Shore Excursions in Tubuai and Aututaki??

[micked10@earthlink.net]

We are taking a Sept. cruise on the PG and wonder if anyone has any suggestions for excursions on Aututaki ( Cook Islands) and Tubuai (Australs)?? The cruise is a 14 night cruise and I have ideas for the other islands but not much is offered for these two. We love to snorkel and would like any suggesitons that you have. Thanks:)

[DrHemlock]

On Aitutaki, my wife did the Lagoon Cruise & Beach Break excursion and loved it. She, too, is a snorkeler, and she said there was plenty of time allotted in a fabulous setting for "floating with the fishes."

 

Not being a snorkeler, I struck out on my own to hike the main island. A road runs along the spine of the mountains (okay, big hills) offering a reasonably cool setting, good exercise and fabulous views. Tour vans from the Circle Island Tour passed me on the road, so you can see much the same thing while seated. But I didn't pack my hiking boots to sit in a van.

 

As you say, not much variety is offered on Tubuai. We didn't take either of the two excursions offered, choosing instead to take a long, leisurely walk along the coastal road, stopping for photographs or a beach break whenever and wherever we liked. It's beautiful, uncrowded, quiet and not trash-strewn (unlike, say, Bora Bora, which is a real eye-opener when you walk along the main road and notice the details of where you are and how it's being treated).

[micked10@earthlink.net]

Thanks Dr. Hemlock for your response. I think we will do exactly as you and your wife did. A nice walk and stopping when you want to is just what we like to do. I love to set my own pace and not be on anyone else's schedule.

When you took your walk on Tubuai did you just wear your swimming suits and a cover-up or shorts and a T-shirt over your suits? Did you bring any food, water etc.? About how long did it take you to do a leisurely walk, stop at beaches etc.

thanks for the help. Can't wait to go. do you have any other suggestions that I might need?? Thanks

[DrHemlock]

Before answering, I should point out that by walking out on our own on Tubuai, we did not see any of the historical bits included in the ship's excursion because they're too far from the landing spot to be a walking destination. We missed much of the coastline for the same reason. It's a big island -- much bigger than Aitutaki -- and the only way to see it all is to drive around it. There are no rental cars or taxis, and while there may be some form of "le truck," we didn't see it. Thus, the only practical method for seeing the entire island, or most of it, is the colorful open-air school buses hired by RSSC for the ship's excursions.

 

That said, we're still glad we did it our way. To answer your questions, we wore shorts and shirts over our swimsuits, as we didn't know when starting out whether we would be swimming or not. We each carried a lightweight day-pack containing water, snacks (Clif Bars brought from home in case of not finding restaurants which, in fact, we did not), sunscreen, an extra hat, and an empty plastic bag in which to wrap the camera, wallet, watch, etc., in case of rain. This did not fill the day-pack, leaving room for our shirts and shorts in case we swam and needed a place to carry our clothes while swimwear was drying on our steaming bodies. We did not bring our snorkeling gear from the ship. Too bulky to schlep on a walk "just in case." We wore sturdy walking shoes; not flip-flops.

 

How long did it take? Well, it took as long as we wanted it to. We have a formula when on our own away from the ship. What time is it now (upon landing) and what time is the last tender back to the ship? Calculate the time between the two, then subtract an hour to allow for unexpected delays: that's how much time we can spend at the destination. If planning an out-and-back route, we know that we can head outbound for half the allotted time, then turn around. Any stops along the way cause adjustments to the turnaround time. It's trickier with a circular route, but that won't be an issue on Tubuai because you can't possibly walk a circular route there; it's too big. So just proceed in one direction or the other, keeping an eye on the time, stopping where you like and turning around when you're tired or overheated or sunburned or your watch says, "Now!" We spent about four hours on our walk and had a lovely time. Later, back aboard ship and looking at the island, we were able to point and say, "Wow, we walked all the way to there!"

 

You don't have to stick to the coast. There is a road heading inland from the little town where the tenders dock. We went up it a little way and saw some local color in the process, but when the breeze died and the temperature climbed, we decided to head back down to the shoreline.

 

Do not expect to find restaurants or other types of tourist facilities, because there aren't any. We saw no public restrooms except in the City Hall of the town. There are no hotels; visitors stay in guest houses that have dining rooms for feeding only the guests. There was one small cafe that we saw on the road heading inland, but it was closed at lunchtime. There was a small general store with canned and packaged foods and a not-very-enticing selection of fruits and vegetables. We did pass one fruit stand along the road on our walk outbound, but it had closed by the time we returned. We didn't find any tourist information regarding good beaches (though some may have been available at City Hall), so we judged for ourselves as we went. Because of that, and because we didn't see local people in the water except for fishermen, we never went in farthur than knee-depth.

 

Be prepared and be careful, and you'll have a lovely day.

[micked10@earthlink.net]

Thanks Dr. H. for your very informative reply. Sounds like a lovely, leisurely day. We are going to do the same thing and just walk and maybe hit a beach to cool off and have a relaxing day. Someone on one of the threads suggested having the ship make a picnic lunch to take to the beach. If it is not too much to carry we may do that plus some water. We appreciate all of your good info.

thanks