We woke at 7am and immediately set out to walk up the small hill that marks the highest point on Aitutaki. It was a very cloudy day and threatening to rain, so we powered up as fast as we could. You could imagine the view would have been impressive on a sunnier day, although the squall of rain clouds in the distance did have it’s own beauty.

We came down as fast as we could and showered and packed before heading down for another big breakfast. Following a bit of final packing, we checked out and left our rucksacks with the Etu Moana staff. We had arranged for a snorkel tour of the lagoon and our bags would be dropped off at the airport for us to collect – a perfect arrangement.

We got picked up for the lagoon cruise at 0945 and rode on the back of a pick up truck that stopped to collect a German couple and a Canadian couple for the cruise. We then stood at the boat dock for a considerable time while we waited for the final couple to arrive – they were a French couple who ran the restaurant at the Intercontinental Hotel in Wellington, New Zealand and had already been on the same cruise four times. That was a good sign.

The small boat then pulled out to one of the deepest parts of the lagoon where we saw a few turtles popping out of the water, one very close to the boat. We then chugged on to Honeymoon Island and walked across a long sand bank to where couples married on the island plant a palm tree. Beyond that was a cluster of mature palm trees – we made our way into the warm interior to hunt of the Red Tailed Tropic Birds that were nesting on the ground between the trees.

Puna then took the boat to a fantastic snorkelling spot – thousands of fish and bright coral. We snorkelled for a good part of an hour before moving on. Back on the boat we were given much needed fresh fruit, delicious little doughnuts and lemon squash to keep us going until lunch.

After a walk along a sand bar known as Nude Island (due to the lack of trees) we were ferried across to famous One Foot Island – by far the busiest place in Aitutaki and not a patch on Akaiami. We stopped at a shack owned by Puna, the cruise operator, for a huge buffet that included banana pancakes, sweet potato, breadfruit salad, breadfruit chips, lasagne, tuna, sausages, bread, coleslaw, lettuce, cabbage and rice fritters and a pawpaw curry. A massive feed and all very tasty.

The island is famous for having a post office… and nothing else. So we presented our passports and got a nice souvenir stamp.

We then hopped back on the boat and returned straight to the dock. We were driven direct to the airport, and as planned the bags turned up minutes later. The check in was easy, the plane was on time and we had beautiful views of the lagoon as we headed back to Rarotonga.

We arrived at 6pm, shattered after a hill climb and snorkelling and headed for Aquarius Backpackers hostel, just across from the airport. It was very cheap and great to get a shower and freshen up. We got into the well partitioned dorm beds before 7pm and were then woken by the helpful and friendly security guard at 2am. At NZD$18 for the stay it was great value and we both managed to get some sleep.

Having said that, we were both very groggy so were relieved that the check in was hassle free and the flight was on time. Breakfast was served almost immediately on the flight at around 5am – fresh fruit, a muffin, tea and coffee, but we both dozed off again afterwards. Because of this, the 4 hour flight seemed a fraction of that and suddenly we were in New Zealand.

We got up at 7am and tidied the villa. One downside of travelling light is that we already needed to do a laundry. Thankfully this was very cheap in Etu Moana, we simply filled the provided laundry basket and left it out for the staff.

We slathered up with sunscreen and enjoyed a cup of tea on the terrace before heading down to the pool for breakfast. We were the first folk down and were impressed by the breakfast spread (of which we pretty much tried everything); cereal, croissants, peanut butter and jam on toast, fresh fruit, tea, coffee, orange juice and a special Valentine’s Day cake! Valentine’s Day is even more insignificant than usual when you are staying with your loved one in a luxury villa in the South Pacific – but I do like cake!

We then pushed a couple of the kayaks out onto the lagoon off Etu Moana. The water was very shallow and it was some work to avoid clipping the corals. The corals were generally quite bleacjed, but the fish wer plentiful and the blue starfish for which the resort is named were easily spotted. There were a lot of sea cucumber type carcasses (”sea turds”) but this seems to be common.

It was a little cloudy, which was perfect for a long spell of paddling around in the heat.

Back to the villa to top on on tea and coffee and to tend each other’s mosquito bites – again we were glad to have packed antihistamine cream. Laura then had a nap while I cycled to the local shop (3km south) to collect dinner and those lovely Tim Tams. I was fine whilst on the bike, but when I stopped at the shop I became ridiculously hot and sweaty, to the point that I was quite embarrassed to deal with the shop staff!

When I got back I was pleased to use the refreshing outdoor shower and sat on the day bed on the terrace and read. Laura got up after three hours of napping – although much of this had been disturbed by solid strimming by the ground staff. The noise went on for hours which was a bit annoying!

