COOK ISLANDS
Mud , Food & Rugby
It’s
RAROTONGA at its best
By Jessica Palmer
Jessica Palmer visited Rarotonga in the Cook Islands with her family and was surprised to discover a tropical island that dreams are made of, a feature usually reserved for exclusive outer islands in the South Pacific
T
he mud was coming up over the tires at an alarming rate. My son was starting to panic. Although he usually loves mud, apparently this mud is different because it’s ‘’not the same as the mud from home”. I pointed out that it’s actually much cleaner than the stinky, stagnant mud on our property, but it’s impossible to reason with a young child.
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The buggy slipped into a rut on the well driven dirt track fronting the abandoned Sheraton resort, a phantom building that sits in prime location in a jungle clearing. Both mud and water were spraying in all directions and the yellow, open-sided buggy no longer had a sunny outlook. Every square inch of this vehicle that was built for fun, was now mottled with brown mud, including its two passengers. My son was starting to sound hysterical. ‘’I better get him out of here before this goes pear shaped,’’ I thought to myself, stomping my foot down on the accelerator harder. This unskilled attempt at getting to dryer ground resulted in the buggy stalling in a rut of mud and water.
Top: Beautiful Beach on Rarotonga. Bottom Left: Muddy legs after a buggy ride. Bottom Right: Wigmore’s Waterfall. Photos: Jessica Palmer
