Where art thou?

Reuniting with family, Jesse Leonard finds his sibling bonds remain strong in Rarotonga’s tropical heat

Ishielded my eyes from the sun to get a better look at the ocean; rolling and blue, it was breaking across a halo of coral reef, gliding up on to white, sandy beaches. Inland was dense forest from which rose a small mountain: Te Rua Manga. I grinned, happy to be on terra firma, happy that my flight was smooth and uneventful, and happy that I was about to spend 10 nights in beautiful Rarotonga, catching up with my brother.

We had just disembarked from the plane and stood on the runway (something I always wanted to do), when several passengers scurried past us; beelining toward the airport terminal with the hope of recycled air. But there was none to be had, only broken ceiling fans and oppressive waiting-line warmth. Brother and I followed at leisure, and after a lengthy queue, were greeted, lei’d and ushered to a bus. From there we sat witness to palms, scooters, and the sun-damaged tourists of central Avarua zipping past the windows.

Our accommodation consisted of one room with two beds at the Edgewater, a beautiful place with amenities aplenty. The room was modest, clean, and I didn't have to pay a cent, meaning I have zero criticisms.

We dumped our things and headed back out into the tropical heat. A path led past the bar, where a group played ukuleles, past a swimming pool where children beat on each other with pool noodles, and ended at he beach, where we stripped and lumbered into the water.

I remember wondering why the water was so shallow, and why everybody seemed to be wearing horrifically unfashionable water shoes. One question was answered the minute I stepped out of the ocean. A blase member of the resort staff came over and told me about the stonefish: a camouflaged fellow who gads about the seabed, wearing spines filled with venom, powerful enough to put you in the hospital.

It wasn’t long before I had spent all my money, most of it on a motorbike licence. I had to do three small circuits of a parking lot while the scooter rental manager checked his Facebook.

Brother and I revved our scooters, eager to take the hour-long, 32km circuit of the island along the main road: Ara Tapu. We made it five