68 HERALD EXPRESS Thursday, December 1 2011 – Wednesday, December 7 2011HEX-E01-S2

HERALD EXPRESS Thursday, December 1 2011 – Wednesday, December 7 2011 69HEX-E01-S2

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Late DealsUK/IRELAND

■ CORNWALL: St Michael’s Hotel &Spa, Falmouth (01326 312 300)offers three nights’ dinner and B&Bfrom Dec 19 from £129, with two,three and four-night Twixmasbreaks (Dec 27-30) from £79 perperson per night.■ NORTH YORKSHIRE: YorkshireCottages (01228 406 701) offersseven nights’ self-catering in barnconversion sleeping four in heartof North York Moors National Parkfrom Dec 20 or 28 for £560, saving£90.

SHORT BREAKS■ VENICE: Cresta (0844 879 8014)offers three nights’ B&B at four-star Papadopoli Hotel from £299,saving £126, ex-Gatwick witheasyJet Feb 19.■ MARRAKECH:lowcostholidays.com (0800 1116271) offers four nights’ B&B atfour-star Hotel Kenzi Tichka from£155, ex-Luton Feb 1.

SHORT-HAUL SUN■ ALGARVE: Directline (0800 4086324) offers seven nights’ self-catering from £134, ex-StanstedJan 11, based on three-star PateoVillage, just outside Albufeira.Baggage incl, transfers extra.■ MAJORCA: Directline (0800 4086324) offers seven nights’ self-catering at Club Simo Aparthotel inresort of Cala Millor from £170, ex-Bristol, Dec 8. Baggage incl,transfers extra.■ TURKEY: Directline (0800 4086324) offers seven nights’ all-incl atthree-star hotel in Alanya from£177, ex-Gatwick Dec 13. Holdbaggage incl, transfers extra.

LONG-HAUL■ RED SEA: Longwood (0844 7704898) offers seven nights’ B&B atfive-star Sheraton Miramar ElGouna from £627, ex-ManchesterDec 9.■ THAILAND: Virgin (0844 5573870) offers seven nights’ B&B atthree-star Novotel Phuket Resortfrom £945, saving up to £307, withThai Airways deps ex-HeathrowNov 29-Dec 6.■ GAMBIA: Cosmos (0844 5734261) offers 14 nights’ B&B atthree-star Hotel Seaview Gardensin Koloi for £435, ex-Gatwick Nov29 and incl transfers.■ THAILAND: Hayes & Jarvis (0844415 1918) offers eight nights’ B&Bat Centara Villas Samui on popularisland of Koh Samui from £599,saving £327, ex-Heathrow withThai Airways on Dec 1 andtransfers.■ RED SEA: Olympic (0844 5762386) offers seven nights’ all-inclusive at four-star HarmonyMakadi Bay Beach resort,Hurghada, for £329, saving £247,ex-Manchester Dec 13 withtransfers.

CRUISES■ EASTERN MED: Cruise ThomasCook (0800 028 8844) offers 14nights on P&O’s Adonia ex-Veniceto Koper (Slovenia), Hvar, Bari,Katakolon, Nauplia, Istanbul,Mytilini, Kusadasi, Rhodes,Santorini and Athens from £729,ex-Gatwick Dec 6.

SKIING■ FRENCH ALPS: Rocket Ski (01273810 777) offers seven nights’catered chalet stay at four-starChalet Namika, Alpe d’Huez from£299, incl return flights ex-GatwickDec 10, transfers, afternoon teas,dinners with wine on all but onenight.

NOT being someonewho likes surprises,I can’t rememberthe last time I wasglad to be surpriseduntil I venturedinto a South Pacific

p a r a d i s e.Other than information obtained

from our guidebook, my partner and Iknew very little about the CookI s l a n d s.

It doesn’t parade as a typicalholiday destination, and the amountof people we know to have been therecan be counted on one hand.

Straight off the plane and into thetiny arrivals lounge, we were greetedby Jake Numanga, a locally famousnative and one-man ukulele band,who has apparently and melodicallyreceived every inbound flight,without fail, for 25 years.

“G re at , ” I muttered cynically, “I’vejust flown half way across the Pacificto feel like I’m in Spain.”

“Stop being a gloomy gus and get inthe holiday spirit,” my partnerretorted as if she was reprimanding afive year old.

As much as I hated to acquiesce toher order while suffering from flightfatigue, I had to admit that it wasmore delightful than tacky.

Being a former Britishprotectorate, the internationalairport on Rarotonga was regallyopened in 1987 by the Queen.

Accommodating three flights a day,the staff seemed in no immediaterush as they shuffled about in theirflowery shirts and leis, expertlylooking like they were doing nothingwhen in actual fact they were busy atwo rk .

“Ah, so this is island time,” I said tomy s e l f.

On the strength of the greeting andatmosphere on arrival, it wouldn’thave been irrational for us to assumewe had arrived in a tourist trap aseager to take our money as much aswe were to spend it.

