The Needle Vaimaanga, Rarotonga, Cook Islands
By Outward Bound on 22-Oct-09. Waypoint GC205FB

Previously logged under team account BoogieRogue. Re-logging with my individual account. Did the cross island trek on an overcast day. What a steep climb it was on the muddy, slippery trail. Managed to get up to Te Rua Manga in just over 90 minutes from Ara Tapu on the north side. When we got up there and made the necessary notes to answer the questions we decided to climb all the way up to the lookout point on the chains. It is a treacherous climb but one that is well worth the effort. We took the obligatory photos and headed down on the Papua side towards the waterfall. Took us the better part of 90 minutes to get down as it was slippery as hell on this side as well. Great trek and thanks for the Earthcache.

What a great hike with excellent views over the islands. I hiked up from the south side on a beautiful sunny day. Quite strenuous, but well worth the effort and sweat. Many thanks for the Earthcache.

Cross island track... What can we say? It's a must. We waited for a day without clouds, but clouds were there all the time. We did the track after rain and the rain cought us at the intersection, so we continue to other side of the island without The Needle. Two days later we were back, walked straight to the Needle, for this cache and for the views.
Thanks for the cache.

We did the hike on a lovely day with great views. The hike up from the north side was dry, but coming down the south side the rocks and leaves were slippery from recent rain. The descent was not particularly pleasant and if we did it again we would probably just go up and back from the north and avoid the bus ride back. But the view from the knob a short way along the descending trail was definitely worth it.

Cross-Island-Trek and the Needle. A must. Have been at the Needle right between two rain showers. TFTC

It's the end of the track. And rope...on the side the face isn't. A seriously difficult hike. Worth the view.

After 5 days of rain, we figured we'd take the opportunity to get over the island during a fine spell and we were running out of time. After being dropped off at the start and doing the canuck Cache on the way. we climbed up to the saddle, and boy it was hot and humid. Sweated buckets was pleased to get to the top for lunch. The view from the North face was great, though I wouldn't want to be around in high winds.
Cloud was rolling in so we continued down to the waterfall, finishing with a swim to wash off. The track was pretty good (we thought afterward our 10 and 8 year olds would have been fine) however we're used to tramping (hiking) back in NZ and had the right gear.

When we finally met up with karma reprint, each on excursions around the island & leaving notes at where the other was staying, we decided that Thursday was the best weather wise day to attempt this. As we were staying not far away, we would meet at the intersection of the main road then continue to the entrance of the start to the Walk from the north end, as advised by all locals. It was a bit of a grunt up the stairs made from the tree roots, but the view from the top is well worth the effort. After a short rest at the top and collecting the information we headed down toward the waterfall and pass the derelict Sheridan complex. Caught the the clockwise bus back to town. TFTC

Got off the clockwise bus and waited for La Vista to arrive. Then set off up the road on the trail of a Needle. Got partway up the road and discovered that the gps was lowww in the battery department, so was quickly turned off and used sparingly during the rest of the trek. Luckily there was La Vistas gps too, so all went well. What a slog up the ridge. A bit of a puff and pant! The view from the needle was cool, and the wallk down to the other side was steeper than the way up! A lovely walk, and well marked and easily followed track. Thanks.

Great day to do this walk today, good track and great views out over both sides of the island. Really enjoying a fantastic trip to this beautiful island. Thanks for doing this cache and getting us up here. TFTC

My first EARTH CACHE!!

It was so an awesome experience, Cross Island Walk is the most perfect walk i've ever been!!

TFTC!!

We were really looking forward to doing the walk over the Island but it rained most days we were there so we will have to return another year.

Found with 0oSpudgeo0 on our last day in Raro. Definitely worth doing the walk! TFTC

Thanks for the earthcache, we really enjoyed the climb and probably wouldn't have done the track otherwise. Great views from the top! Definitely wouldn't climb the needle though.

Had a fun time doing this with a group, started out early and the climb up was steep. Great day and good views of the Island. Went right up to the needle but wasn't game to use the climbing device. Was a pleasant day and good to arrive at The Waterfall.

