Swimming with Turtles in Rarotonga

Swimming with turtles in their natural habitat has been a dream of mine for a number of years. I finally experienced the bliss of swimming with turtles in Rarotonga!

Previously, I’ve seen baby turtles in a turtle sanctuary in Vanuatu, and have seen sea turtles in captivity in Samoa. The latter was a sad experience that made me long to see turtles swimming freely.

My dream of swimming with turtles came true in Rarotonga in the Cook Islands, which are about 4 hours away by plane from Auckland, New Zealand. Rarotonga is nearly entirely surrounded by a reef, creating a picturesque turquoise lagoon around the island, but there are a few openings in the reef. Avaavaroa Passage on the south side of the island is one of these openings – and it’s where the turtles like to hang out.

If you venture to Avaavaroa Passage by yourself, you might think that it looks safe enough to go snorkelling by yourself. Don’t be fooled: the current here is extremely strong, and going out with an experienced tour guide is a must. There are many turtle tour operators, and finding the best turtle tour for your needs can be a challenge, so I’ve written a separate guide on how to choose the best turtle tour.

Happily, we did our tour with the perfect tour company for our needs: Aqua Oz. Our experience was so magical that we did the tour twice!

First impressions

As you pull up to the property that houses Aqua Oz, the incredible turtle mural by artist Gonzalo Aldana, builds excitement on what’s to come.

The fabulous turtle mural by Gonzalo Aldana, outside Aqua Oz premises.

There’s plenty of parking available – or if you don’t have transport, pick ups and drop offs are offered by Oz and his team.

Next you’ll meet Oz and his highly capable team. Oz is a friendly, larger-than-life Cook Islander. He’s been a turtle guide for two-and-a-half years – and has been running his own tour business for one-and-a-half-years.

Selfie time! Oz, of Aqua Oz, is on the left.

Aqua Oz is super safety focused

Oz and his team are all certified lifeguards. Best of all, the tours are personal tours, with one guide/lifeguard per two people. This is not a large group tour, so you get personal attention and help from start to finish. I’m not the most confident snorkeller or swimmer – I’m okay but it doesn’t take much for me to feel out of my depth, so to speak. Having a high level of personal attention put my mind at rest.

All the snorkelling gear is provided: masks, snorkels, and flippers. The gear is good quality, and it’s thoroughly checked for fit before you head out into the water. (Bonus tip: Johnson’s baby shampoo makes a great anti-fogging agent!)

Then there’s the safety briefing. You’re asked to provide information on any health conditions that are likely to affect you. It’s important to disclose this, so the lifeguards are informed.

You’ll also be given information about the two snorkelling sites in the Avaavaroa Passage, and what to expect, and where the most dangerous area is.

We’re towed out to the snorkelling sites by paddleboard

This is one big difference between all the turtle tour operators in Rarotonga: how you get to the area where the turtles live. Some operators take customers out on small inflatable boats; others make tourists swim out; whereas Aqua Oz and his team walk out (the tours only take place at low tide), towing every client seated on their own paddleboard. I think this is brilliant, and for two reasons:

1. You’re not tired from swimming when you get to the turtle site, so you can use all your energy for the turtles.

2. It doesn’t disturb the turtles in any way. No noise, and no risk of turtles coming up for air getting injured by propellers or boat hulls.

Photo credits: Aqua Oz

Once the area is reached where the turtles live, the Aqua Oz lifeguard allocated to you has foam floats that you can grab onto at any time if you’re feeling tired.

Behold – the turtles!

Now the fun begin: snorkelling with turtles!

Turtles rest and sleep on underwater rock and coral ledges. Sea turtles are reptiles that have lungs (not gills, like fish) – which means that they need to breathe air to survive. Green sea turtles, such as those in the Cook Islands, can hold their breath for between four to seven hours when they’re resting. They are able to slow their heart rate and metabolism to conserve oxygen while they’re submerged. Plus they have large lungs that help them store oxygen, so they can stay underwater for longer.

If a sea turtle is active, and is swimming and hunting, it can’t hold its breath for so long, and must come to the surface every few minutes in order to breathe air.

This means that during your turtle tour, you’re like to see both resting turtles, as well as those coming up for air. You can easily see the turtles when they come up for air just by snorkelling on the surface – there’s no need to dive down unless you really want to.

If you experience a turtle close to you, please do not be tempted to touch the turtles – this is their home and habitat; they are wild animals and are to be respected.

Photo credits: Aqua Oz

The fish are amazing too

When you’re snorkelling, you’ll notice that it’s not just turtles that live here: there’s an incredible variety of reef fish, too. I noticed many types of fish that I hadn’t seen elsewhere while snorkelling in Rarotonga. The combination of the graceful turtles and variety of little fishies was just beautiful!

On our second turtle tour, we also some some eagle rays swimming in the depths. There’s a glimpse of them in the video, below.

The pictures and videos our guide took were breathtaking!

As well as keeping you safe, your Aqua Oz guide is there to document your sea turtle experience with underwater photos and videos. And because there are just two people per guide, you will get great shots of your swimming with turtles in Rarotonga experience!

If you have an iPhone, you’ll get your photos and videos immediately after the tour via AirDrop. If you’re on Android, Aqua Oz will get the pics to you within 24 hours.

The quality of the photos we received were fantastic, and having them as a memento of this amazing experience ensures my happy memories live on.