After a long instalment with just a lot of problems I thought I should post something nice for a change.
My day in wonderful Rarotonga in the Cook Islands!! And there are pics at the end as well...

It is quite interesting that everything that went wrong on this trip went wrong in just 24 hours.
Starting with the thorough customs check in Wellington upon arrival, the bad weather and all the flight cancellations the following day, and finally a missing bag.
Anyway, I decided the first thing in the morning that I would not let these bad experiences ruin my stay in Rarotonga. After all I made the flight, I had one suitcase with all the clothes I needed, and missing bags rarely disappear, they are usually found and delivered within 24 hours (as you probably know).

I only got to spend one day in Rarotonga though (unfortunately), this was not a personal choice but my ticket simply did not let me stay longer than 24 hours.
The final destination of my ticket was actually Tahiti/French Polynesia, and award tickets booked through SAS do not allow stopovers (a stop longer than 24 hours).
But I was just happy I managed to include Rarotonga in my itinerary, and that I managed to find two flights with available award seats that gave me roughly 22 hours on the island between arrival and departure (which is at least a full day), and I was very determined to make the most of my day there.

Rarotonga is the main island of the Cook Islands, which is administratively part of New Zealand.
The island is quite small, there is a road around the island which is 36 km long, and in the middle of the island is a high mountain. You can cross the island by foot (hiking) but not by car.
There is one major town on the island on the north side called Avarua where there are plenty of shops, restaurants, banks etc. There is even a cinema and a branch of the South Pacific university. 3 km west of Avarua is also the airport.

I stayed at a budget hotel/hostel in Rarotonga called Tiare Village.
It cost virtually nothing to stay there, something like 25 NZD per night (I got my own room though), but it was a much more fun experience than staying in one of the resorts on the south side.
It was also very conveniently located close to the airport and Avarua, so at least I wouldn’t have to waste time on airport transfers and such (not completely irrelevant with my short visit and a flight arriving at 2 am).
Tiare Village had both a main house with kitchen, TV-room and a large veranda and small chalets where you could stay.
There was also a small swimming pool which was nice as the place wasn't really close to any beaches.

Pics
The entrance to Tiare Village

I was picked up at the airport by the owner, Adrienne, who drove me the short distance from the airport to the hostel. It was completely dark on the small road from the airport, there are not a lot of lights on the island with the exception of the main road, but even there the lights are sparse from time to time.
It felt a bit like going through a rainforest with so few cars around and many exotic animals making sounds in the middle of the night.
I instantly realised I was not on the most modern and exploited of islands, but I loved it!

The next morning I woke up around 9 am, I got a few hours of sleep despite the late arrival.
There were tropical birds singing outside the window and apparently there are lots of roosters on the island as well, in case I didn’t realise it was morning.
They didn’t serve any breakfast at Tiare Village except for some bananas in the trees you could eat.
I was told there was a convenience store nearby though where I went to buy something to eat, but if you’re thinking a modern supermarket or even a 7 Eleven, forget it! This was a small house with over-the-counter service, very old-fashioned, but the woman working there was very friendly and helpful.
As I walked back to the hostel I passed through some fields (I have no idea what they were growing there) and I was so amazed that every person I met greeted me. People who seemed to be farmers smiled and said good morning to me as I passed.
I have never experienced anything like it! But it was wonderful! Such a friendly people the Cook Islanders!!

Pics
Vegetation, and the mountain in the middle of the island

Back at the hostel I spoke to another guy as I had breakfast, he told me he had gone around the island the previous day by bike, and very much enjoyed it.
I did not really know yet what to do during my day in Rarotonga, but I thought the island seemed a bit too large to go around (36 km). He said it was fine though and the roads are completely flat, so with a few stops on the way it was not particularly hard.
They had bikes to rent at the hostel, so I decided to follow his recommendation and go around the island, the weather was so nice anyway. I just had to buy some sun lotion first as the one I had bought at home was in my missing bag, the sun was quite strong.

The island tour was actually very enjoyable, and with stops for coffee, ice cream, lunch, and more coffee it was not particularly hard and tiring to go all those 36 km around the island, it took me around three and a half hours with the stops included.
The island is very beautiful, this was really what I had imagined paradise to be like. Crystal-clear water, white beaches, palm trees, what more can you ask for?
What I mostly liked about Rarotonga though was that it has not been very exploited and it’s not packed with tourists, it felt very traditional and genuine. The people were also really friendly, all of them! And on top of that everything is very cheap.
On the southeast side of the island I found probably Rarotonga’s nicest beach called Muri Beach, absolutely stunning!
That’s where most of the resorts and larger hotels are located, which is quite understandable as the beach is just fantastic.

Pics
Avarua town centre
The small port in Avarua
The Parliament of the Cook Islands
A beach on the west side of Rarotonga
The road around the island
The best beach on the island, Muri Beach!
A long long way from home!!
A traditional church! They are very religious in the Cooks

I was back in Avarua around 5 pm, the island tour had passed without any problems whatsoever, but my thighs were really hurting.
Unfortunately everything closes very early in Avarua, and when I say early I mean 4 pm, so around 5-6 pm the place was almost deserted.
Fortunately there were some restaurants open so I could come back later and have dinner.
I had dinner in an Indian restaurant that looked nice, and when ordering I asked if they had any local beer available. The waitress said the only fairly local beer they had was Wailima, from Samoa!! Awesome!! Certainly the most exotic beer I have ever tried!

Around 9.45 pm I was taken back to the airport by the friendly Adrienne. I shared the car with a Tahitian family who had been to Rarotonga on holiday and was now returning back home to Tahiti on the same flight as me.
My day in the Cook Islands was getting to an end, but I had experienced a fantastic day on the island and I had really tried to make the most out of it, I would certainly not hesitate to come back some other time.

Pics
The main road around the island at night