Where dreams learn to fly

Where dreams learn to fly

Ready to fly

“There is my new school, Papa!” says my son excitedly over the BOSE aviation head phones that we are all wearing. I can feel the smile reaching from his ear to ear, it transports in his voice. There are those moments in life when you know exactly that you are in the right place at the right time. An esoteric may say: when you are one with the universe. Or when you feel like a deity is touching you or god watching over you. These beautiful islands are very spiritual places and full of stories and wonder. I remember rolling off the boat outside Papua Passage – the boat is called the Moerangi – the one who walks with the stars – the moment the blue warm ocean water swaddled me like a warm blanket I felt at peace with the world for the first time in a long time, maybe ever.

I was a bit apprehensive gifting my 5-year-old son a flight on a 3-seater Cessna. Thirty minutes circulating the skies over our little adventure island in the middle of the south pacific. Rarotonga covering an area of 67.39 square kilometers is located four hours away from Auckland, eleven from LAX, coordinates 21.2292° S, 159.7763° W. He is skeptical at times, takes a moment to warm up to new tasks and people. So it was not a given that he would tolerate the confinement of a small aircraft, allow a stranger to take him up and buckled up in a 4-point aviation seat belt, wearing adult size headphones. But he experienced one of those moments of oneness. It was absolutely beautiful to see and witness as a parent. There was no hesitation just a perfectly normal sense of belonging in this adventure.

The A-Team

The office door opens up and out comes a tall Cook Islander, greeting us with his big “Kia Orana” smile. His uniform with the two stripes on his epaulette demands respect but our birthday boy just loved it and when Pilot Peter offered his hand for a high five, he accepted it with a big smile. When their hands connected and gave the bonding, “clack” our adventure could begin. Peter invited us through the door onto the tarmac and there she was, beautifully white and polished Cessna, its white propellers glistening in the sun.

Looking down the Rarotonga Airport runway direction Avarua

After a quick introduction and safety brief, the Cessna 172 “Skyhawk”, an 8.28-meter-long propeller machine is taxiing the main runway of Rarotonga’s international airport to the seawall end. It has a wingspan of 11 meters and can carry two passengers. Peter, our pilot for the day, is giving us a final thumbs up and the full force of 135hp Continental CD-135 Turbo Charged Diesel Engine pushes the small aircraft down the runway. Windows are open and the fresh ocean breeze is cooling down the sticky cabin. I imagine an albatross taking of, it is all a bit bumpy on the way up but the intensity of the deep blue ocean is so overwhelming that I don’t find the time to worry about our safety. There she is, our home away from home, a small speck of intensely green island surrounded by a deep blue ocean with a never-ending band of white capped waves crashing on its reef. We climb to a cruising altitude of 1000ft. Soon we come past our favourite beach on the island and our house nestled on the foot of a large hill covered in an intense dark green rainforest vegetation. My son turns his head and looks out the window, his mind racing, taking it all in. When I touch his shoulder, he gives me a quick glance and he does not seem like a little boy but rather a person that is exactly where he is supposed to be in this moment up in the sky above Rarotonga.

So much love in one photo: Trader Jacks's, Edna's Anchor, Te Kou and the deep blue

Tropical Rain Forests

Muri Lagoon - the pearl of Rarotonga

Glorious Muri Lagoon

Rarotonga - she is a beauty

"My wings are blue today"

  

How did we even get this high? Here in these parts of the woods school starts at the age of five one year earlier than back home where pupils start carrying their large backpacks from the age of six. Given that the start of school marks an important part on a kid’s journey, my wife and I decided to gift him something extra special. Giving it some thought, it struck me that his life was and is deeply intertwined with the local airline Air Rarotonga. Two weeks before he was born at Rarotonga hospital, he flew the 45 minutes over in his mother’s belly accompanied by a midwife from Aitutaki on the 34-seater Saab 340B+. Five days after he was born, our little family of three flew back to Aitutaki – Araura Enua where we lived at the time. When he was two and a half years old another Cook Islands adventure called us 1000km up north to the remote atoll of Manihiki. A three-and-a-half-hour journey with a refuelling stop in Aitutaki on an Embraer Bandeirante, nicknamed 'Bandit'. The aircraft can land on coral airstrips and is therefore the preferred option to travel to the remote northern group of the Cook Islands. Fun fact: a one-way ticket costs $1595 for an adult and the kids ticket is unfortunately not much cheaper. For that money you can fly 1000km up north from Rarotonga or directly circumnavigate the globe to have croissants in Paris. Same price for the airfare, very different distance. We were very fortunate to spend 4 months on Manihiki a truly amazing experience that sparked the inception of this blog in 2017. Ever since the Manihiki trip, he is voicing his excitement about a career in the cockpit of an aircraft. To manifest this dream, we though it a great idea to book a scenic flight celebrating the next step in his life. Flying over his “old” pre-school at Black Rock and from there over his “new” school Te Uki Ou in Ngatangiia has been a magical experience.

"How long until I can sit on the left side of the cockpit, Papa?"

"Soon, son. Soon."

Communicating via head phones was just great. Pilot Peter, must have had a good laugh when my son and I had our one liner conversations: “Can you see our house?” “I see it, papa! I see it!” “Can you see Maman’s work?” “I see it, papa! I see it!” “Can you see our beach?” “I see it, papa! I see it!” The everyday familiar looked so much more interesting from this altitude. Time was literally and figuratively just flying by. We flew over one of the oldest Marae on the island – Arai Te Tonga, the stunning Muri Lagoon where our Vaka Marumaru Atua  was lying for anchor next to Motutapu, down south to my personal happy place – Papua Passage. Seeing her from above gave me another level of respect and connection to this amazing body of water that is home to my favourites: the hawksbill turtles. The water was so clear, we could see them swimming in the passage. Further down around the north western point of the island we saw three Humpback Whales play in the shallows. This would have been the highlight of the afternoon if it wasn’t for the smirk on my sons face after landing. There was this deep sense of satisfaction and connection in his expression. He had just lived through a pure moment and maybe he experienced exactly what he was meant to experience on his journey of one day piloting an aircraft. Every time we kick the ball around the yard and we hear the Cessna’s engines from afar preluding her arrival he points towards the sky and exclaims: “Papa, my plane!”

Avaavarua - Dead Man's Gultch

Papa's Happy Place - Papua Passage. Rutaki passage to the right

"Meitaki for flying Air Rarotonga." Thanks Peter!

For further information visit airrarotonga.com and for additional cook Islands adventure stories visit azurecoconut.blogspot.com