The big trip

I am up to date on the blogging at last! Some entries need padding out abit though. Mark and I are having another poker/shopping day today so I came back to the internet cafe I saw yesterday and spent 2 hours catching up. Phew, might spend a bit of time people watching now - always amusing in Vegas!

Today was the day Mark had been waiting for - he could play poker while I went shopping - everyone was happy!

I walked down the Hawaiian marketplace and found this cheap (ish) internet place - hurrah! I walked around for nearly all of today and only covered a couple of blocks as the hotels are so massive it takes ages to walk anywhere. I was knackered when I met Mark back at the hotel in the evening.

Also confessed to Mum that the doctor in New Zealand I saw a few weeks ago said I had the start of pnemonia but I didn't want to tell her in case she worried, so I waited until I was better to tell her and write it in this blog. Those anti-biotics knocked it on the head - phew!

We went to a burger place for tea, the veggie burgers were yummy! Went to Treasure Island to try and catch the show but it was cancelled due to high winds - we'll have to try again tomorrow... Saw the volcano at the Mirage.

Went to downtown Vegas today to the Fremont Street experience. Mark wanted to play a bit of poker at the well known (to poker players?) Binons Horseshoe so I left him to it while I went for a walk.

Once it went dark, all the neons went on and you could recognise it from the films http://www.vegasexperience.com/. We also caught a show on the biggest LED screen in the world and the tag line wasn't kidding, it was OTT!

Must be jet lagged even though we didn't realise it - slept solid til 1pm!

We eased into the day by lying by the pool for a few hours - I'm getting so dark I hardly recognise myself!

Went to Casears Palace shopping centre for a wander and had some food at Planet Hollywood (the restaurant, not the hotel as both are here) and by the time we wandered back to the hotel it was 8pm...time is still going too fast - I'll be home this time next week.

Spent most of today travelling, arrived in LA at midday and then had to wait a few hours for our connecting flight to Vegas. Had some of the local food within a few minutes of arriving in the US - Maccie D's!

The descent / landing in Vegas took ages and was so bumpy, after 10 flights in two months, I nearly had to make use of one of those paper bags!

Vegas is as big and brash as I remember if not more so! It is also around the mid 30's - hot, hot, hot!

Staying at the Paris hotel opposite the Bellagio and we can see the fountains from our room - my favourite thing in Vegas - I'm happy!

Mark set himself a daily limit for gambling - very sensible you might think - but then he lost today's, tomorrows and Tuesday all in one go as he was so excited! Oh dear! No more poker til Wednesday for him!

Although our flight wasn't until 23:40pm today, we didn't get up to much (there's a change!).

Had to make a last minute dash into town for cash and also made the most of the beach, taking a walk along the beautiful shores - I'm going to miss this place...

Last full day in Rarotonga.

Went into town to get some cash (there are only a few cash points around and all but one are in town) and went to Trader Jacks for lunch (this is apparently quite well known in the Pacific too). The pizza was yummy and you could see a ship wreck from 1916 from there sticking up.

Did a bit of shopping too and it was mid afternoon by the time we got back - time is flying by.

Squeezed in abit of sunbathing before going to an island night at the Pacific Resort - all the food is made from local produce and then there is a traditional dancing display with drums. The cocktails were good too. Managed to avoid audience participation but I think Mark was quite keen to have a go! A memorable last night ;o)

Bikes were due back today, woke up at 10:50am to realise they were due back at 11am - oops! Everyone is so laid back they didn't seem too bothered when we were abit late.

Yep - another day lounging today and back to the Flame Tree for tea - I could get used to this!

Came back from dinner to find Paul and Shona sitting outside their house (just behind ours), which Pauls brother in law and wife - they were gutting the biggest fish I have EVER seen! We sat with them for a bith but it was pretty gross and even Mark said the smell made him feel sick after a while!

Today is a public holiday - Anzac day so the twice hourly buses are even less frequent and not many places are open. Luckily we have the trusty bikes to get around!

As it was cloudly and threatening to rain, we found an internet/food cafe and after feeding up on smoothies and toasties, I tried again to catch up on the blogging.

Soon it was sunny though, so we went back to our little house to read and lie in the sun. Feel sooooo chilled out!

Chilled out today after our busy day yesterday and made the most of the sunshine. Luckily the rain hasn't restricted us at all, sometimes it is actually quite refreshing.

I'm still getting bitten alot but not getting a bad reaction this time like in the Philippines but I have learnt my lesson, the moment I start swelling up, I'm off to the doctor!

We've exhausted the local DVD rental place but the owners of the house where we are still has loaned some to us, not heard of many of them mind you! Watched House of Fog and Sand today.

Went to the Flame Tree restuarant which is apparently quite well known, the food was beautiful and there was more than one veggie choice so I was happy! The cocktails were good too - I'm becoming an expert! We liked it so much we booked a table for later on in the week :o)

We had an ace day today! We hired push bikes and cycled into town. It was hot but not too tiring but the saddles are really uncomfortable! I haven't ridden a bike in years so I was a bit wobbley at first. We bought snorkle gear in town and also some decent batteries for the camera as it has been out of action for a few days - we thought it was broken. Cycled home again and it started raining just near the end - must have cycled about 20km in all.

As we were soaking anyway, we decided to go snorkling anyway - we were out for about 2 hours and saw some weird and wonderful sealife!

Hooray - it's sunny today! Not alot to write about today as we lounged about for most of it - it could be a common theme for this week! We went out in the kayaks but I prefer swimming especially as it is so hot.

The most energetic thing we did was to return the DVDs and get a new one (Subway stories).

Uh oh - it's raining today! Tropical showers almost all morning! We went to the market this morning to soak up the atmosphere. Also got some food shopping as we are staying self catering this time.

Even though it was raining it was warm enough to go in the sea, I waded to the island opposite and Mark canoed there.

There is only 1 TV channel here (and we thought it was bad in NZ where there were 3!) and alot of the time it is religious stuff so no wonder DVDs / videos shops are popular with locals and tourists! We eventually found somewhere to rent DVDs and watched The Notebook and Brokeback Mountain.

Arrived in Rarotonga at 14:55pm, first impression from the plane were amazing.

The arrivals lounge was amusing with an entertainer singing and playing the guitar - traditional stylee! I got a flower garland from the taxi driver - a traditional greeting from the Cook Islands apparently.

The islands is pretty small, the coast road in 32km and as our accomodation was on the other side of the island, we got to see quite alot of it on our way there.

The place we are staying is an ace little hut - if you want to check it out, you can see it here http://www.rarotongalagoonvillas.com/murilagoon.html

It is pretty much right on the beach and there is an island opposite. The whole island has a reef going round it which makes it pretty calm for swimming and snorkling etc.

Lovin' it!

We were amazed that our taxi arrived at 5am as planned as we weren't entired convinced that reception would remember to book it!

But our flight from Wellington to Auckland and then on to the Cook Islands went without a hitch despite only an hour connection in Auckland.

Flight left Auckland at 9am Saturday 21 April and we arrived in Rarotonga, Cook Islands on 14:55pm Friday 20 April - how weird!