Lounging on sugar-white beaches, fanned by coconut palms, while gazing at the gin-clear lagoon that lassoes the island, is why the reality of Rarotonga is as perfect as the postcards. Drinking in that crisp lagoon palette of electric blues and turquoise hues, and basking in its bath-warm gorgeousness, is central to Rarotonga’s perennial stature as a fly-and-flop destination.

A great new way to explore the underwater kingdom of Muri Lagoon, is to join a Sea Scooter Safari with Ariki Adventures.  These ingenious hand-held machines are shaped like a torpedo and battery powered to pull along you through the water at 4km/hr.  Kitted out with a mask, snorkel and fins, I noticed my water speed almost doubled when I used the fins. After a group safety briefing and short play in the water, my guide led us through some of the most abundant marine snorkelling spots in the lagoon, swimming amid techni-coloured schools of fish.

(Arki also runs extra-adventurous tours beyond the reef on their Ocean Safari. You’ll need to be comfortable in the open sea, a competent swimmer, and not prone to freaking out if you an occasional reef shark comes into view. The Ocean safari takes you out to a century-old shipwreck.) If you’ve got a GoPro, you can mount your device on the front of the sea scooters. You can also hire wetsuits if you’re anxious about rubbing up against coral in the thriving coral canyons. 

Avoid all red and yellow corals – and fire coral is aptly named for the painful sensation it wreaks, if you brush up against it. I’m not the most practical of people, but the scooters are effortless to master. Each handle has a throttle button which should be held down in tandem, for optimum propulsion.  And the steering system faithfully follows the direction you point it in, including nose-diving down to the lagoon floor, for intimate encounters with coral gardens and giant clams. During our safari we crossed paths with a lagoon cruise, as they were attracting the sea life with food.

Suddenly, the sheer size of the schools of fish frenetically moprhed before our eyes, including the welcome presence of larger specimens, like trevally, joining the feeding frenzy. I felt like I was back at St. Bede’s College, when the school tuck shop chaotically opened for business. The kaleidoscope of marine life is full of surprises. Keep a look out for moray eels slinking about the rocky depths, or the graceful joy of seeing eagle rays and sea turtles breezing through the lagoon. Ariki Adventures are the only sea scooter safari operator on Rarotonga, and their innovative 90-minute tour prises open the flippered treasure chest within the lagoon. www.arikiholidays.com

For more hi-jinks, and a dramatic change in scenery, I jumped behind the wheel of a Rarotonga Buggy Tour. These grunty off-road vehicles are a cross between a go-kart and a beach buggy, highly manoeuvrable and hardy. Or should that be hard on the arse. You’ll feel every bump.  They’re kitted out with roll cages if it all goes badly wrong. These wildly popular buggy tours have been making quite a splash for two years, with the seriously muddy puddles proving to be the big magnet.

Sure enough, several preceding days of rain promised to deliver mud baths aplenty, throughout the three hour tour. Our conga line of yellow buggies looked like a slithering giant snake, as we rattled along the main road, backroad and off-road.  The biggest mud pits awaited us at the site of ill-fated and abandoned Sheraton Hotel development, where the grounds have been reworked as an off-road buggy track, which is where I got utterly splattered in mud, as we ripped up and down the mounds of the track. Our touring route also romped into the hinterland and the Turangi Valley, thickly carpeted with tropical rainforest.

I can certainly see why you’re advised to where old clothes, because I was caked in mud, from head to toe. A rendezvous with Wigmore’s Waterfall provided a welcome chance to have a cleansing dip in the pool at the fall’s base. Mindful of the heavy presence of mosquitos, I slathered some juice from the miri plant on me, which acts as a very deft natural repellent. ( Coconut juice is also effective at warding them off you.) My Buggy Tour Guide, Sean, was an absolute hoot, the epitome of that self-effacing brand of Rarotongan humour. 

On our return leg, we stopped over at the Golf Range, where tour participants get the chance to get a full refund if you score a hole in one. I failed. Incidentally, if you visit the Gold Range individually, and bag a hole in one on the furthest flag, you win a return day-trip to Aitutaki! After a fantastic lunch break of sliders and wraps, it was time to farewell my trusty yellow buggy. Seriously good fun if you like to get down and dirty! Raro Buggy Tours depart the Muri Beach Club Hotel twice daily at 9am and 1pm. Bookings essential. You need a driver's licence and to be over 18 if driving, or over 4 if a passenger. www.rarobuggytours.com

For planning tips and more insights on making the most of a Rarotonga escape, head to www.feelraro.co.nz Air New Zealand operates up to 11 flights weekly, direct from Auckland to beautiful Rarotonga. Enjoy the wide-bodied comfort of the 777 and 787 Dreamliner that services the route.  Bag a flight time and fare that suits at www.airnewzealand.co.nz