Trip Notes podcast: Rarotonga and the legend of the Shipwreck Hut

Aroa Beach on Rarotonga in the Cook Islands. Photo / Jessica Palmer, Getty Images

While we continue to work from home, we're taking a different approach to our Trip Notes podcast to keep your travel dreams alive, by bringing back some of our best travel stories published over the years.

Everyone in Rarotonga knows about Jim Bruce.

In this episode of Trip Notes, we revisit an article written by Steve Braunias on his trip to Rarotonga, and the legendary tale of Jim Bruce and the Shipwreck Hut.

As you'll learn in this podcast, Jim was no singer - but it didn't stop him grabbing the microphone anyway.

"Jim's voice was like a man trying to touch his nose and hop on one leg at the same time, and falling over; it was like a garden path, overgrown with thistles and gorse, leading towards a swamp.

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"It was terrible singing, flat and out of tune, all over the place, wobbling, unsteady, out of time, drunk — but he found a sincerity in the song, just for a golden, woozy moment or two, when his soul crept out of the creaking, croaking, tuneless voice and touched the song's essential regret," writes Braunias.

The article, which was published in December 2016, explores one of the island's key characters and how he became a fixture at the much-loved beach bar, Shipwreck Hut.

Sit back in your armchair, close your eyes and listen to this reading of the article that reveals how Jim became world famous in Rarotonga.

Go to nzherald.co.nz/tripnotes to catch up on any episodes you might have missed.

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