Time for more tea, coffee and Tim Tams and then down to watch a ‘coconut demonstration’ put on for the guests. It was surprisingly entertaining and we learnt:

• how to make shoes to climb the coconut tree
• how to open the coconut husk
• how to crack the coconut
• how to get the ‘meat’ out
• how to make coconut cream by sieving through the ‘material’ of the coconut leaves
• the different stages of a coconut – did you know that a two month old coconut is like mousse inside. Yum!
• in young coconuts the water is fizzy like Andrew’s liver salts!
• coconut shoots are tasty
• how to make a plate from banana leaves

As you can tell, we were a-m-a-z-e-d by coconuts. During this we sipped on a couple of free cocktails – a gorgeous pina colada and a midori and lemonade. We also munched our way through more than our fair share of free quiche…

After this we made eis, attaching hundreds of beautiful fresh flowers to a head band. I was the only man in the group to participate but it was great fun. In the end mine weighed an absolute tonne… maybe I should have spaced them out? Laura’s was perfect.

We chatted with the older couples for a while and then wandered down to the beach to take some photographs as the Sun set. The honesty bar was really well priced, so we had a couple of glasses of wine and then back to the villa where I cheffed up another classic dish: spaghetti, sardines in tomato sauce, olives and cheese. It was great!

We didn’t stay up much later and thankfully slept a lot better.

I hopped out of bed at 0630 while it was still quite dark to make a fruit salad for Laura’s breakfast. Laura sat and read while I whipped up some fried eggs on toast with a little ham and cheese. Classic breakfast, served with my ‘birthday card’ prepared last night.

We both then slapped on the sunscreen and then packed up for our move back to the main island.

Once all sorted we pulled out the canoe and took it down to the completely uninhabited island to the south of Akaiami. An easy paddle, Laura finished of her book while I splashed around looking for fish. We then paddled back to the snorkel area and spent a good while under water before heading back to the lodge.

We proceeded to pack and clean the place – I managed to cause massive panic by being unable to find my wallet and cards. After emptying both of our packs, I then remembered that I had hidden them from marauding desert island natives under the the cushion of a chair. Genius! Laura was not so impressed.

When we were ready we asked Sydney to ferry us back to the main island and on to Etu Moana.

There we were met by the hostess Joanne who presented us with beautifully fragranced eis of pink, yellow and white flowers. Joanne showed us to our hut and showed us around. Laura was taken aback by the luxurious villa and the beautiful location and earnt herself a hug from Joanne.

We then wandered down to the honesty bar and made ourselves a Malibu, Midori, pineapple and lemonade cocktail – on the house as a birthday present for Laura. When we returned to the villa, a couple of fresh drinking coconuts were on the balcony and the CD player had been loaded with polynesian music. We decided that the coconuts could do with a little rum (which didn’t prove to be as delicious a combination as envisaged) and then kicked back and relaxed with a cup of tea.

Tired from the heat and a busy morning, we took a nap before grabbing a lovely glass of wine from the honesty bar and prepared ourselves for our meal out at Tupuna’s. We were collected at 1900 and shared our taxi with a couple from Luxembourg and a Swiss fellow who looked like an explorer from the 1930s.

Cafe Tupuna was an open air restaurant with a sand floor – which sadly meant that we were bothered by a lots of small flying bugs, although the mosquitoes stopped bothering us as it got dark. We started with cod in lime with a coconut salad and a seafood cocktail, both of which were very nice. We decided to go for something different and plumped to share a parrot fish with rice.

It was a poor choice – Laura thought I was joking when I pulled a grimace after my first mouthful. The fish had a strangely metallic taste and a sludge like consistency – the lack of much sauce made the taste hard to mask. We did the best that we could, but when we were finished the waitress exclaimed “oh, but there is so much left!”. Tummy rubbing and protestations that we were full hopefully did the job.

The pudding was nice enough – bananas in brown sugar with cheap tasting ice cream. Overall we found the meal very disappointing, and at NZD$90 it seemed poor value. The Luxembourg couple were similarly unimpressed on receiving overcooked fish. While there are plenty of rave reviews on the internet, we would certainly try somewhere different on our next visit.

On returning to the villa after a NZD $20 taxi ride, we went straight to bed, although unfortunately not for the greatest night’s sleep. Laura was suffering from itchy mosquito bites and I was perturbed by the lizards rustling through the thatched roof – probably all thanks to the wine!

We were woken at 6am by a cockerel crowing and eventually rose at 7am with a few extra mosquito bites from during the night. Laura brewed a pot of tea and prepared some eggs on toast while I tried to tidy the mess I had made of unpacking.

After a walk on the beach and a chat with Sydney we took the flippers out into the lagoon for a test run, alas there were no fish to be seen in the open lagoon. So instead we launched the kayak and paddled down towards the south of the island. On our way around the the tip we saw about six large black shadows flying the water as a group of stingrays passed close by.

