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Keith-B-Robinson
The Cross Island Trek is a MUST-DO for any outdoor enthusiast that visits Raro. You can sign up to do the trek with a guide, but it isn't necessary. After heading north of Avarua, and through the Avatiu (some 3km inland), I ditched the scooter and followed the road/pathway past a few more houses, before the track appeared to end abruptly at the edge of a thick, overgrown forest. It almost looks like an animal trail at first, but follow that into the forest and you will quickly be able to confirm that you are headed the right way.The track can be, at times, incredibly overgrown. There were vines and branches and fallen trees spanning the trail. The track can be muddy, but is primarily pitted and rutted with slippery tree roots, so just take your time and watch your footing. After a tough, uphill slog in the thick, heavy humid air, you will eventually arrive at The Needle! At 413m, the plateau offers a great view looking back north to Avarua, as well as ahead - to the south - to the coast. However, with mountains to the east and west that are higher than Te Rua Manga, you don't quite get a full 360 degree view of the entire island. Nonetheless, you get a great perspective of the island and wonderful scenic views!Again, take your time and watch your footing as you descend to the south via very muddy, wet and slippery, tree-root-covered tracks back to sea level.
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hilde99_13
We thought we were pretty fit, must have been the prior big rain that added to this intrepid walk- it is a challenge. Of course we had no guide, and we started from the waterfall end, which they say is not recommended but follow the orange markers if you can find them...Don't give up though as it it so worthwhile. Must have water and good shoes...jandals a definite no no otherwise you will be wlaking back to the car...the waterfall is a must to cool down after your big achievement of getting to the needle.
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Littlesheb1
We went with a local, not the paid guide. I found this to be a challenging hike for my lungs but otherwise not too strenuous. We had a 7 year old with us. The only thing I would say is if you are not in good shape don't pretend you are and try it. It took us 2 hours and 50 minutes.
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TLAOrangeville
We enjoyed our cross-island hike which included the option of climbing the needle. It is generally an easy hike to follow independently IF up you do a little research in advance. It is a good climb ont he way up and a lot of downhill on the other side so you should be in decent shape and wear proper shoes. It is hot so bring lots of water. It took us about 4 hours with a lunch stop and lots of stops for photos,
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Monkey-and-Sprite
Recommended as the only self-guided walk in Raro. We'd agree with that: walking North to South there are orange (and occasionally yellow) arrows all along the route and it's therefore difficult to get lost. Walking in the other direction would be trickier, though still do-able as, for most of the way, the most well-worn path is pretty obvious anyway. That said, finding the right route off the Ridgeline Junction could be tricky if heading south to north: you need to look at the main sign and then turn 180 degrees from it. (Better still, you could spend 15 bucks on the book written to accompany the track which we only found after walking it: when we asked about this in the Tourist Information office we got an ineffectual shoulder shrug in the but should have gone straight to the far better museum / library where it's for sale).At the same Ridgeline Junction there's the option of adding 15 mins round trip to your journey to walk up to the base of The Needle itself. The track here is no harder than elsewhere and this is well worth doing as it's the only way that you'll find a view across the island to both the north and south coasts. In fact, one more general comment about the walk would be that it's not something to do for the views. With the exception of the side-trip to the base of The Needle, there aren't any: you're deep in the bush for most of the way.We'd recommend following the same route as us if you've got your own transport: parking at the waterfall and then walking back to the South Coast (15-20 mins) to catch a bus round to Avarua. Get off at Raro Rentals and then just keep heading inland in a straight line. You cover about a third of the distance across the island on a map before the walk proper even starts. After some early flat(ish) trekking you're pretty quickly onto a straight ridge climb which takes you more or less directly to The Needle. Much of this involves climbing through (and on) exposed roots. It's a pretty enjoyable climb up but would be a bit unrelenting in the other direction, another reason for going North to South. On the other side of The Needle, the drop is slightly less steep and there's quite a bit of time spent hopping back and forth over rivers in the final section. We had mixed fitness and an 8 and 9 year old, so we took it easy, stopping for plenty of breaks and and exposed lunch on The Needle. So from, bus stop back to waterfall car park, it took us just under 5 hours. Really motoring, you could probably walk from coast to coast in closer to 3.However, regardless of how long you take over the walk, you need a reasonable level of stamina and to be sufficiently mobile to hop over stepping stones across rivers and (occasionally) go down a slope with the aid of a rope. We'd recommend against this walk if you don't have decent footwear and we would imagine it could become pretty precarious pretty quickly when it rains.
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YouCantKillAwesome
Coming from New Zealand, I was interested in seeing if the "bush" in Raro would be significantly different. Down on the flats there are Bananas and Taro, but once you enter the bush proper, it feels just like home.The climb is steep, it too us an hour from the Northern carpark to reach the Needle, and doen in 30 mins after a 15 min break.As you get nearer the top, geckos can be seen scurrying next tot the track, and the friendly rooster at the top added to the Bizarre'ness of Raro.Worth a look if you are tired of reading a book on the beach !
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793vanessar
We did the walk unguided as Pa was out of the country, and we had no trouble at all following the track, when the track was 'unvisible' there were always orange markets on the trees keep you on the way. If you have done any walks/tramps in New Zealand then you will have no trouble. As recommended by everyone must be done from north to south, and we left a scooter at each end so had no trouble with transport. Thought it was was well planned that there was in and out books at each end of the track for safety. The track is a bit clayey on the south side.But the view going up, at the top and coming down was well worth sweat to get there. We unfortunately didnt club up the chains right to the top of the needle but from what other walkers that we pasted said, we had missed out. A must do either guided or unguided.
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564RobC
Went with our family group from the Avarua end. Group aged 7 to 65 and all made it easily. It is a lung stretching climb up and a leg jarring climb down the other side. Great views. The track is fairly well marked with orange triangular markers. Good sneakers or boots needed and I would imagine it would be very greasy and quite dangerous if it was wet. A great way to see the bush in the centre of the island. Guess what? We met a rooster at the top of the reack!! The walk took us 2.5 hours from road end to road end with about 20 minutes spent at the Needle.
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KazT_13
My fiance and I aren't "trampers" but we are fit, practical kiwis. We decided to do the Cross the Island walk. We were advised it required a 'good' level of fitness (check!) and that we should start from the Avarua side rather than the Wigmores Waterfall side. We soon came to speculate that walking was NOT a regular past time in Rarotonga and this was not your average DOC track. i.e no signs or markers! We missed the turn off to The Needle and ended up on what would be generously described as a 'pig track'. We had to scramble up and down some very steep banks using tree roots and vines to prevent us falling. Eventually we decided to leave the 'so called' track and followed a stream back to our scooters.(Round trip of over 4 hours) Apparently the track to the Needle is much easier but please make sure you get really good instructions about how to get there as the signage on the day we went was non-existent and the whole experience was actually quite dangerous. We have since been told 'lots' of tourists get lost in there and some have had to stay out over night so make sure you tell your hotel where you're going and when you should be back.
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trishg386
This is a great walk/hike and as previous reviewers state - good walking shoes recommended. Started our walk on Avarua side, saw banana palms, little piglets and roosters prior to the bush track. Steady steepish incline, lots of tree roots (good to grip on to) Have average fitness so stopped for a couple of breathers, kept on going and so pleased. Beautiful view at the top. We had a stunning fine clear morning. All must get that photo of yourself at the top. Satisfaction plus. Take care on the way down as I slipped a couple of times - bit bruised. A taste of nature and a must do.
