Our last day was spent in the chalet and trying to catch a few rays of sunshine. The owners had very kindly let us have a late checkout for an extra £30 and also booked a taxi to the airport for us. The flight wasn’t until 2200 hrs so we were picked up at 18.30.
The sunset was so colourful and really pretty, and it lit up the airport beautifully. Being a small island, the airport as you’d expect is not large by any stretch of the imagination! However, despites its diminutive size, its efficiency was outstanding. We were checked in, bags went through a hole in the wall, and off to (hopefully) our plane. We went to the departure lounge, and had a drink from the tiny cafe that served the hottest teas and coffees we’ve had to date! Most of the passengers were sat outside and only came in when the flight was called.
There were two daily flights from Rarotonga to New Zealand and we were on the last one of the day. On board were some adorable little kids, with the exception of one boy, they were all girls, and really well behaved. After boarding via the forklift truck, assisted by some of the nicest people, it wasn’t long before we were airborne. The little kids promptly fell asleep, and so did pretty much the rest of the flight.
Leaving there on Monday 22/04 at 2200 hrs, we landed in Auckland at 0045 on Wednesday 24/04. My poor brain can’t cope! It really can’t, and it’s a good job we had an extra day in February because frankly I feel I’ve been robbed of a day!
Morg was waiting for us as we came out of the arrivals and within a few minutes we were in his car, with the heater on, heading towards the city and our hotel for the next two nights. We opted for an apartment/hotel because we wanted to wash our clothes etc before the next trip, and where we were was close to Morg and Liv’s flat. Well it was, but they moved whilst we were in the Cook Islands, and are now in Newmarket where we were staying previously!
The hotel is lovely, I would describe it as “plush” and there is a gym, heated mineral pool, sauna and steam room available which I liked the sound of when I booked it. Morg helped Si carry the bags up and then left us to get some sleep. He’s working in the morning, but will probably be finished early afternoon so will bring over the bits we left with him before flying to Rarotonga.
The bed is divine! Huge and exceedingly comfortable, I don’t think we will need much rocking tonight!