Cook Islands House Rental - Part 2
Apr 27 '02 (Updated Aug 06 '03)
The Bottom Line Looking for a tropical vacation but on a limited budget? Renting a house in the Cook Islands may be just what you're looking for.
THE ISLAND VILLA (Not So Far From the Madding Crowd):
Continued from Part 1 - which you can find here:
http://www.epinions.com/content_2624430212
Now on the review:
After our return from AItutaki, the Raro Tours representative met us at the airport on Rarotonga and took us to the Pacific Resort on Muri Beach. This is the resort that manages the "Island Villa" (our second rental house). Here we dealt with our paperwork and picked up a rental car and before long were following a Pacific Resort employee to our new abode. On the Jetsave website, it says the "Island Villa" is near the Muri Beachcomber, and so during our previous week on Raro, we had walked the beach in this area looking for the house. I had no idea what the place looked like from the land side but I had seen a few photos of the beach side of it on various websites, so I figured I would know it when I saw it. We were however, unsuccessful, and now we found out why. The house is not really that near the Muri Beachcomber at all, but rather perhaps half a mile south, at the very edge of the Muri Beach area. This was a big plus in that we were at least a little removed from the "crowds" ("crowds" being a relative term) at Muri.
It turned out that this place was actually a guesthouse of a much larger place next door. This guesthouse was much, much smaller than our previous rental (the "Main Islander on the Beach") and we didn't like it nearly as much, though it did have a few good points. It was comprised of a small living room equipped with wicker furniture, a spare bed, a TV and a stereo. The kitchen offered a fridge, gas-stove & oven, coffee maker, and microwave. The dining area had a decent sized table with 4 chairs. While the bedroom was small, it was nevertheless very appealing - with a nice view of the lagoon, attractive lighting at night, and a double bed that was unfortunately somewhat uncomfortable because the mattress was so very thin. The final feature was a rather different bathroom that was half-inside and half-outside of the house. This was sort of hard to describe, but I'll do my best. From the main road, the house was down 1 story so in effect, the ceiling of the bathroom was more or less level with the road. One end of the bathroom opened onto a small sunken garden that was open to the sky. In theory this would allow anyone to climb down into the garden pit and enter your house through the bathroom. To prevent this, there were locks on both sides of the bathroom door, and signs warned you to keep the bathroom door locked at all times. This could be a major security issue, but the fact is that the pit was pretty well hidden among the bushes near the parking area of the main house and could not be easily seen. You'd have to know it was there or you'd never even notice it. I suspect the security risk was slight, but we kept the door closed and locked all the same. Along with the toilet, sink and shower, this room provided a washing machine and held a propane-powered water heater (which sometimes failed to work properly). It tended to be warm and humid in here, and you certainly knew you were in the tropics.
All told, the house was fairly decent, especially as it had a very nice deck off the back that allowed a pretty view of the lagoon and the southernmost of the motus (islands) in the Muri area. Trees and bushes hid the house from view from the road, and similar plantings in the back provided some degree of privacy, shade and the wonderful aroma of tropical flowers both night and day. Like everyplace else on the island, the place had its fair share of geckos. At night they could be seen clambering on the ceiling overhead and in the bathroom at pretty much any time (day or night). Apparently they do a pretty good job of keeping the insect population under control though they failed to dispose of a HUGE spider that startled my wife as she entered the bathroom. I am happy to report that that particular spider no longer resides in the house. There was also one extra feature we didn't expect. Because the Pacific Resort managed the house, there was daily maid service.
