Rarotonga

After an eight hour stop over in LA, we arrived in Rarotonga, Cook Islands. You have to have a place to stay that is booked prior to arrival, or they can turn you away on the next flight. So we went out on a limb and decided to stay at Vara's Place, which turned out to be the best spot on the island and cheap too! We were greeted by a large young man in the middle of the night, he drove us and a few others to Vara's and unloaded us for the night. My friend had her snowboard with her because later on she would be in New Zealand snowboarding. The islanders thought it was interesting to see a few girls arrive to the islandswith snowboards, since they had never seen snow before or a snowboard. This large young man turned out do have many jobs on the island including driving to and from the airport to Vara's, dancing the traditional island dances at island night and dating the topless English girls that made their way there. He was a good guy though.

for 7 NZ dollars a day, you can rent a moped, and fill the tank for under 2 NZ dollars. The catch is that you must first get your Cook Islands drivers licence. Its a simple hand writen test down at the police station in the main town, Avarua, and then you follow a police officer along with 10 other tourists in a row like ducks around a park in a circle out front. Its really just a way to make money, but it is quite hilarious.

The police drive around the island in a pick up truck, around 5 of them packed in there, and they just keep driving in a circle. The only thing they really do is drive home the drunk people from the bars at night, which is good I guess.