3 June 2011 (-1 in time zone):

I started walking back under the stars after the delicious feast and the entertaining show. Then I was offered a ride by a local.


Rough notes:
http://mandarinmanmarktravelnotes.blogspot.com/2011/06/2011-nz-to-sf-day-21.html

3 June 2011 (-1 in time zone):

Rough notes:
http://mandarinmanmarktravelnotes.blogspot.com/2011/06/2011-nz-to-sf-day-21.html

3 June 2011 (-1 in time zone):

Video of a fire dance. Why not? Might as well.

Rough notes:
http://mandarinmanmarktravelnotes.blogspot.com/2011/06/2011-nz-to-sf-day-21.html

3 June 2011 (-1 in time zone):

Picture of another, more manly, dance.

Rough notes:
http://mandarinmanmarktravelnotes.blogspot.com/2011/06/2011-nz-to-sf-day-21.html

3 June 2011 (-1 in time zone):

Cook Islands also seems to have the best butt-shaking abilities. Sorry for the short length of the videos - I needed to conserve memory - there's a lot of photos and videos to be recorded over 4.5 months!

Rough notes:
http://mandarinmanmarktravelnotes.blogspot.com/2011/06/2011-nz-to-sf-day-21.html

3 June 2011 (-1 in time zone):

Photo of the dancers in the previous video.

Rough notes:
http://mandarinmanmarktravelnotes.blogspot.com/2011/06/2011-nz-to-sf-day-21.html

3 June 2011 (-1 in time zone):

A more stereotypical dance that would pop into someone's mind thinking of Polynesia.

Rough notes:
http://mandarinmanmarktravelnotes.blogspot.com/2011/06/2011-nz-to-sf-day-21.html

3 June 2011 (-1 in time zone):

Photo of the dancers in the previous video.

Rough notes:
http://mandarinmanmarktravelnotes.blogspot.com/2011/06/2011-nz-to-sf-day-21.html

3 June 2011 (-1 in time zone):

I thought the Cook Islands has some of the best beats - I especially love the pattern near the end of the video. I also thought the Cook Islands has the best implementation of the knee-knocking dance. They actually make it look cool!

Rough notes:
http://mandarinmanmarktravelnotes.blogspot.com/2011/06/2011-nz-to-sf-day-21.html

3 June 2011 (-1 in time zone):

What somewhat touristy (but fun) Polynesian show wouldn't be complete without fire dancing?

Rough notes:
http://mandarinmanmarktravelnotes.blogspot.com/2011/06/2011-nz-to-sf-day-21.html

3 June 2011 (-1 in time zone):

At the feast held by Tamanu Beach Resort! Delicious umukai. One of the people sitting at my table was a Japanese tourist who was here decades ago and loved it here. He had a picture of one of the servers as a small kid.

Rough note:
http://mandarinmanmarktravelnotes.blogspot.com/2011/06/2011-nz-to-sf-day-21.html

3 June 2011 (-1 in time zone):

Must be nice living here and going fishing with such scenery around you.

Rough notes:
http://mandarinmanmarktravelnotes.blogspot.com/2011/06/2011-nz-to-sf-day-21.html

3 June 2011 (-1 in time zone):

I've decided that a good sunset is one of the greatest shows on Earth.

Rough notes:
http://mandarinmanmarktravelnotes.blogspot.com/2011/06/2011-nz-to-sf-day-21.html

3 June 2011 (-1 in time zone):

The last view of the sun for the day.

Rough notes:
http://mandarinmanmarktravelnotes.blogspot.com/2011/06/2011-nz-to-sf-day-21.html

3 June 2011 (-1 in time zone):

I discovered a small patch of broken pixels in this photo! Alas, it is in all of my photos, and later on in the trip, a small scratch on the lens developed as well.

Rough notes:
http://mandarinmanmarktravelnotes.blogspot.com/2011/06/2011-nz-to-sf-day-21.html

3 June 2011 (-1 in time zone):

The clouds were so pretty - soft puffs in a warm pastel sky.

Rough notes:
http://mandarinmanmarktravelnotes.blogspot.com/2011/06/2011-nz-to-sf-day-21.html

3 June 2011 (-1 in time zone):

Starting of one of the best sunsets I've seen.

Rough notes:
http://mandarinmanmarktravelnotes.blogspot.com/2011/06/2011-nz-to-sf-day-21.html

3 June 2011 (-1 in time zone):

Back from the walk, waiting at my bungalow for the island night to begin.

Rough notes:
http://mandarinmanmarktravelnotes.blogspot.com/2011/06/2011-nz-to-sf-day-21.html

3 June 2011 (-1 in time zone);

This road looked almost like a driveway. Some people sitting on the porch gave me some hearty smiles and waved.

Rough notes:
http://mandarinmanmarktravelnotes.blogspot.com/2011/06/2011-nz-to-sf-day-21.html

3 June 2011 (-1 in time zone):

Back to around the main road. What a nice village, set on grass.

Rough notes:
http://mandarinmanmarktravelnotes.blogspot.com/2011/06/2011-nz-to-sf-day-21.html

3 June 2011 (-1 in time zone):

Finally, back to civilization! Well, kind of.

Rough notes:
http://mandarinmanmarktravelnotes.blogspot.com/2011/06/2011-nz-to-sf-day-21.html

3 June 2011 (-1 in time zone):

Yes! I was so relieved to see signs of civilization again! This must be an expensive house, overlooking the lagoons.