On arriving back at the hut we sat on the porch and tucked into a chilled mango and banana fruit salad with homemade coconut water granita and a squeeze of lime. After a game of Pass The Pigs we then treated ourselves to a bowl of cereal, a cup of tea and a “Tim Tam Slam”: take one Tim Tam, bite off two opposing corners, suck hot tea through the biscuit, consume whole Tim Tam in one sticky caramel mouthful.

Most of the day was spent relaxing on the shore or porch and I made a nice olive, ham and cheese omelette with a round of toast. Not long after, Sydney popped in with a few mullet-like fish which we fried and served simply with lime and salt.

We then sat on the beach and watched the sunset. Laura was reading An Island To Oneself, the biography of a self imposed castaway on a remote island in the Cooks – eventually it got dark and Laura headed in while I continued to try and get a night shot. Once Laura was out of the way I started work on her birthday card for the next day…

Once I was happy with my work, I headed inside to bed and to sleep, Laura joining me and continuing to read her book long after I had drifted off.

We woke early, the Sun rising above the endless Pacific ocean, scattered with puffs of clouds as far as the eye could see. The crew brought round a slightly soggy but undeniably tasty ham and cheese croissant, served with tea, orange juice and a yoghurt.

We landed on Rarotonga – the main land mass in the Cook Islands – one hour late at 0700. The bags took a while to unload and with an 0800 flight to Aitutaki we were getting a little worried. In fact there was no need – the Air Rarotonga flight is primarily there to serve the passengers of our connecting flight and once we were all checked in, we had a brief wait at the thatched bench that served as a waiting room.

The flight north to Aitutaki was short and the tea and coffee served was a nice surprise. On landing at the tiny Aitutaki ‘terminal’ we found noone there to meet us. Laura enquired at the little souvenir stand and the fellow running it was more than happy to both get in touch with our accommodation and book us in to Tupuna’s restaurant for Wednesday.

Not much later, our friendly host Sydney pulled up in his van and drove us to a local supermarket for supplies. We loaded up on bread, sardines, pasta, cheese, eggs, papaya and wine. Yes we were going to live like kings on that desert island!

We then stopped at Sydney’s mother’s office (she is the Minister of Internal Affairs for Aitutaki!) and then down to her house to pick up bananas and mangoes before driving on to his boat for a slow 20 minute chug across to the island of Akaiami.

The lagoon was pure turquoise, the sky pure blue and a turtle popped up his head as we crossed the lagoon – pure picture postcard perfection!

At the beach on Akaiami we were greeted by Sydney’s dad before being walked to the large lodge house. The lodge was huge inside, with two large beds and a big open living area. The kitchen was adequate – not exactly modern but better than you might expect on an island with only two or three houses.

Laura prepped a mango and we showered and freshened up. We learnt our first lesson about mosquitos – I was bitten within minutes of sitting down in the shade outside. These are worse on Akaiami than on the main island, but they were never a problem. Coils burning around the lodge and a few sprays of DEET meant that they never really bothered us again.

Sydney had advised us that the south tip of the island provided the best snorkelling and rather than take the canoe out, we then packed up our swimming things, grabbed the provided snorkelling gear and tramped across the island before following the shore south.

We snorkelled for a bit – spotting blue starfish and lots of other bright fish – before deciding it would be a good idea to pop the flippers on. Unfortunately flippers + 6 inches of water + razor sharp coral + Robert proved a dangerous combination. Falling as I tried to wade in, I found myself with quite a gash on my knee – Laura dismissed… but then the blood started flowing and before long my whole lower leg was covered.

What a great start to our travels! Indeed I am quite the adventurer.

Quick thinking Laura grabbed her sarong and wrapped it around the leg to reduce the bleeding and we began a walk around the west shoreline back up to the lodge. Once there, Laura cleaned up the wound with TCP and closed the wound with a couple of plasters. Thank goodness we were so well prepared for clumsiness! To both of our relief, the bleeding stopped quite quickly and we relaxed to put our sore and swollen feet up for the afternoon – both suffering ‘cankles’ from the effects of the long flight.

We also noticed that Laura had slightly grazed her knee on coral too. So I was not the only eejit. Just the biggest.

After a bit of relaxing, we then launched the two person kayak and attempted to paddle up and down the curve of the beach. Together, we were useless, but individually we managed to get up some speed! The lagoon was perfectly still and clear – like kayaking on a swimming pool.

We then took a walk up the beach before Laura whipped up a pasta dinner and we enjoyed a glass of wine while watching the sun set. We spend a bit of time taking photos and trying to draw with our LED torch (see tomorrow) before Laura headed inside while I played around with trying to take pictures of the beautiful starry sky.

We headed to bed at 2100, long after the Sun had disappeared and found ourselves in complete darkness. The night was filled with plenty of scuffles and shuffles around the lodge, and coconuts falling from the palm trees beyond – I ventured to the loo in the night and spotted a few lizards and cockroaches about the place. I was relieved to climb back under the mosquito net and hide until morning.