Rarotonga - Cruiser Information - (63)

Beaujolais
Wed 4 Aug 2010 06:54

The net is a double edged sword sometimes. Chinese whispers often distort and rearrange the truth. Many of the cruisers we have met, after having heard horror stories about the customs regulations here, decided to skip the Cook Islands all together, which is a shame.......and their loss.

So here is our account of our actual experience.

May I start by saying we arrived on a Sunday and as John, the harbour master doesn’t work on Sundays (he leaves in 6 weeks for a new post, so that could change, though I doubt it as they are quite strict about the Sabbath) we would be clearing on Monday. Ordinarily that would have been the case, but it was a national holiday, so we cleared in on Tuesday, but there is no problem going ashore before clearing in. Just remember to fly the Q flag.

A note: John’s hours can be variable, but the office opens at 8am and is manned by ‘the girls’ who will let you know when he is available, if he isn’t there. Office hours are Monday to Friday 08.00 – 16.00hrs, no clearance will be given outside these hours (taken from their documentation)

There are showers and toilets on the quayside, you pay $10 (NZ not US) for the key and leave a $20 deposit (from the Port’s  office, which is the nice blue and white building). There are also potable water taps along the quay.

Anchoring is an option and mooring in the harbour is stern-to and you will need your dinghy down to ferry yourselves to the quayside ladders.

Clearing in is simple, as usual take your ships papers, crew list, clearance from the last port and passports. The costs are as follows (in NZ$): (day of arrival and day of departure each count as a day)

Monohull : NZ$ 2.20 per meter per day

Multi-hull: NZ$ 3.00 per meter per day

Motor Yacht: NZ$ 2.50 per meter per day or NZ$ 0.60 per Gross Tonne per day (whichever is greater)

There is a departure tax of NZ$ 55.00 per person (NZ$ 15.00 for children under 12)

All payment is cash only.

Agriculture and Public health will come along at sometime and hail you for a lift in your dinghy to come aboard.

Once again this is straight forward, they will ask if you have fresh meat and any fruit and vegetables. I, having heard the rumours about fresh meat being confiscated, had cooked it all and frozen it, but when I said we had no fresh meat, they didn’t check.  So we asked what happens if we had had fresh meat and this is the official reply:

“ We allow meat from USA, Fiji, NZ, Australia and Canada. We will confiscate any meat from the UK (due to foot and mouth ...!). If you have come from French Polynesia, no problem as all their meat is from NZ anyway.

As for fruit and vegetables, I had a little and he merely said to keep them secured in a bin below decks.

Charlie then asked me to cover any food or utensils while he sprayed the boat. The spray is only the same as they use in aircraft. He then asked us to close up the saloon and aft cabin for 3 mins and that was that. It cost NZ$ 20 and we were reminded to take down the Q flag.

Provisions and food: Just a 2 minute walk from the wharf (turn left as you leave) is the Cultural Market. Everyday you will find a few stalls selling fresh fruit and veg, also if you go to Mama’s Hut, you can get a slap up breakfast for $15, consisting of bacon, 2 eggs, hash browns, sausages, tomatoes, steak and toast, it is awesome. Marie (pronounced Maree) and Veena , who run the place (which belonged to Maie’s late mother) are exceptionally friendly and I am hoping will become a cruising station for the SSCA as they are so helpful and friendly.

The full market is on a Saturday from about 6.30 am until noon. It’s very big and there are lots of food stalls, craft stalls and fruit and veg.

Just at the entrance to the wharf, on the left hand side, there is Scotts Cool Room which is a frozen food store.  As you walk into town, turn right into the road just before Raviz Indian restaurant (Which by the way is wonderful!!) and about 200 mts on the left hand side (just before Vonnies Warehouse) you will see Prime Foods. They have an excellent selection of frozen foods especially meats, I think they have the best prices on frozen (and fresh) meats.  Alternatively, if you turn right from the wharf and about half a mile on the left you will see a supermarket, that has a pretty good selection.

A 10 minute walk past the market brings you into the centre of town. There are three ATM’s, Westpac, ANZ and CBI.

Car/bike hire: If you want to hire a car or motorbike you will need a Cook island driving licence. You have to take your driving licence down to the police station (go early as the q’s build up), fill out a form, pay your $20 and have your photo taken and bob’s your uncle, you will then be the proud owner of a driving licence. However, if you wish to have a licence for a vehicle you do not hold a licence for (eg a motorbike) you will have to sit a theory exam and a short practical (there and then at the Police Station) and pay extra.

Most cars start around $40 a day. Convertibles are about $50 a day and bikes around $20.

Fuel: there are plenty of gas stations around, indeed for those of you needing to fuel up, there is one over the road from the Wharf. However, it is expensive at $2.16 a litre for diesel and about the same for petrol. If you need a lot of fuel, or can get together with other boats, you can arrange a tanker to come down to the wharf and fuel direct AND you can then get it at duty free prices, saving about 70c a litre.

Eating: lots of options, turn right from the wharf and 20 mts on the right is a fish and chip shop. Fish and chips will set you back $8. Or there is a little cafe right on the wharf itself that is open all week. Raviz , the Indian, serves excellent Indian fare and is a 10 minute walk (turn left out of the wharf and it is on the Right hand side of the road).

Internet: You can buy internet cards from the telecoms shop in town. Walk past the Police station, turn right after the petrol station and walk past the shops, just at the bend, on the left hand side of the road is the telecoms shop. You buy cards based on the amount of downloads you require. 

There are wifi hotspots all around town and also at the wharf, so you can get wifi from your boat. Or you can walk through town, over the roundabout and just opposite the cinema there are 2 concrete benches where you can piggy back off someone’s unsecured network.

Crew Changing: Rarotonga is a great place for crew changes as it is the cheapest destination within the Pacific for either US or NZ or Aus (except of course New Caledonia or Vanuatu  from Oz). If you have crew flying in with a one way flight ticket, you can ensure they have no problems at their point of departure (some airlines will not board you with a one way ticket if you are not a resident of your destination country) you can pop along to the Immigration office (which is on the Right hand side, just before the big roundabout) with a copy of their passport and flight details, the immigration will then contact the airline and give permission. This also means they don’t need to post a bond, it certainly makes their travel less stressful. 

The airport is about 10 mins drive from the wharf (turn left out of the wharf) and the flights  are often delayed (our crew turned up an hour and a half late) so it may well be worth hiring a car for the day for $40 rather than paying for a taxi or 2??

Hardware supplies: There is a DIY builders store right opposite the wharf or Vonnies warehouse has a small section. Otherwise, if you drive towards the airport (and past it) there are several different stores along that road. If you need air-conditioning or refrigeration the you need Anderson’s just before the airport.

If you need something engineered, pop along to Mama’s hut in the market and ask Maria to contact Keith for you, he can make anything!