Thanks so much for bringing me here Outward Bound

We started from the south side and lost one time the track because the orange sign posts are on the backside of the trees. The needle is impressive and reveals a lovely view over the island though the track itself doesn't allow any vast views which is a pity. Each of us got a brown stain by tripping on the wet, slippery pathway with roots...
Anyway, was quite nice and different to the European Alps.
Thanks for the cach

Lucky picked a fine day for the walk. The signs is easy noticible all the way up. yellow plastic markers on the trees. The GPS did not comply very much. There was a few walkers on the track. had a rest and bite to eat up the track. Luckly the track was reasonble dry.

The views from the needle was good. Had a rest and made the way down again. Warm, no rain.

TFTEC.

This is the second time ive done the needle climb in 2 years.
Beautiful views and perfect dip in the waterfall at the end if its running.
Climbing up the actual needle is a task in its self. Didn't do it the 1st time, needed some push the 2nd time. Haha

Didn't know the email so couldn't send off info.

Great day out. Drove to the beginning of the track. Set out after lunch and found the climb a good test with just one couple slightly ahead.
Lunched together cliff at base of needle and watched the birds circling and playing. Headed off solo for the descent to the waterfall and found the track in good condition at all stages. No rain for past 4 days!
Walked out to main road, hitched back to wharf then the tough 2.5km walk back to the car.
Suggest others plan a bit more and remember less buses on a Sunday! Loved it! Thanks.

Only Mr Hotspud was attempting this one - terrain was rather wet when he walked up so far from the waterfall side, not all the way to the top as he found a lost Ozzie and took him back down. The next day he went from the N side right up to the needle without too much trouble. Heaps of wee lizards on the tree roots but they're too fast to photograph! Came across some pigs and the odd chook or two. A distinct lack of birds (except for the chooks and myna birds) on this island. Loved the "carved" rock and the needle itself is very impressive. Awesome views.

Sorry for the delay logging this one - we have been crazily busy since our return from Rarotonga.
Had a great walk up to the Needle, the views are fantastic, and the climb is challenging in places but easily done without a guide, we felt. There had not been much rain so the track was in good condition and we enjoyed the exercise. Beware the guardians of this cache, rooster one at the trail intersection & rooster 2 at the base of the Needle. They are very friendly, too friendly when you are not a fan of roosters!!! Thanks for a great cache, very interesting.

This was on my must do list of caches on the island. My list was six caches long Seriously this one looked like a lot of fun, so my limited three-day stopover was planned around when I could do the guided trek with Pa. The, ah, weather, was certainly present. It was raining, and rather misty. As a Kiwi, I had no problems with the track, and I was the first up 'heartbreak' ridge - Pa told us that there have been around 20 heart attacks going up that ridge to the needle on his tours, and only one was fatal. Oh, before I forget, the Pa-count as of today is now 4127! So, muddy track, was completely soaked, so much so I didn't bother putting my parka on. But we made it, and had a rather atmospheric view of the nearby jagged ridgelines. Down was slippery, but managed to not fall once unlike others in the group. Once at the waterfall, I was the only one in the group to have a swim - it was lovely! Really enjoyed this earthcache, thanks for placing it. Cheers Gav [11941] +1

This entry was edited by rediguana on Wednesday, 29 August 2012 at 04:59:24 UTC.

My wife and I visited Rarotonga for our honeymoon and took a break from lazing on the beach to complete the cross-island trek. The hike ended up being one of our favorite memories of the trip! Thanks for bringing us here.

[url=http://facebook.com/foomanjoo]FMJ#13170[/url]

Great information both about the route and the Island. We could have done with a description like that when we found our way up Te Manga, the highest point in Roraotonga a few of years ago.

a great tramp to the top with nice veiw , met up with a tour guide at the top with a dozen students and had a chat went on a little farther and then met another couple doing the track from the other end whitch gave us the oppotuinity to swop keys of the bikes and meet up location at a resort tramp took us 3 hrs . as it had rained the night before we were told it would be muddy and slippery but it wasent bad at all. TFTC well worth the effort.

