Meitaki, Rarotonga !

Here is rather arty photo of the scrubs flying on the line like Nepalese prayer flags and the little writing on the flags if it was there would've been praying for coconut bread, coffee from Atiu or the half-chance to get to Tokelau Jim on our last day to get a little souvenir of our stay that Elmah had kindly offered to us.

In the end we didn't make it to Tokelau Jim but we took away our own souvenirs and we left a little something behind.

Apart from some quality souvenirs that we managed to stuff into our cases - our shell necklaces that the girls had attached their sweet farewell messages to, a great wooden Tangaroa with a penis to his ankles, a Jet Blast T-shirt ( I knew they'd have them at the airport ! ) and tops, hats, thongs and flowers and necklaces - we can remember how we all went out with Elly to help her perform her night-time epidural on the poor mama pig and how she stitched her back up and we were invited back by the pig's owners to share dinner with their family. And how we ate their tuna and chicken chop suey and Banana as part of main course, " We eat banana with everything here ! " and how when we left, the lovely mother of the family waved goodbye to us and said, " Goodbye, family, goodbye."

So maybe we left a little something behind.

We also left a lot of thongs behind, too.

Clinic Assistant Petey

Here I am pictured after graduating from the Eloise Accelerated School of Gifted for Veterinaryness. I am told I was checking the heartbeat here. It was heaps of fun. I'll work with you again for sure, baby !

Da Ladies

Elly, Heidi, Shanna and Michelle sporting their flowers behind the ear.

60 Minute Parking Please

The Cross Island Walk

The bus only runs until 12 noon on Sunday so we couldnt walk all the way across but we did walk up to the middle and back ! Our legs were so sore. We didnt see another soul on the trip and only a couple of birds and a few pigs along the road. At the top near The Needle, the granite outcrop you can see in one of the shots above, we paused and it was entirely silent. We saw a single white bird fly down the valley which was kinda beautiful. As we sat under The Needle we read in the Lonely Planet ," Do not approach directly under The Needle as several pieces have recently been dislodged and it would be a shame to walk so far to see The Needle only to have it fall on you," or somesuch. "Do not proceed past the T-junction," it said. "Where was the t-junction?" i asked Elly." Back down there," she replied pointing somewhere down the trail. Oops. Anyhow, we stopped, took some photos and our chances with falling rocks, survived to tell the tale and commenced our walking/ass sliding down the mountain.

Swim with doggies

Elly had really, really wanted to swim with the doggies and got her chance near Black Rock. And she loved it.

There was a dark side to this shot though. Not long after it was taken a young thong was lost never to be seen again.

A magnificent pair of coconuts

Elly and I at Nikao beach on a glorious day. Elly looking great in the flowery top she'd scored from the market. Me looking pretty hairy.



Practically, every little shell on this beach had a hermit crab wedged inside it. The white splash a short distance offshore is where the reef lies. You can walk to the reef. Beyond that it drops almost instantly to 4000 metres.

Back to School Thongs !

The first morning we woke, we stuck our heads out the not beach side of The Aquarius and we saw the jagged hilltops that cover the middle of Rarotonga. The middle of the island looks like it has been transplanted from some place that customises green volcanic landscapes.

The Hibiscus ! What can't it do ?

The hibiscus was used for many things by the Islanders. The bark of the hibiscus branches, when peeled away left a pith which when dried was used to make the skirts for dancing. Y'know the ones that look like grass. Not grass but hibiscus insides. They could also be used to make fire if two were rubbed together. Here Eloise shows how they make a fashionable seeing eye glass, also.

Fields of taro are everywhere. The ancient Polynesians carried taro to each island they settled. In other news, it used to take them 2 days to tend the fields, one day to fish and the rest of the week was dancing, eating, crafting and shagging. The living in the tropics was one sweet potato.

An escape attempt. These two little guys, referred to as the "monkey cats," by the pig man's grand kids, were not happy in the monkey cage. And were small enough to do something about it.



Feeding frenzy. The twice daily frenzy that accompanied feeding in the cat max was a favourite for everyone.

As well as car accidents, de-sexing and general woes, there were gunshot wounds. This one passed through at a favourable angle missing the important bits and he was sent home the next day. Amie had needed to lure him out from under his house cos he was so scared. The "dog man," one of the police, is responsible for shooting any unregistered animals. He is not a great shot.

Helmets become compulsory for scooter riders in Rarotonga from April. A helmet would've saved this guy lots of strife. The clinic welcomes donations of food, bedding and dog helmets.

Dumbo

We fondly called this dog, Dumbo. What a remarkable pair of ears. There are no trick wires suspending those beauties. they're all his own. He had the fish poisoning but if he could wag those babies he could take off.

Through The looking Glass

I tried to take this pic through the window into the surgery. Elly is gowned up for some super surgery.

Attack of the Gigantic Advocado

At least the one out the front looks vaguely like a roided up advocado. The other 4 much rounder ones - also advocado !! they were huge.

Flame Tree Model

Elly showing how she can do whatever she sets her beautiful mind to, scores a job as a flame tree model !

Underwater Adventurers

Wigmore Falls

Ah, um, this is the source of the Island's drinking water. People !! Read the sign !
For the first few days I drank from the tap. Then for the next few days paid the price. A very minor price. But frequently. Eloise drank it for quite a period of time. But she can eat and drink anything. C'est incredible !