We did find however, that there were a few drawbacks to the place. First of all it lacked any sort of outdoor lighting on the back deck. In our previous rental, we'd made a habit of lounging outside long after dark, reading and enjoying a drink as we reveled in the soft tropical breeze. Here, we couldn't do that. When it got dark, it was time to head inside. Furthermore, the lighting inside was not that great either. The living room was way too dark, with insufficient lighting in both quantity and quality to do any reading at all, leaving you the only option of reading in bed. As a result, we did end up watching some Cook Islands television (1 channel - with news from New Zealand). Anyway, if you like to read, this is probably not the place for you. The biggest disappointment in the "Island Villa however, was its location. Muri Beach is widely considered to be the most popular beach on Rarotonga, but I have to admit, we didn't like it anywhere near as much as we liked the beaches of Viamaanga. Admittedly, Muri is beautiful to look at. The wonderful collection of motus that lie just offshore give the place a decidedly idyllic appearance that no other location on Raro can even begin to duplicate. There are also plenty of terrific restaurants to choose from including Sail's and the Flame Tree, 2 of the best-known (and well-regarded) eateries on the island. And finally, there are plenty of activities to keep you busy - from swimming, to snorkeling to kayaking and windsurfing, Muri offers it all. No wonder it is perhaps the most popular place on the island. However, in spite of all this, we didn't care that much for it - why? Well, part of it has to do with the fact that it was much more developed than the area where we were before (though keep in mind that "developed" is a relative term - compared to many other tourist destinations, even Muri is still pretty quiet). The fact is however, that we prefer to have even fewer people about than what we found there.
There is a second reason why we didn't like it so much, and that has to do with the nature of the coral and the resulting impact on our water activities. Muri really has 2 distinct areas The area north of (just about) the Pacific Resort is in my opinion much nicer than the south end where we stayed. The north end of the lagoon features very little coral, and what there was of it was clustered together in small clumps so it's easy to go around. There are vast stretches of white coral sand beneath the waves, and swimming and wading about are very easy. The water is pretty shallow (perhaps too shallow for some of you), and you can easily wade over to the various motus that lie across the lagoon. These places are great locations to do a little exploring. There are also some areas along the shore (both on the main island and on the motus) that feature beautifully lush saltwater marshes that are a great backdrop for some potentially stunning photos. The only real drawback to this northern area of the lagoon is that the outflow current can be very strong, especially the further north you go. I've read that at certain times of the day the current can be upwards of 5 knots - that's really fast folks - and you need to take care not to be carried out through the channel and into the open sea. I paddled a kayak out to explore this area and ended up deciding it was easier to get out of the boat and tow it back south than to try to paddle against the flow. It seemed that every time I paused to rest, I lost every bit of what I'd gained rowing. Anyway, the north end of Muri is a pretty decent area, and certainly absolutely lovely to gaze upon.
The south end of Muri however we didn't like anywhere near as much. The bottom here seemed to have some sort of brown algae covering it. Apparently the stuff wasn't unhealthy, but it was decidedly unappealing in appearance. I don't know if this is a permanent situation or something that is merely seasonal, but either way, we really didn't like it. Here too the coral tends to lie in vast sheets covering large areas of the bottom rather than in separate coral towers or clumps. As result, wading is very difficult. The coral is rough, rocky and jagged and footing can be treacherous - not to mention the fact that I don't think it's a good idea to walk on the stuff in the first place as it's rather brittle and easily damaged. Anyway, on our first day in the area we tried to wade out to the small motu nearest our place and finally gave it up as a bad idea. The bottom was just way too rough to make the trip any fun - and that was with reef shoes on - if you tried this barefoot you'd tear your feet to shreds. During high tide you can certainly swim over but wading is pretty problematic - but at low tide swimming is not necessarily a good option either, as the water can become extremely shallow. Now admittedly, the sheets of coral don't lie everywhere. While on an aerial tour of the island we passed over Muri and I noticed that right in front of our house (near the outflow from a small stream), lay a large stretch of virgin sand. Consequently, we were able to make our way out into water waist deep or so (during low tide) and from there explore the coral along the fringes. This was an awkward inconvenience however. On the plus side, because of all the coral, there were admittedly plenty of fish here (more than off Vaimaanga), and lots of tidepools to explore, so I guess it all depends on what your priorities are. Personally, though we preferred the south shore - with its white sandy beaches and scattered coral towers. In any event, depending on how you weigh your priorities, the "Island Villa" may suit you fine.
FINAL THOUGHTS:
Renting a house was terrific experience, and I highly recommend it. There are of course, risks - you really have no idea what you are getting and may have little or no recourse if you are unhappy with your accommodations (depending on how you booked and paid for your trip). Still, we enjoyed ourselved enormously, and plan to use this approach again, not just in the Cook Islands, but in Hawaii as well. As I mentioned, we booked our trip through Jetsave on Rarotonga (the main island in the Cooks), but I'm not necessarily pushing them. Our experience with them was okay, but I know there are some folks out there who've had some problems with them. I did finally meet with the Jetsave folks face to face a couple of days after our arrival on Raro when I stopped by to pick up the rest of our travel documents and vouchers. They seemed alright but I have to admit I got the distinct feeling that they really weren't that interested in talking to me - raising concerns that they may just be interested in getting your money, but not in helping you deal with any problems you might encounter. Admittedly however, their 24 hr hotline worked just fine when we first arrived at the airport and Raro Tours wasn't sure where to take us. In any event, based on things I've heard about them, I resist giving them a whole-hearted recommendation, though I feel fine giving them a conditional one.
