Stop one: Rarotonga
The Guides walk off the plane and straight onto the tarmac in sunny Rarotonga to a bright welcome from the locals. They’re headed to the Pacific Resort Rarotonga on the island’s east coast. The boutique resort sits right on the shores of Muri Beach and boasts 64 studios, suites, spacious villas and family rooms.
One of those family rooms is assigned to the Frens. With just a thin curtain dividing Vic and Jono from their parents Mark and Cathy, the room is perhaps a little too family friendly for this particular family unit. However, Kevin calls their stunning beachfront suite with its breathtaking view the “stuff of dreams”.
There is a big range of aquatic activities available at the resort including kayaking, snorkelling and a twist on classic stand up paddleboarding that you can try at twilight. On the Fire on Water Night Paddle Tour, you can see the sea life at night thanks to LED lights built into the bottom of the paddleboard.
The Guides have mixed success on their boards – Matt and Brett have only done “lie down paddleboarding” before, while Mark Fren says their “top heavy” family isn’t suited to the sport. Luckily, Bri and Karly can stay upright long enough to see the sea cucumbers scattered on the ocean floor. Once they make it to the nearby island, the Guides get some hands-on experience with fire twirling.
The next morning, Matt and Brett start their day with a breakfast cocktail at the resort’s Barefoot Bar. Brett thinks they’ve mixed in every available type of alcohol in the cocktail, but they pay for their drinks with their Travel Money Oz Currency Pass while they’re still sober.
The Guides then head to the south side of the island to embark on the Ariki Adventures Sea Scooter Turtle Safari. This tour takes you through the deep Avaavaroa Passage, which connects the main island to the sea. The sea scooters are a nifty way to help propel swimmers through the water, so they can focus on spotting the native Hawksbill and Green Sea Turtles.
Matt describes the scooter as like an “underwater dust buster” – but it’s surprisingly powerful. While Mark Fren thought he’d need a Newcastle tug boat to pull him along, he was pleasantly surprised by how easy it was to glide through the water with the sea scooter. All the Guides are blown away by the experience with Bri and Karly even moved to tears by their sea turtle encounter.
The Guides’ next activity moves at a slightly slower place. On the west side of Rarotonga, the Edgewater Resort hosts the International Crab Race. Think: a super low stakes Melbourne Cup where you can bet on which crab will make it outside of the ring first. Bri puts her money on “Mr Useless” because she says it’s what she knows best, while Brett goes for “All Blacks” because they win everything. To add extra obstacles on the course, everyone is asked to chuck their shoes into the ring – at this point Bri regrets bringing her $1500 Louis Vuitton slides to the Cook Islands. Ultimately, none of the guides win.
Next up is a class with the Akirata Dance Troupe who do weekly performances at the Islander Hotel. Seasoned dancer Bri picks up the moves quick – once figuring out her right from left – but the Fren Family seem to have less natural rhythm, even though Victoria reckons they have the figure for it.
The Guides also get to try out a far less traditional kind of dancing on the Raro Pub Crawl. Rehab’s Party Bus is a hop on, hop off bus that travels around the island three nights a week and stops at a range of bars. Janetta is concerned that other partygoers will think their grandparents have boarded the bus, but ends up embracing the experience, which she says is like “an irresponsible city sights tour”. Even The Boys think the age limit for a party bus should be 19. Perhaps they’re right, as Kev has to bail before the final stop at Rehab Night Club because he’s partied too hard.
To detox from their night of partying, The Boys and Karly and Bri head inland to attempt a cross-island hike through the jungle to Needle Rock. Bri says she’s more into Bondi walks and brunches, so this six kilometre, four-hour hike is certainly a step up. Luckily, the views from Needle Rock are worth it. The Boys even scale part of the towering rock, which is taller than the Empire State Building.
Costs
