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HIGHLAND PARADISE CULTURAL CENTRE
From the hotel it was an eight-minute drive to The Highland Paradise Cultural Centre. The 205-acre property is one of the Cook Islands' most important historic sites. It's located up in the rugged mountains of Rarotonga and has incredible views of the aqua lagoon and valley. The center was created by the late Raymond Pirangi Senior, a sub-chief from the prominent Rarotongan Tinomana Tribe, to allow visitors to relive Polynesian heritage through self-guided or guided tours. My tour began with a welcome from Raymond's beautiful daughter (now the owner) and a couple of short videos for background information.

CANNIBALISM
Then it was time to meet our tour guide who was all dressed up like a native warrior. Just as the tour began, it started to pour rain (they provided us with ponchos and bug spray). It wasn't much fun walking around in the rain but it was interesting to learn about cannibalism. I had no idea it was a sacred event and only a few people with high-ranking titles could do it. They would sacrifice enemies or criminals just a few times a year and then after crushing their head with a single blow from a large rock, they would put them in the earth oven and eat them to get their mantra (power). The beautiful lush grounds are filled with many fruit trees (be careful of falling coconuts), replica ares (houses), and sacred rocks. Our guide was an expert in local crafts, legends, local tribal history and flora and fauna. I tasted the Noni fruit, which is gaining popularity all around the world, but it tastes and smells really nasty. The centre is open from 9am to 3pm Monday through Saturday. The daily two-hour guided tour begins at 10am and costs NZ$79. On Wednesdays they have a Sunset Cultural Show and feast. I wasn't able to attend but I did sample some of its food (mild fish, taro, breadfruit, sweet potato served with chili sauce) and it was all really good. For more information, visit The Highland Paradise Cultural Centre website.

TANGAROA SAFARI TOUR
I had a choice: go scuba diving (this is the perfect place to learn), go on Pa's cross mountain nature walk (NZ $60) or take a Tangaroa Safari Tour (NZ $70). I chose the latter because the forecast was for heavy rain (don't go during the rainy season) and it was the sensible choice. Our driver, "Mr. Useless" was a very cool Cook Islander but he was a bit difficult to comprehend at times; New Zealand accents aren't always easy to understand. He picked me up at 8:55am (25 minutes late) at the resort and we drove about 15 minutes to the Tangaroa headquarters, which is right next to a gas station with a convenience store so participants can pick up some drinks or snacks; they only provide lunch at the end.

EARTH OVEN LUNCH
We joined up with another tour group and the owner gave us a 15 minute spiel on the background of the island and then he and Mr. Useless demonstrated how to cook food in the earth oven or umu, which is how they cooked food in days gone by. They wrap the food in banana leaves. The bottom layer had chicken and lamb, on top they put plantains and vegetables like butternut squash (they call it pumpkin), sweet potato, breadfruit and spinach, or maybe taro leaves. When the tour was over, we went back to the camp and had a feast. The food was really good and it tasted even better since we ate with our hands on giant leaf plates.

THE TOUR
The 4x4 tour was in a 10-passenger Jeep. It holds eight in the back (no seat belts). I sat in the front most of the time since it was dryer for the camera. No worries about getting carsick – they don't drive in the mountains enough for that. Our first stop was to see the Te Rua Manga (a needle-shaped rock in the center of the island) from afar, then some plantations and the Papua waterfall where the water is chilly. Be sure to wear bug repellant because the mosquitoes (mozzies) were ferocious. I had seven bites on my legs in just a few minutes. I didn't have them on my head or arms since I was wearing a Tilley hat and my Insect Shield shirt. We basically drove all around the island and up three of the main streets (paths) for fantastic lookouts. The one by the hospital (appropriately called Hospital Hill) was so muddy and slick we only made it up halfway. We also drove around an inward circle road and stopped off at the perfume factory for a bathroom break, to try some bottled Noni juice (still nasty), coconut liquor and then visit a shop that sells pareu (colorful wraparounds) for women.

Like a good tourist, I bought some gifts: coconut soaps, three for NZ $13 and island coffee for NZ $15. The last stop was Muri Lagoon, which was the highlight and with the sun shining down, the water looked insane. People were swimming, kayaking and fishing. Tangaroa 4x4 Tours, Tel: +682 22200.

PROGRESSIVE DINNER
Without a doubt, my favorite tour was the progressive dinner which cost NZ $75 per person and operates on Mondays and Thursdays. It's a fantastic way to meet local Cook Islanders, learn something of their customs and traditions and enjoy homegrown and cooked food. The host, Mr. Temu Okotai, picks up guests at 5:15pm in his comfortable mini-bus. We made one quick stop before going to the first house, a five-minute drive.



