It's 2026!

Hoo! Long time no write. But I'm still here -and so is Rarotonga. Here's a picture of Black Rock beach to prove it.

And her is Black Rock itself.

So, what's been happening in the last 4 years? Covid restrictions came to an end - the air border closed in August 2020. Hard times for all involved in the tourist trade although for others it was as though we'd gone back in time 20 years and the island was low-key and relaxed. We only had one plane a week - NZ veggies came in on Thursdays and were quickly snapped up. Restrictions were gradually eased from January to September 2022. There was a general election in August 2022. CIP won 12 seats but quickly snapped up a couple of Independents to secure a 14-seat majority. The Demos crashed with a mere 5 seats. Fast forward to August 2026 for our recent general election when the CIP won 13 of the 24 parliamentary seats, securing a majority and a fifth consecutive term for Prime Minister Mark Brown. Independents scored 7 seats but most of them have now joined the CIP, no doubt hoping for lucrative assistant ministerships. The Demos crashed and burned. Total wipe-out. Zero seats. Papa Tom must be spinning in his grave. Our seabed and its polymetalic nodules continue to attract attention although things are still in the exploration stage. However Penrhyn is going to get a flashy new harbour, and they have needed an upgrade for many years. But suspicion abounds because an American 'researcher' is attached to the team looking into things and right now nobody trusts the US. (Well. I don't. Maybe others do.) Here are a couple of pics of Penrhyn Harbour.

It's tough living on remote outer islands but we now have a new inter-island ship, courtesy of China, called Tuitui Moana, so things are really looking up for Penrhyn.

Here's a video of Penrhyn from the time of Covid - 2020. Enjoy.