Come Travel With Carly Flynn

Every time we go on holiday my husband and I fantasise about what it would be like to move there. 

To live there full time. To quit the rat race, ditch the city for a quieter life and have a lifestyle somewhere else. 

From Taupo to Tauranga, Nelson to Noosa. Even following family traditions and moving further away to fabulous Fiji or the Cooks, we’ve considered it.  

I love a bargain. It gives me a little buzz every time I walk away from purchasing something, feeling like I’ve got good value for money.

For me it’s not just about saving cash, (or being measly with money!) more it feels like a small victory, a small win when you get a discount or added value to a purchase you are making regardless, be it a new appliance, pet food, a hair cut, the weekly shop or even at the petrol pump.

Carly Flynn always finds something new to do in Rarotonga.

Looking for a short-haul holiday destination that’s fun for all the family? Head to Rarotonga.

We live in paradise. There’s no doubt about it. We just need to remember it. As self-employed parents, my husband and I always seem to put work first, but we made a pact this year to embrace school holidays, to switch off and explore with our wee family. Get off the beaten track and show them stuff that we remember from our childhood. And it’s paying off.

There once was a time when you could have called me a hippie. A halcyon decade where for the best part of every weekend, my husband and I would pack up the van and ditch the work life for the beach life in our old faithful Cyril. No matter the temperature. It was our escape. The teal blue 1972 Kombi van was the first love of our couple life. Weekends in the Coromandel, Raglan, Waiheke even, we lived in it up north for 3 months in a Paihia campground before a few years overseas. Then we paid big money to store Cyril, who waited patiently until we returned.

Aitutaki casts its beautiful and restful spell over Carly Flynn, who discovers a destination better than any brochure could promote.

The more often I visit the Cook Island capital of Rarotonga, the more it occurs to me this is an island not to be taken lightly, or lazily. Forget any romantic notion of turning up and staying at a resort, cocktail in hand, poolside for a week without moving, you will not see the real Rarotonga, much less get the best from it. Island time is still just that in Rarotonga, but this tiny island of just 32 kilometres packs a big punch, and is more accessible, more manageable and more enjoyable than it’s ever been. To my mind, this is an island that has grown up more in the last three years than in the previous 25 since my first visit, which coincided with Cook Island tourism truly beginning.