FIRST HOUSE (APPETIZERS)
The first house belonged to Danny and Jayne Kelly; they served the evening's appetizers. There were about 20 participating and I thought it was very cool that Danny greeted everyone coming off the bus with a hug and a kiss for the ladies. Instantly you could tell he was a very sweet man. Danny is a former auto mechanic from New Zealand. He's half Cook Islander and half Irish. Danny begins his portion of the tour by taking guests for a walk around his incredibly lush tropical property to show everything that grows in his yards. It was like a candy store for a fruit-aholic like me. We ate starfruit from the tree, coconut, guava and papaya. We also saw lemongrass, peppers, curry, coffee, taro (it's supposedly tastiest when it grows in the swamp) and lemons all growing wild. His wife had earlier cut up some starfruit and papaya with shredded coconut for one of the appetizers; the other was marinated albacore (like tuna) in lemon juice, coconut and chili. We also had taro. After a few stories and songs, it was back on the bus.

SECOND HOUSE (MAIN COURSE)
Danny came with us the whole time, played his ukulele and sang songs with Mr. Okotai (mostly Australian and New Zealand tunes but some oldies like Elvis for the Americans). The second stop followed a 15-minute drive to Rohan and Adrian's house. The house was very sweet and they timed it perfectly to catch the sunset. Although it was raining, it was still special. The food was even better and we enjoyed a buffet dinner of roast pork, Asian beef (Rohan lived in China for six years), tuna steak (which he'd caught that morning), spinach cooked in coconut cream, fresh-from-the-river prawns, roasted chicken, baked banana cooked in the oven, taro, breadfruit and potato salad.

DESSERT
The last stop was at Lorraine and Tom Masters'; a cute couple in a modest home. We sat on their veranda listening to the rain, music and stories about how they met. Lorraine worked at a theatre and would have to seat the people who showed up late next to her so they wouldn't disturb the others. Tom was one and she joked that she should've flashed the torch on his face before talking to him. For dessert, we had fresh fruit salad (bananas, guava, passion fruit), a lemon coconut tart, traditional banana cake, pineapple pudding cake with a caramel sauce, and ice cream from New Zealand. It was a long, memorable evening that I highly recommend.

SATURDAY MARKET
Definitely go to the Punanga Nui Market. It’s operates Monday through Friday from 8am to 4pm but the best day to visit in on Saturdays (from 6am to 1pm) since it’s a farmers market … but on steroids! Besides row after row of fruit and vegetables stands there are plenty of souvenirs with local craftsmanship, live music and performances and food stalls selling tasty eats. I actually had one of my best (and cheapest) meals from a street vendor. I had the sweet chili chicken dish over rice (NZ $8) and a fresh fruit smoothie (NZ $5). I felt like a fool when I asked what kind of fruit was in the smoothie and the man said, “Everything that’s on the table!” Duh!

DOWNTOWN
Downtown has plenty of shops, supermarkets, banks and restaurants. I had lunch at Café Salsa, which is popular with tourists. The food is good and one of their most popular dishes is smoked marlin hash (NZ $15.50) with chives topped with poached eggs and lime hollandaise (they serve breakfast all day). I enjoyed my individual wood-fire pizzas (NZ $15) but didn’t fancy the Thai noodles with chicken and prawns in a spicy coconut sauce. The service was good but not that friendly. What’s a trip is that for a laidback South Pacific island, all the waiters use Palm Pilots to transmit the orders back to the chefs. Also, three doors down is the Telepost (an Internet café) so I was picking up a strong signal on my laptop and Skype-ing friends and family back home (the same Wi-Fi card works from the Crown Beach). Minimum credit card charge is NZ $20.

TAMARIND HOUSE RESTAURANT
The Tamarind House Restaurant (Tel: 26487) is highly recommended by all the guidebooks. It’s a 15-minute drive from the Crown Beach, right on the water. It’s a beautiful peaceful setting and the palm trees with lights on them add to the atmosphere. The restaurant is huge but only a few tables were occupied the night I was there. I enjoyed the corn fritter cakes (NZ $16.50), northern Indian chicken curry (NZ $28.50) and the fresh fruit cup with a scoop of vanilla ice cream (NZ $8.50).

MORE TO DO
There’s plenty more to do on Rarotonga but I can’t possibly write about all of it. It’s best to get a good guidebook; I used Frommer's South Pacific.

VIDEO
Here's a five-minute Johnny Jet video of stay on Rarotonga including my trip down on Air New Zealand. We also have all the Johnny Jet videos ever made on YouTube.

NEXT WEEK
Next week: Aitutaki!

Note: This trip was sponsored in part by Cook Islands Tourism & AirNewZealand.com.

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