But proof that assumption is themother of all mistakes was about tosurprisingly reveal itself.

Captain Cook would be proud; high-rise buildings do not exist onRarotong a.

Neither do an abundance of over-priced restaurants serving fayreseasoned to tourist taste buds, norbars where it’s always happy hour.

These places exist, of course, butinstead they are to be found scatteredaround the island in clusters of nomore than two or three at a time.

Consequently, there is no ‘strip’ tospeak of — no central hub thatsatisfies every whimsical need of theh o l i d ay m a ke r.

While there are a number of small,privately owned resorts onRarotonga, there are none with anyrecognisable commercial name.

Perhaps more significant andimmediately apparent is thatRarotonga is not a place you go tospend time in a resort, hidden behindtypically high, artificial walls builtfor the purpose of protectingholidaymakers from relentless touts.

But there are no touts; it is a placeyou go to co-exist with friendly andamiable locals, allowing you toexperience everyday island lifeunconstrained.

My partner and I rented a self-contained garden bungalow, whichsat within rustic grounds wherepassion fruit, avocado and coconutgrew liberally and enticingly, ready tobe picked freely by its temporaryi n h ab i t a n t s.

Invariably, regardless of the time ofday, the beach closest to our bungalowwould be deserted and, even with mylack of imagination, it wasn’t hard to

envisage that we were enjoying thesame unchanged beach that CaptainJames Cook first came across in 1773.

None of the white-sand beachesaround the island are privatised.

They are not raked, swept oraesthetically prepared with the solepurpose of pleasing the eye of thev i s i t o r.

Though consequently more rugged,they effortlessly retain their beauty;cartoon palms flawlessly keep guardover crystal-clear water, whichbehaves peacefully inside the coralwall of its surrounding reef, creatingpretty turquoise-blue lagoons.

Those islanders in positions ofpower who have resistedopportunities for development onRarotonga must be acknowledged; theisland is peaceful and quiet becauseof it, and has subsequently retainedits ambience and charm.

And it is refreshing that, while aportion of the Rarotongan economyclearly relies on tourism, it is notwhat holds it up.

It is a beautifully unique paradoxthat simply does not seem interestedin the tourist trade as a means forp ro s p e r i t y.

Despite our serious lack ofexperience with motor scooters, mypartner and I decided that this wouldbe the best way to explore every inchof the island.

“How hard can it be?” I asked,puffing out my chest and trying todraw on as much testosterone as Icould.

“Oh, so you don’t remember thelast one we hired, then?” my partnersaid as she looked at mei n c re d u l o u s ly.

“Err, no,” I sheepishly answered,knowing I was better to assume itwas my fault anyway.

“Well I’ll bet the hire companydoes!” she said sharply, seeminglyhappy with herself for reminding methat it ended up in a hedge.

Having been on the compulsoryvisit to the police station to hand overtwenty dollars, I was now the proudowner of a Cook Islands drivingl i c e n c e.

“A nice souvenir if nothing else,” Ithought.

There is one main road on theisland, which circles the perimeter,and another smaller, weathered trackwhich circles the interior.

While the outer road accommodatesmore traffic, the inner road is quieterand allows for the exploration of

intrinsic residential areas and asimple life seldom seen by visitors.

I am envious of the societaldifferences in living on an island ofthis size; there exists one dentist, oneplumber, one television engineer, andso on.

Competition is scarce. That isunless you’re in the business ofbaking.

Bizarrely, there are three bakerieson the island supplying their share ofc a r b o hyd r at e s.

Rarotonga is a place where not

much happens but life itself, albeit ata much slower pace.

There is a reason for this. Theisland is charmingly seductive andstunningly beautiful, and it is nothard to tell that Rarotongans areproud of it just the way it is.

And about as charming as anythingon the island is that the two publicbuses run clockwise and anti-clockwise and are, therefore, namedas such. And therein lay a perfectillustration of how simple life ist h e re.

NICHOLAS BURT

Paradise island is charmingly seductive and stunningly beautiful

Fact boxLocation: South Pacific Ocean,NE of New ZealandBest time to go: Ye a r - ro u n dCapital City: Avar ua( R a ro t o n ga )Population: 21,000Number of Islands: 15Currency: NZ dollar (NZD)Languages: Cook IslandsMaori & EnglishGreeting: Kia Orana (Hello)Website:w w w. c o o k - i s l a n d s . c o m

IDYLLIC: Evening at Muri Laggon, Rarotonga CAN STOCK PHOTO INC. / CBSVA CLEAR WATERS: A starfish in tropical waters off Rarotonga CAN STOCK PHOTO INC. / KWEST19

COLOURFUL: The bright backside of a small market stall atAvarua town, capital of Rarotonga, the Cook Islands CAN STOCK

PHOTO INC. / CBSVA

PARADISE: The clear waters and white coral sand beaches of Rarotonga atAitutaki lagoon CAN STOCK PHOTO INC. / CBSVA

KEEPING LIFE SIMPLE: Typical transport on RarotongaNICHOLAS BURT