Reviewed By:
Wendy Pryke
Travel Date:
2003
Firstly, I would like to say thank you for this very informative site. If it wasn't for this site, we would have missed out on a wonderful and very affordable holiday to the Cook Islands.
After reading a posting on this site about the Fruits of Rarotonga, Cook Islands, I telephoned the people who left a posting on this site and had great feedback from them. We were going to stay
at the Rarotongan Beach Resort but could only afford to stay one week. When we organised accommodation with Shane and Heather at the Fruits of Rarotonga, we were able to extend our stay another
week which was absolutely fantastic. We booked a house right on the beach for $100.00NZ (2 adults 2 kids) a night. It has obviously gone up from $70.00NZ as stated in the posting we read. Anyway, it
is well worth the money anyway. The house we stayed in was neat and tidy, roomy, and had everything you needed in it. There is a local shop right next door or very close if you stay in one of their
other houses. There is a beautiful view from each of the houses looking out over the lagoon and reef, and chickens and the local dogs come and visit every day. The snorkelling is very good with lots
of fish but not as good as the Great Barrier Reef naturally. The Fruits of Rarotonga shop has the most delicious fruit smoothies (we kept going back for more), chutneys and jams. The Fruits of Rarotonga
is not in a very touristy spot on the island but the bus stop is right outside the shop and you can catch it either side of the road (as it is a ring road). We did go to the Rarotongan Beach Resort and
it looked like a real nice place with everything that you need but if you are holidaying on a budget, you can't beat staying at the Fruits of Rarotonga. We went to a local show not far from the Fruits of
Rarotonga at Piri's place. Piri is the most funny, entertaining man who climbs coconut trees and starts a fire with two sticks only. We had a really good time there and had a feast which we prepared ourselves
while he showed us what to do. We can highly recommend going to see him. The hula dancing at the Rarotonga Beach Resort is on a Wednesday night and the buffet meal included with it is yummy. Well this is just
a little snippet of our time at the Cooks and we all would love to go back again. If you can afford it, two weeks is definitely better than one. You only just start enjoying yourself in one week and then it
is all over. If it wasn't for the Fruits of Rarotonga, we would have missed out on another week which would have been a real let down.

