to the roof with old dusty books so not quite what we’re used to - we are so lucky with our libraries in NZ), no online shopping, no grocery deliveries. The internet is also a lot more expensive and slower, so these blog posts won't be too regular. We have embraced this slower pace, enjoying Saturday morning markets, eating out, swimming, sailing, and spending plenty of time reading in the hammock we brought with us. Chores like grocery shopping also longer, and the house needs cleaning more regularly but that's ok, time is on our side.

We’re also enjoying living closer to school than we did in Wellington, walking most days so long as it’s not too wet or hot (it’s the rainy season so we have some downpours!). J made a video of the walk to school here.

Reading in the hammock

Outside the library and museum

Sunday bike ride - hiding from a downpour!