Roo Island - The Forgotten Holiday Destination

You are probably thinking, ‘But how will we get there? It’s an island!’ Well, at the edge of Neopia Central, where the sea begins, a ferry arrives every thirty minutes. This is the S. S. Roo, the ferry to Roo Island. It is a small, quaint little ship, not much like a ferry at all. This is most likely because Roo Island is only a small, quaint little Island and they don’t get many visitors, as they are all wasting their time on Krawk Island or Faerieland. It is a pleasant boat, with sun beds and dainty coffee tables with tiny white stools on the deck. Most everything is white, and in the cabin, there is a small swimming pool. There is also a little café which sells delicious desserts and meals. There is plenty to do on your trip, so take your time.

Once you arrive at the harbour, you will see the island for yourself. The first thing you will probably notice is the gigantic castle in the middle of the island, which is, as a matter of fact, not very small, not very quaint and not very little. There is a brightly coloured merry-go-round in one corner of the island and a tiny shop with a chimney opposite. There is a little group of shops in one corner, which sell souvenirs, and a large upside down hat on the other side, with a large group of small, quaint little houses on the northern side. Everything seems cheerful, apart from the stone coffin in front of the castle, which looks very out of place (among all the brightly coloured buildings and plants).

You can choose where to go first, but I recommend the little brick building with a chimney, as it is the closest, and you do not want to go to the coffin yet. That building is where the residents of Roo Island access the Neohome system. There is a small waiting room, which is often quite cramped, as they only let one person use the access machine at a time. You can also look at the wide variety of furniture used to decorate the place. It is access to a furniture-ry part of Neopia, so they take pride in making the waiting room look nice and furniture-ry. You don’t really want to mess about playing with that new sofa you snagged yesterday, so you should leave, so you get a chance to see the rest of the island.

Now, even though the strange coffin is the closest, I would go to the souvenir shop first. After a short and pleasant walk, you will arrive at a bunch of small, quaint, little shops, which all sell different souvenirs. For a strange reason, only one of them is ever open; it is the one with the orange roof. You will be greeted by a blue Blumaroo, who always seems to be happy and loves to wave their hands about in the air. This shop sells a lot of things related to Blumaroos in general; this is the island of Blumaroos, if you didn’t already know, but I have also seen things related to things which you can do around the island, such as a merry-go-round Uni statue and a replica of the Dicearoo trophy. You should look around for a while, until you find a must have item to remind you of your trip. Buy it, and feel free to buy some more if you feel extra delighted (which you probably will) and when you are finished, say bye to the shopkeeper, and leave the small, quaint, little shop.

Now you are quite welcome to go to the eerie coffin. You are probably thinking, ‘Why couldn’t I go there earlier?’. My answer is this: if you had gone there earlier, then you could have lost all your neopoints playing Deadly Dice with Von Roo, and then you wouldn’t have enough to buy a souvenir. Von Roo might be sleeping; if he is, please do not wake him. He could do something terrible to you; he is a vampire after all. He isn’t awake that much really, unless you go at night. If he is awake, however, then you can challenge him to a game of Deadly Dice. You can either win money or lose money in this game, so if you do not want to take the risk, then you are quite welcome to leave. It is better to learn from experience at this game, so I am not explaining anything to you. Sorry about that.

Anyway, after visiting the Count, you should go to the great castle. You can find King Roo there; he is the King of all Blumaroos. He is a happy, friendly Blumaroo, and will have a nice chat with you if you can get him to stop hopping around. You can also play Dicearoo. It is a very fun game to play. Leave whenever you wish.

Now, the merry-go-round is closest, but we will head to the large, upside down hat next. It is a pleasant, twenty minute walk up there from the castle, crossing a bridge or two and passing many flowerbeds. Once you get close to the hat, you will notice it isn’t a hat at all, as it has a door. It is a very cleverly shaped building, made to look just like a hat. Inside you can choose from a wide range of colouring pages to occupy yourself. There are lots of packets of crayons and a few tables and chairs to colour at. Enjoy yourself, and relax for a while and colour on your favourite picture.

Afterwards, go to the group of houses to the north. These are the houses where the residents reside and the tourists can stay. There is also a small restaurant where you can get a bite to eat and a booth with a red Blumaroo sitting in it. Go and see the Blumaroo and ask him for your house number and key. He will hand you a key with a silver number on it. That number is the place where you will stay. Browse around the houses until you find yours. Unpack your things and make yourself at home. You will be staying the night, so you ought to have fully unpacked all of your belongings, ready for the night. Stay in there for a while, reading a book or playing with your petpet or something to keep you entertained until the stars come out. Then head outside and walk south.

You may be thinking, ‘But it’s night-time now! Why don’t I just go to bed?!’ Well, you may also be wondering why you have not visited the merry-go-round yet. Well, that is where you are heading, to the merry-go-round. For a small fee of fifty neopoints each, you can go for a spin on a Uni. Let your pets have a whirl too; it makes them extremely happy. Watch the stars while you twirl around and around. It is beautiful to watch, which is why I left it so long. You want to get the most out of your trip, don’t you?

Now you will be all tired and woozy, so trot along to your room and crawl into bed. In the morning you can always try again, and watch the clouds whirl around instead of the stars.

Your ferry to leave will arrive at half past ten in the morning, so make sure you get to the harbour on time or you will miss it. Not that you will want to leave; you can always stay another day if you like it a lot. Maybe you could even build your neohome there if you love it so much.

I hope you will pay a visit to Roo Island instead of Mystery Island or Faerieland. It is an even better tourist destination than them, no matter how popular they seem. Be unique, and don’t go with the crowd. Go to Roo Island for your next trip; your pets will love it - guaranteed!

Thank you for reading this article! Big thanks to the TNT for letting me in! I might be writing a sequel of why you should visit Kiko Lake if this has made it, so stay tuned!