Rarotonga's loop road hugs the coastline so if you're cycling, don't forget to pack your togs. Photo / 123rf
Rarotonga's loop road hugs the coastline so if you're cycling, don't forget to pack your togs. Photo / 123rf
Joanna Wane shares her top tips for exploring Rarotonga on a round-island bike ride, with plenty of pit stops along the way.
Pimp your ride
Go clockwise – it’s a flat ride either way but the shoulder is better on the left-hand side. There are no cycle lanes so you’re sharing space with other traffic but locals don’t tailgate and give bikes a wide berth. Tourists, however, are another matter. And watch out for dogs (and roosters!) wandering all over the road.
It’s fully sealed but rough going in places where the surface is in need of repair, so jumbo tyres help smooth out shorter rides. For the full 32km loop, I’d recommend hiring an e-bike (about $50 a day) or it can feel like a bit of a slog.
Free resort bikes won’t necessarily have lights so consider bringing one with you from home. At night, the roads are extremely dark and if you’re planning a sunset cocktail (highly recommended), you need to plan ahead for a safe ride home. Take plenty of water and a backpack for your togs.
The pirate-themed Shipwreck Hut Beach Bar on Rarotonga's west coast is famous for its jam-jar cocktails and sunset views. Photo / Joanna Wane
Hunt for humpbacks
Whale-watching season runs from July to October and one of the best spots to see humpbacks along the west coast is Black Rock (Turou), where the reef fringes close to shore. A dramatic landscape of black volcanic rock and white sand at the northern end of Ka’anapali Beach, it’s traditionally believed to be where the spirits of the dead commenced their voyage to ‘Avaiki (the afterworld).
A great picnic spot, it’s also one of the calmest places to snorkel due to Rarotonga’s prevailing south-easterlies. Unfortunately, the winter dry season (the perfect time for a beach holiday from New Zealand) is also the windiest, so you’ll likely have to battle a headwind at some stage, whichever way around the island you decide to go.
Hit the wall
Fringing the airport on Rarotonga’s northwestern tip is the intricately worked Marae Moana Seawall Mural. At 560m, it’s the longest mural in the South Pacific and the good news is there’s a footpath running alongside it, so you can safely hop off your bike and walk.
Officially unveiled last December, the mural features legends and animals from each of the 15 islands that make up the Cook Islands. Created by Mexican painter Gonzalo Aldana and local artists Ashley Chaloner and Katu Teiti, the mural was designed to showcase the Marae Moana marine park, where large-scale commercial fishing and seabed mining is prohibited across an area of 1.9 sq km.
One of the colourful stalls at Rarotonga's Saturday morning Punanga Nui market in Avarua. Photo / Cook islands Tourism
Refuel at the markets
If you time it for Saturday morning, the Punanga Nui Markets in Avarua are a chaotic and joyous experience not to be missed. Park up your bike and wander the colourful mix of food stalls and local crafts – there’s live music and dancing on the main stage from 10am. Some of the stalls are cash only and you’ll need room in your backpack for a few treasures that are impossible to resist.
Explore the past
For a speed history lesson, drop into Te Ara, the Cook Islands Museum, at the southern end of Muri. In half an hour, you can trace the first Polynesian migration through to the arrival of the missionaries and the path to independence. There’s also an on-site cafe and museum store, an ATM machine, free filtered water and power access to recharge your phone.
Originally a British protectorate, the Cook Islands became New Zealand’s first South Pacific colony in 1901 (a legacy that appears to be seen as one of benign neglect). A fabulous black-and-white photograph, taken the year before, shows then-Premier and ardent imperialist Richard “King Dick” Seddon sitting like royalty on the palace grounds in Rarotonga, after arriving by Government steamer on a winter health cure.
Mapping Rarotonga before his holiday was a good way for Murray Dewhurst to begin his sketchbook and build anticipation of the trip to come. Illustration / Murray Dewhurst
Stock up on calories
Who knows why but the number of bakeries on Rarotonga has exploded over the past few years, specialising in doughnuts and French pastries. LBV (Le Bon Vivant) in Muri has a good rep, but we stumbled across the newly opened Bread and Butter Bakery when we ducked down a side street heading inland from Avarua. I wouldn’t necessarily risk it because there might be nothing left by then, but all the fresh baking is half-price from 3pm. They also do barista coffee.
Another life essential Rarotonga has embraced is cone ice cream, from your standard scoops to real-fruit soft serve – essential sustenance for cyclists on a hot day. TikTok even has a “Rarotonga Ice Cream” page. Popular spots include The Waffle Shack (on the Avarua foreshore) and Scoops and Brews (near Black Rock Beach) but, as we discovered, even Wigmore’s Superstore in Muri has a well-stocked ice cream counter.
Churches dot the loop road, a legacy of early missionary success converting the Cook Islands to Christianity. Photo / Phil Taylor
Toast your success
Famous for its jam jar cocktails like the Grumpy Pirate (bourbon, coconut rum, lime and ginger ale), the Shipwreck Hut Beach Bar is a local hangout and prime sunset spot next to the popular Aro’a resort.
Wooden bench tables spill out onto the sand so cool off with a dip in the lagoon before tucking into the “ship grub” menu. The bar’s much-loved beach dog, Dexter, is buried over by the hammock and it’s become a tradition for visiting Kiwis to put a flower on his grave.
Checklist
RAROTONGA
GETTING THERE
Fly non-stop from Auckland to Rarotonga International Airport in approx. 3 hours, 50 minutes with both Air NZ and Jetstar.
