Rarotonga Island is the largest of the Cook Islands. The volcano that forms the island is ~14,000 feet high. Without a deep water port for large ships, tendering from our ship onto the island was required. The weather was windy with moderate sea swells on two sides of the island. The captain called off our trip to the island.

Rarotonga was the only island that we had signed up for a backcountry 4×4 trip to view birds, animals, and off road nature. It was a disappointment, but safety first. This was an economic loss for the island as most cruise ships cannot dock and do not carry their own tenders.