Birthday trip

posted 11th June, 2010 category Travel

Last year my birthday surprise was a horse ride on the beach, this year Bhav blew that out of the water with a trip to the Cook Islands!

Try to picture my surprise on my face when Bhav appeared on the entrance security camera on a very cold and wet Friday afternoon and told me we were going to the airport. It soon became obvious that everyone was in on it and before long we were sat in the airport waiting for our flight to Auckland. I wasn’t expecting much for my birthday and would gladly have settled on a weekend in Auckland but much more was to come.

I had my first birthday in Auckland where we had a great lunch cooked by Bhav’s mum in her new house. The strange thing about the International Date Line is that when travelling east you get the same day again. The Cook Islands, whilst only 4 hours away in a plane are essentially yesterday compared to New Zealand. We left in the evening of my birthday and arrived in the early morning of it. We spent my second birthday of the year (who says the Queen is the only one who gets two?!) on the south pacific island of Rarotonga; exploring the market and “Capital”, relaxing on the beach and snorkelling/swimming in the crystal clear water.

On our second day in paradise we flew to the coral atoll of Aitutaki, regarded by many as one of the most beautiful places in the world and has to a large extent avoided mass tourism. We rented a scooter to get around the island and fell off it on the first day. To explore the lagoon we rented a kayak and also enjoyed a cruise and snorkelling trip taken by Teking, a local tour operator.

We had a great time in the Cook Islands, one that came to an end all too quickly. We left on the 4th of June and arrived on the 6th. We might have had two 29th’s but we’re also in the bizarre position of having never had a Saturday 5th June 2010. Well worth the swap if you ask me.