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Rarotonga, with its jagged peaks, deep valleys, fertile slopes of red earth and sparkling aquamarine lagoon, is the emerald jewel of the Pacific.
Massed coconut palms, jungle-clad mountains, the boom of waves smashing on the reef, the crimson flamboyant trees, the azure bays and the beat of the drum dance - its all right here on our island paradise.
Rarotonga rises 14,750 feet above the ocean floor and is just 20 miles (32 kilometres) in circumference. The island is surrounded by a lagoon which extends several hundred yards to the reef which then slopes steeply to deep water.
Around the central mountainous area of this beautiful island is a narrow band of agricultural terraces and flats which, in turn, is encircled by a ring of swamps used largely for growing taro.
Rarotonga's central peaks are the eroded remains of a once mighty volcanic pyramid whose crags now form sawtooth peaks and razorback ridges, covered with tropical jungle and separated by streams running down steep valleys.
Rarotonga enjoys temperatures of between 64F (18C) and 82F (28C) in the southern winter which is May to October, and between 70F (21C) and 84F (29C) in the summer which spans November to April.
One of the main attractions of the island is that it is a real place, not a manufactured destination point for tourists.
The entire island has a truly relaxed atmosphere that is increasingly hard to find on our planet.
It is an idyllic place for travellers seeking lost horizons and for those interested in the ways of Polynesia....
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