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  1. #1
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    Wayne Kerr's Avatar
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    Wayne Kerr’s Rarotonga Run

    The Cook Islands have a good reputation in the Pacific for pretty girls, black pearls, and the very laid back locals. I’m doing a bit of work out there these days so did a quick run down to the main island of Rarotonga to get feel for the lay of the land. Bloody small place of about 15,000 people … liked it so much I’ve booked myself a follow-up trip and will bung a few more pics up then.


    ^ About as far away from it all as it gets

  2. #2
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    Rarotonga - the Cook Islands


    ^ About 30 minutes drive around the sucker (or 32km round). Bordered by fringing coral reef with good surf breaks, the inshore lagoon is spectacular and full of fish, offshore of the reef is more than 4,500 metres deep … the locals call that the deep end of the pool

  3. #3
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    Wayne Kerr's Avatar
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    South Pacific Paradise


    ^ My first “photographic” memory of the Cooks. The guys I was working with rigged me up a seat in the back of their pick-up so I could get a good view and work on my suntan.




    ^ Snapped these two pics on the way into town from the airport … it was about this time I realised I’d landed in paradise

  4. #4
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    Wayne Kerr's Avatar
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    Downtown Rarotinga - the Cook Islands


    ^ Downtown Rarotonga … not too many cars or other things to worry about


    ^ They’ve even got themselves a cinema in Raro … pretty good going for the Pacific

  5. #5
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    Wayne Kerr's Avatar
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    Rarotonga Pub - the Cook Islands

    The pub aint that hard to find … not a bad place to watch the sunset and unwind after a hard days work












    ^ From memory the birds in this outrigger paddled over from a nearby island for dinner and a beer

  6. #6
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    awesome, I spent some time on Kiribati, reminds me of that.

  7. #7
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    Wayne Kerr's Avatar
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    Rarotonga - the Cook Islands

    A few random pics




    ^ These two are of a place called Muri lagoon … tanning salon for the rich and infamous apparently


    ^ This is the main water supply for the township … the locals have had to be a bit creative with respect to farming their crops … here they’re doing Taro like the terraced rice paddies of Asia … little wonder the town water supply is a bit muddy


    ^ No tour of Raro would be complete without a visit to the local rugby ground … they get every rugby game possible live on their single TV channel … oh and rugby takes priority over the nightly news … man these guys have got their shit together

  8. #8
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    Wayne Kerr's Avatar
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    Rarotonga Recycling Centre

    One of the guys I was visiting had set up Raro’s recycling centre so I had to check it out … getting rubbish off the Island is a big job and goes by ship to NZ … they’re doing a bloody good job at keeping the joint clean and green






    ^ Mostly getting rid of plastics and cans at this stage and will start on glass and other stuff soon ... good on em I say

  9. #9
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    Wayne Kerr's Avatar
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    Rarotonga Sunrise

    The last night was a bit pissy as the locals seem to drink all through the night … worked out quite good as I got sit and watch this awesome sunrise over a few coldies. All in all a nice few days and will explore the joint further soon.










  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by Wayne Kerr
    ^ No tour of Raro would be complete without a visit to the local rugby ground … they get every rugby game possible live on their single TV channel … oh and rugby takes priority over the nightly news … man these guys have got their shit together
    gotta love that!

  11. #11
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    Nice south seas images, Wayne. Spent a fair collection of my years living throughout the Pacific.

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    Why don't they ever send you to some good old fashioned shithole like Bangladesh Wayne? Are you just there to make the rest of us jealous?

    You should be ashamed of accepting a wage for these sort of junkets.

  13. #13
    On a walkabout Loy Toy's Avatar
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    ^ Yep getting paid to go to these type of places should be outlawed.

    Your a lucky bastard mate and again great pictures.

  14. #14
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    Wayne Kerr's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by sabang View Post
    Why don't they ever send you to some good old fashioned shithole like Bangladesh Wayne? Are you just there to make the rest of us jealous?

    You should be ashamed of accepting a wage for these sort of junkets.
    ... mate I like to think of it is as "compensation" for being away from LOS

  15. #15
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    That sunrise is sweet.

  16. #16
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    Quote Originally Posted by Wayne Kerr View Post
    The Cook Islands have a good reputation in the Pacific for pretty girls....
    And all you give us is pictures of recycling shacks and beaches.....

  17. #17
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    Quote Originally Posted by Whiteshiva
    pretty girls....
    Saving them for my "Pretty Girls of the Pacific" thread mate

  18. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by Wayne Kerr View Post
    Quote Originally Posted by Whiteshiva
    pretty girls....
    Saving them for my "Pretty Girls of the Pacific" thread mate
    This should proove interesting.

  19. #19
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    Wayne Kerr's Avatar
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    ^ I was thinking a compare and contrast Melanesia, Polynesia and Micronesia ... I'm sure you could lend some advice RS

  20. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by Wayne Kerr
    ^ I was thinking a compare and contrast Melanesia, Polynesia and Micronesia ... I'm sure you could lend some advice RS
    greens on the way.... provided you do!

  21. #21
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    Quote Originally Posted by Wayne Kerr View Post
    ^ I was thinking a compare and contrast Melanesia, Polynesia and Micronesia ... I'm sure you could lend some advice RS
    OK. Pacific beauty. As Polynesia goes, Tahitian and Marquesan flat out. Though Marquesans tend to be on the 'meaty' side - still outstanding. The stereotype that follows Tongan and Samoan is true to life. Though some are quite slim and tasty....Tongans tend to be more so hefty. As Wayne knows, Cook Island Maori are closer related to Tahitians, so they tend to take on such similiar charactaristics. Never been an admirer of Melanesian lasses. Some Solomon Islanders and those of Vanuatu can be....let's say, healthy. Micronesia: always found ni-Kirabati delightfully gorgeous {as a rule}, same as Tuvalu - related bloodline. FSM ladies have a consistent way about themselves. Slight but worthy. Truk {Chuuk} is well worth the exploration. But, for overall Pacific beauty - French Polynesia.
    Last edited by Rural Surin; 29-05-2009 at 02:49 PM.

  22. #22
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rural Surin
    always found ni-Kirabati delightfully gorgeous {as a rule},
    until the day they turn 25 and they age overnight....

  23. #23
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rural Surin
    Truk {Chuuk} is well worth the exploration.
    \

    Off to Chuuk in about 2 weeks mate so will report accordingly. Otherwise RS has summed things up perfectly in my limited experience.

  24. #24
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    Just out of curiosity, is there any ho's on this island? :-)

  25. #25
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    There were a few Tahitian birds staying in my guest house who were "hawking the fork" ... mostly fly ins targeting tourists rather than locals ... didn't ask to think about the local tarts.

    Local lasses are friendly enough though

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