Tag Archives: travel photography

May 4, 2020 · 5:35 am

Rarotonga, Cook Islands — Taking in the Sights


Panorama from our beach cottage

Ursula and I absolutely love the island of Rarotonga, the most populated of the Cook Islands. We fell in love during our first visit in the mid-1990s, and this was our first trip back since then. Also a fun place in the Cooks is the island of Aitutaki, but, alas, we did not make the trek out there on this trip.

Beach outside our cottage

As you can see from these first several photographs, we had quite the beach just outside our oceanfront cottage. Here’s another view of the beach:

Beach outside our cottage

Even from the back porch the views were lovely:

View from our back porch

But the Muri District of Rarotonga is not the only area sporting magnificent views and stunning photographic opportunities. For the rest of today’s article I’m going to concentrate on the sights in and near Avarua on the north side of Rarotonga.

View from Avarua shoreline

Many of today’s images were taken at or near Trader Jacks, one of two restaurants I’ll review on this Wednesday’s article.

Breakers seen from Trader Jacks

One such view from Trader Jacks is the wreck of the S.S. Matai, a steam ship that ran aground and sank on Christmas day in 1916. The main boiler still protrudes today above the surf:

Wreck of the S.S. Matai (1916)

That wreck is farther out that it appears above from Trader Jacks. Here it is again from the Avarua shoreline west of where the photo above was taken”

Avarua, with SS Matia near the horizon

Looking for some really colorful flora to photograph? On of the most stunning on Rarotonga is the flamboyant tree, or flame free (Delonix regia), and there were in bloom everywhere:

Flame tree in bloom

One of my favorite ways to add depth and interest to beach shots is to frame them with vegetation. There are several examples of that above, but here’s another taken from Avarua:

Avarua, Rarotonga

Now let’s head back toward Trader Jacks and enjoy a few more views:

Looking out from Trader Jacks, Avarua

Fishin’ & Bikin’ outside Trader Jacks

Fishing boat near Avarua

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May 1, 2020 · 5:35 am

Fun Photo Friday — Rarotonga Favorites 1


Steps Toward Paradise

Today is the first of two Fun Photo Friday dedicated to Rarotonga favorites:

Trees and Water

Surf’s Up!

In the Heat of Battle at the Muri Night Market

Sunset at Charlie’s Café

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April 29, 2020 · 5:35 am

Rarotonga, Cook Islands — Dining Al Fresco at the Muri Night Market


Dining al fresco at the Muri Night Market

Yes, you can eat cheaply on Rarotonga. And well. And with lots of choices.

Baby Pancakes

Four times a week, weather permitting, in the heart of Muri Beach Village on Rarotonga’s east coast is the famous Muri Night Market.

Smoothies

Here you’ll find island food, desserts, Chinese and Indian inspired vendors, and even American favorites such as . . .

There’s even pizza!

Here is a sampling of some of the menus you’ll find here:

Muri Night Market vendor menu
Muri Night Market vendor menu
Muri Night Market vendor menu
Muri Night Market vendor menu
Muri Night Market vendor menu
Muri Night Market vendor menu

My favorite place was the Noodle Tent.

My favorite — the Noodle Tent

Interesting story here the first night we went — the charming lady you see above took orders and plated the food. Her husband is in the background doing the cooking. Neither had change for my order. Even so, she gave my order of noodles to me and told me to come back later. Which I did, as soon as I got change at another tent selling desserts. Here’s my scrumptious noodle order being prepared:

Great Noodles!

This is a really great place to get some of the local flavor (pun intended) and mingle with the locals as well as the tourists staying near Muri Beach. Indeed, our bungalow was within about a ten-minute walk of the Night Market.

Smoothies

The cooks really know their way around a hotplate, or a grill:

Cooking at the Muri Night Market

But get to the Muri Night Market early, because the vendors start selling out of their most popular items fairly quickly. Once something on the menu is gone, it’s gone!

Lots of choices at the Muri Night Market

The Muri Night Market is open from 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday through Thursday and on Sunday. But, again, get their early or your choices will be limited.

Local Charm

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