...and lastly, if you are interested in seeing some of the photos from our trip, including some shots of the houses mentioned, you might want to take a peek at my collection of travel photos posted on Webshots. The URL is:
http://community.webshots.com/user/lordbalfor
If you are seriously thinking of renting either of the two places we stayed in and wish to see more photos, you can feel free to e-mail me (see my e-mail address in my profile) and simply ask. I would be more than happy to send them to you. Though both places had good points, we much preferred the "Main Islander on the Beach" on the south shore for reasons already mentioned.
Also - You might want to take a look at my detailed reviews of the islands of Rarotonga and Aitutaki to see if these places have what you are looking for in regards to activities, shopping and dining.
Finally, here is a list of some Cook Islands links that pertain to rental houses. Again, if you are seriously considering such a vacation you might want to take a look and book-mark the sites. Note that the Lonely Planet website is a great place to query other travelers to see if others have advice to offer on where to stay, so I've included that too. This is where I learned about the thief working near the Palm Grove Lodges:
http://www.maui.net/~jbonline/menu.html
http://cookpages.com/
http://www.webcentral.co.ck/ac_rental.htm
http://www.rarorealty.co.ck/rentals.htm
http://www.jetsave.co.ck/
http://thorntree.lonelyplanet.com/categories.cfm?catid=20
There are of course many others, but this should give you a good start. The Cooks are a delightful place with warm water and exceptionally friendly people. These islands have been compared to the way Hawaii was 50 years ago, and I suspect that is a pretty accurate comparison. Add to that the fact that they are very inexpensive, and you have one great place. You can rent houses a block or so from the beach for about half of one on the water itself - or stay in a hostel for at little as $10 - $15 USD a night. The only pricey part of a trip to the Cooks is getting there. Currently Air New Zealand is the only carrier (with 3-4 flights a week from LAX) so they can pretty much charge what they want. When we went our travel agent was able to get us a price of just under $1000 USD each for a round-trip ticket - and we thought that was pretty good. Still, if you can scrape up the airfare, being there is pretty darned cheap (especially if you deal with the homeowner directly)
... and your memories will be priceless.
Safe and Happy Journeys,
Ken
PS: Cost for the "Island Villa" (through Jetsave) was $1190 NZD ($532 USD) per week.
PS2: Word is that Aloha Airlines has begin offering service from Honolulu to Raro twice a week. As currently scheduled, the flights leave Honolulu Mondays & Fridays at 9 AM (arriving at 3:18 PM) and make the return to Honolulu on Tuesdays and Saturdays at 11 AM (Arriving at 5:15 PM). Besides the usual LAX to Raro flight on Air New Zealand, visitors are now be able to get their via a stop in Hawaii. Hopefully this competition will even bring Air New Zealand's price down a little.
Important update of Aug, 4th, 2003:
An E-mail associate who recently stayed at the "Island Villa" (the 2nd house we'd rented)reports that they left the place because there were too many bugs! Specially, some cockroaches, millipedes and (most worrisome) 6-inch long centipedes. Can't say as I blame him. If we'd seen that (especially the centipedes - which have a very nasty bite), we'd have left too. We'd encountered a single (though very LARGE) spider when we were there, but none of the other creatures mentioned so it sounds like this place is starting to get out of control in regards to the insects - likely due to the indoor-outdoor bathroom that I describe. My advice therefor is to think carefully before you decide to book this house. Though it has many good features, I'm not sure that they outweigh the fact that the place may be starting to get pretty buggy. You certainly don't want to be climbing in bed with a centipede.
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Epinions.com ID:
LordBalfor
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Member: Ken Klein
Location: Seattle, Wa
Reviews written: 36
Trusted by: 109 members
About Me:
I am in love with the tropics (especially the South Pacific).
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