Rough notes:
http://mandarinmanmarktravelnotes.blogspot.com/2011/06/2011-nz-to-sf-day-21.html

3 June 2011 (-1 in time zone):

Decided it was finally time to try some noni I've heard so much about and see around so much. Surprisingly, the fresh fruit doesn't taste that offensive. Then I realised this was a terrible time to try something new, since I was completely by myself and starting to run out of water.

Rough notes:
http://mandarinmanmarktravelnotes.blogspot.com/2011/06/2011-nz-to-sf-day-21.html

3 June 2011 (-1 in time zone):

A slightly more zoomed in view of the lagoon and islets. The Israeli family with three people and two scooters offered me a ride, but not a minute into that ride, the gas pedal on the other scooter got stuck and was unfixable. I gave them bandages, and then they were off.

Rough notes:
http://mandarinmanmarktravelnotes.blogspot.com/2011/06/2011-nz-to-sf-day-21.html

3 June 2011 (-1 in time zone):

View of part of the lagoon from up here. You can see how small this island and lagoon system is. Astounding to think it's surrounded by hundreds of kilometres of open ocean. The long axis of the main island is on the right of the photo.

Rough notes:
http://mandarinmanmarktravelnotes.blogspot.com/2011/06/2011-nz-to-sf-day-21.html

3 June 2011 (-1 in time zone):

I thought the reef, ocean, and reflecting clouds was a beautiful combination.

Rough notes:
http://mandarinmanmarktravelnotes.blogspot.com/2011/06/2011-nz-to-sf-day-21.html

3 June 2011 (-1 in time zone):

Nice view of the ocean from up here. This is looking out to the ocean, outside the lagoon.

Rough notes:
http://mandarinmanmarktravelnotes.blogspot.com/2011/06/2011-nz-to-sf-day-21.html

3 June 2011 (-1 in time zone):

Went up the hills on the walk back. I bumped into a touring Israeli family up here. Akitua is in the island at the tip of the peninsula in this photo.

Rough notes:
http://mandarinmanmarktravelnotes.blogspot.com/2011/06/2011-nz-to-sf-day-21.html

3 June 2011 (-1 in time zone):

Surprisingly, I didn't feel like a drink, so just had some juice at the beach bar of Samade on the Beach resort.

Rough notes:
http://mandarinmanmarktravelnotes.blogspot.com/2011/06/2011-nz-to-sf-day-21.html

3 June 2011 (-1 in time zone):

On my return, I decided to go to a nearby beach bar for a rest and a drink, seeing that I didn't have much else planned for the day. The island to the left is Akitua.

Rough notes:
http://mandarinmanmarktravelnotes.blogspot.com/2011/06/2011-nz-to-sf-day-21.html

3 June 2011 (-1 in time zone):

This was my true goal, I wanted to swim to that islet! However, due to the $50 day use fee of their beach, I decided to skip it. I did consider paying it and using one of their kayaks for a tour.

Rough notes:
http://mandarinmanmarktravelnotes.blogspot.com/2011/06/2011-nz-to-sf-day-21.html

3 June 2011 (-1 in time zone):

One of their exclusive beaches. I was free to wander around for a bit, but if I set foot on the beach, I would be charged a $50 day use fee, although that includes use of their water equipment such as kayaks. They had overwater bungalows and cater to high-end trips such as honeymoons.

Rough notes:
http://mandarinmanmarktravelnotes.blogspot.com/2011/06/2011-nz-to-sf-day-21.html

3 May 2011 (-1 in time zone):

Here is where I was talking to. The north east of the island breaks up into a series of small islets not too far from each other. The first islet, Akitua, is owned by an expensive resort. I though of swimming over, but took a small free ferry instead.

Rough notes:
http://mandarinmanmarktravelnotes.blogspot.com/2011/06/2011-nz-to-sf-day-21.html

3 June 2011 (-1 in time zone):

Road next to the runway. I was glad I found a ride back. I saw a tourist with a broken scooter around here - not the only one I encountered on the island.

Rough notes:
http://mandarinmanmarktravelnotes.blogspot.com/2011/06/2011-nz-to-sf-day-21.html

3 June 2011 (-1 in time zone):

There were a lot of signs protesting Sunday flights. As a result of the early missionaries, many of the islands are very religious, and I was careful not to schedule flights or too many activities for Sundays.

Rough notes:
http://mandarinmanmarktravelnotes.blogspot.com/2011/06/2011-nz-to-sf-day-21.html

3 June 2011 (-1 in time zone):

My walk took me north up to the airport.

Rough notes:
http://mandarinmanmarktravelnotes.blogspot.com/2011/06/2011-nz-to-sf-day-21.html

3 June 2011 (-1 in time zone):

Decided to stop at a resort to buy tickets to and "island night" they are holding tonight. Apparently island nights are the thing to go to - traditional food and a somewhat touristy show.

Rough notes:
http://mandarinmanmarktravelnotes.blogspot.com/2011/06/2011-nz-to-sf-day-21.html

3 June 2011 (-1 in time zone):

Some of the hills of the island.

Rough notes:
http://mandarinmanmarktravelnotes.blogspot.com/2011/06/2011-nz-to-sf-day-21.html

3 June 2011 (-1 in time zone):

Decided to go for a nice walk today. This is the neighbourhood my guesthouse was in. Northwest coast of the main island. There are not many tourists staying around this area, since this area does not have any nice beaches. There were quite a few abandoned building around - due to the Cyclone from a few years ago?

Rough notes:
http://mandarinmanmarktravelnotes.blogspot.com/2011/06/2011-nz-to-sf-day-21.html