About this blog
Are you an expat Cook Islander? Were you born in the Cooks but now live overseas?
Have you always lived in New Zealand or Australia but want to look into your roots?
Maybe you’ve worked in or visited the Cooks or perhaps you’re planning to.
If any of that rings a bell then this blog is for you!
RaroLens has short videos about Rarotonga, almost 150 so far and it’s regularly updated so the number’s increasing all the time.
Rarotonga is a beautiful place with some lovely, friendly people and it’s changing all the time so in some ways this blog is like an ongoing time capsule.I’ve videoed a lot of sporting events because Cook Islanders love sport – joining in and not just watching. Culture is also an important part of people’s lives and there’s more to culture than dancing (although of course there’s plenty of that). Nature and the environment are featured too because with the threat of climate change who knows how long some things will last?
About me
I’m Penelope and I’ve lived on Rarotonga since 1984. I used to be a keen photographer but now I’m hooked on video and I’m using my hobby to record life on my island home.
I was born in England and after leaving university (with a maths/physics degree) I went to Nigeria for a year as a volunteer. I learnt far more than I taught and I’d decided to stay on for a second year but his was 1967 and I was in Eastern Nigeria which broke away from the rest of the country in May and renamed itself Biafra. The Nigerian civil war began in July but volunteers had already been evacuated by then.
After a year back in England I went to Australia where I did short term teaching stints in Sydney, Queensland, the Northern Territory and Western Australia. In between times I drove around Australia and down the middle mostly in a VW bug.
Australia’s an awesome country and I loved the outback but after a couple of years I headed back to England on the overland trail. Started in what was then Portuguese Timor, then Indonesia – Bali, Java and Sumatra by plane, train and ferry. The cargo ship from Palembang (Sumatra) to Singapore was an experience over and above all the others! Then by train to Bangkok where the trip came to an end. The next leg should have been to India but India and Pakistan were at war at that time so I decided to fly back to England.
After a couple of years back home I got itchy feet again. This time I ended up in New Zealand where I lived for ten years and got married to a guy who had actually been at Liverpool University at the same time as me although we didn’t know each other then.
We came to the Cook Islands as teachers in 1984 and have been here ever since although we left teaching, got involved in the media and have now retired.
This is why I have time to make and edit videos and put them on this blog.
Thanks for joining me
If you’re interesting in seeing more of Rarotonga don’t forget to subscribe to RaroLens for free regular updates by email or RSS feed so you can stay in the picture.
RaroLens by RSS feed
RaroLens by EmailAnd please spread the word about my blog to anyone who’s interested in the Cooks.
Get in contact
If you’ve got any questions about Raro or the Cook Islands write to me at penelope@rarolens.com and I’ll do my best to help.
Thanks fro dropping by. I look forward to hearing from you.
Have you always lived in New Zealand or Australia but want to look into your roots?
Maybe you’ve worked in or visited the Cooks or perhaps you’re planning to.
If any of that rings a bell then this blog is for you!
RaroLens has short videos about Rarotonga, almost 150 so far and it’s regularly updated so the number’s increasing all the time.
Rarotonga is a beautiful place with some lovely, friendly people and it’s changing all the time so in some ways this blog is like an ongoing time capsule.I’ve videoed a lot of sporting events because Cook Islanders love sport – joining in and not just watching. Culture is also an important part of people’s lives and there’s more to culture than dancing (although of course there’s plenty of that). Nature and the environment are featured too because with the threat of climate change who knows how long some things will last?
About me
I’m Penelope and I’ve lived on Rarotonga since 1984. I used to be a keen photographer but now I’m hooked on video and I’m using my hobby to record life on my island home.
I was born in England and after leaving university (with a maths/physics degree) I went to Nigeria for a year as a volunteer. I learnt far more than I taught and I’d decided to stay on for a second year but his was 1967 and I was in Eastern Nigeria which broke away from the rest of the country in May and renamed itself Biafra. The Nigerian civil war began in July but volunteers had already been evacuated by then.
After a year back in England I went to Australia where I did short term teaching stints in Sydney, Queensland, the Northern Territory and Western Australia. In between times I drove around Australia and down the middle mostly in a VW bug.
Australia’s an awesome country and I loved the outback but after a couple of years I headed back to England on the overland trail. Started in what was then Portuguese Timor, then Indonesia – Bali, Java and Sumatra by plane, train and ferry. The cargo ship from Palembang (Sumatra) to Singapore was an experience over and above all the others! Then by train to Bangkok where the trip came to an end. The next leg should have been to India but India and Pakistan were at war at that time so I decided to fly back to England.
After a couple of years back home I got itchy feet again. This time I ended up in New Zealand where I lived for ten years and got married to a guy who had actually been at Liverpool University at the same time as me although we didn’t know each other then.
We came to the Cook Islands as teachers in 1984 and have been here ever since although we left teaching, got involved in the media and have now retired.
This is why I have time to make and edit videos and put them on this blog.
Thanks for joining me
If you’re interesting in seeing more of Rarotonga don’t forget to subscribe to RaroLens for free regular updates by email or RSS feed so you can stay in the picture.
RaroLens by RSS feed
RaroLens by EmailAnd please spread the word about my blog to anyone who’s interested in the Cooks.
Get in contact
If you’ve got any questions about Raro or the Cook Islands write to me at penelope@rarolens.com and I’ll do my best to help.
Thanks fro dropping by. I look forward to hearing from you.
