Rarotonga Holiday 3
Palm tree
I'm enjoying myself in Rarotonga. I love the colourful plants and the glossy green trees - and the fact that there are no really nasty bugs or creatures. Nor are there any stinging nettles, just a little pink flowered weed in the lawn with tiny barbs to catch the barefooted...
Thursday 7th July
Today we are going back to the tropical gardens Maire Nui. I know so little about tropical plants - I don't even know which ones are considered 'boring'. To me they all look magnificent, anyway. I'm hoping that a second visit may inspire and improve my knowledge.
Later...
My second Maire Nui Gardens visit has been a great success. I met and talked with the owner-gardener (shyly, of course) and discovered many new areas that I'd missed or rushed on my previous visit. I hadn't properly noticed how tall the stems of Torch ginger stand. And I hadn't looked properly at the different palms.
Maire Nui Gardens
On this my second visit I came to grips with tropical style Cordylines. I can see the connection between the 'Ti' Cordylines of Rarotonga and my own Cordyline australis plants - same habit, same type of flower head...
Spot the Hermit Crab
Back to the Beach
Then Non-Gardening Partner and I found a beach to enjoy our last afternoon of summer warmth. I read my book, my third and last one. Then I found a hermit crab, a couple of sizes too big for his natty green shell, and annoyed him with my camera. It was a really tight fit in there. Ditch the green shell, little buddy!
Nearly the End...
Oh dear. It's nearly the end of the last day of our holiday. Short and sweet - six days of summer sneaked into the winter garden calendar. I will miss all the silly island roosters and hens, and the warm wind, and the pale brown geckos with their squeaky kissing sounds.
I will definitely miss the inland mountains, the green-ness of the vegetation, and of course the easy breezy beaches. No more 'old white wobblies' on motor scooters to drive slowly behind, no more coconut palms silhouetting the skyline. No more summer. Aargh!
Farewell, Rarotonga
Farewell, Rarotonga, look after your mountains and your beaches. We loved our visit. Huge thanks to Daughter of Moosey for living here and looking after us.
Head Gardener and Non-Gardening Partner
By the way, 'old white wobblies' are pairs of mature, pale-skinned tourist visitors from New Zealand (not us). They hire motor scooters, wobble madly all over the road, and use their skidding feet as brakes. The bloke (if there is one) sits in front, wearing a colourful island shirt. But he doesn't wear a crash helmet, like he would back home. Hmm...