After a big breakfast, (I ate seven passion fruits) where we also got mango which tasted amazing and like they had just been picked from the tree, we decided to book a island boat tour through reception for the next day. lovey, one of the Etu Moana staff said ahe knew of a guy called Quinton who could take us out charter. The price is pretty high as we have chartered a boat just for us two so we can go to the islands (called moths here) we want to go to.
We had a walk to Paradise Cove as they offered scooters for hire, the owner was not there and the kitchen staff said he would be five minutes (Aitutaki time for whenever he gets here!) luckily we only had to wait half an hour or so, we noticed that in reception they also advertised companies that offered private charter boat trips, one company was half the price we paid unfortunately he was attending to boat maintenance. This is a good point, check tour prices at hostel/cheaper hotels, usually you would just get a better price for the same tour. However, another company, Teking, quoted almost double the price from Quinton!
As the owner was busy with other people we decided to go back to our hotel and order a scooter ar the reception, from a company called ‘Papota Rentals’ the price is the same throughout the island $25 for 24 hours. This company come and pick you up. We got a 125cc scooter for $30, neither of us have ridden one so this will be fun. I got on the bike to test ride it. I pulled too hard on the throttle and nearly went into a wall. Not a good start. Next I managed to straighten it up and before you know it I am heading for the lagoon!!!’
By now the lady from the bike hire company came out, she looked nervous. She asked if I was confident I said no! She responded ah you will be fine. Once I got slightly better, Sangeet decided to get on the back. We rode to Tauono’s Garden Cafe for lunch, where we were also were meeting Weston, Helen and Tyler. Lunch was great, Sangeet ordered the breadfruit lasagne and they did a Chinese stir fry for me. As we entered the restaurant, Sonja mentioned they had made us a vegan cake….looked forward to that. The restaurant was busy but luckily there was space on our table for Weston and his family when they arrived. We are very fortunate to have met them they have a very good mind set and great personalities. After a fantastic lunch and great conversation with plenty of laughs it was around 4:45pm – we started lunch at 12:30! Sangeet and I rode around the island.
The nervous owner!
The south of the island seems a lot more quieter and the lawns were manicured, the middle of the island you have the hospital, school and power station.
After a ride around the island we passed through the bike shed to have a vegetarian meal, a bit difficult as all the fried items are cooked in the same oil as meat and fish. So we stuck with rice pudding and ice cream. After the dessert, Sangeet had a go at riding the scooter and found it very easy until I got on the back when the scooter started to wobble all over the place! A family walking along the road quickly moved their young children to one side when they saw us coming! Sangeet got the hang of riding with me on the back quickly and before we knew it was speeding along to the resort.
In the evening we got a DVD from reception called ‘message in a bottle’, this time we both fell asleep half way through!
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