#1,019: Sunshine Up, Slog Down.


I had arrived in Rarotonga at 7am this morning, and was a little concearned about the weather around the Needle, but since I only had two days on the island, I decided I should try my luck. I took the bus to the North part of the walk, then did the two caches leading to the actual start of the trail. The walk started out very easy, just meandering up the road past the houses and plantations. When the road ended, it continued to be quite easy, until I hit the jungle. A very abrupt transition too! The directions were spot on all the way from beginning to end. The climb up the root ladder was very tough, and I had to stop several times to catch my breath. I passed two German guys making their way up to the top. We met up again at the top and chatted for a while. A Kiwi couple was also at the top having lunch, and we exchanged some thoughts on the walk, the view, etc. Then the weather started to move in from the East, and FAST! It was clear that getting down was not going to be a dry affair, so instead of making my way up the Needle to catch the view towards the West, I decided since it was getting slippery from the rain that I should head down. I bid the other farewell, and got back to the intersection with little trouble. By them it was really starting to pour, but I ignored the signs telling me to “Go East”, and proceeded to along the unmarked Southerly route, following the white pipe. At one point, the rain got so heavy I really started to worry about getting out, but since going back was not really an option, and trudged on. I had brought good equipment, including rain gear and good shoes, but my backpack got thoroughly soaked. I was afraid the storm would turn into a thunderstorm and that I might be in trouble, but then I decided things would be fine, and rather enjoyed the walk, soggy as I was. Once the track finally met up with the “preferred” track, complete with orange triangles and all, I felt much better, though the stream was pretty swelled, and crossing was a little bit of a challenge. I met another Kiwi couple along the track, and stopped to chat with them a little, as the rain slowed down. I offered them some water, but they said they had plenty, so I walked on, and made my way slowly down to the Falls. Once there, I took off the shoes (and most of my clothes!) and waded into the water. I had prepared a little celebration for after the walk, and so I cracked open a nice Speights I had bought at the North end. Mmmm. Nice!

I’ve emailed the info to the CO. Thanks so much for this great experience!

We didn´t expect the cross-island track to be so steep! And although it hadn´t rained the night before it was very muddy and slippery, especially at the needle itself and on the first part of the way when going down.
Still we really enjoyed the track and the geocache, that drove us to do the track.
TFTC!
Klara&Werner from Germany

Pleasant walk for the first half in about 30 minutes. Walked up to the needle and climbed part way up to take photos before cautiously retreating after precariously peering over a steep cliff face that was this steep |. The extra few minutes to the needle were worth it as the view was pretty epic! The wind and the slippery rocks certainly added to the excitement.

Then on our way down, it started raining (I did my homework on the rainy season after we had brought our plane tickets). Some tracks turned into streams - and I was thinking how pleasant the last part of the track would be and not hilly at all since it was next to a river.

We did about 10 river crossings, which on the map at the beginning only showed 3? And since it had been pouring with rain the days before, the rivers were great - simply great - to cross. The first 6 or 7 crossings we persistently avoided the water, but in the end we just had to dip our feet in all the way up to the knees...

To future cachers: WEAR INSECT REPELLENT. I have 11 mozzie bites on my right hand... and that's only my right hand...

Did the walk up to the needle on my last day in Rarotonga. Great view, well worth the effort. TFTC!

We had a great day walking with Pa. A beautiful place. TFTC.

On a very sunny day we did the island walk guided with Pa. During 4 hours we crossed the island and had a good time, eating fresh Oranges and Papaya from Pa Of course we also had to answer the question from this geocache.

Greetings from Switzerland

Great views all around. Made it across no problems in under 3hrs with the kids. Starting at the north side is the key, there is a map and the track is posted with orange markers. Also this also you to have a swim in the plunge pool at Papua Falls at the end of the trail.
Saw the Cache Guardian Roster at WP2 and he followed us to the needle (was not sure if he was going to let use down!). At least he is safe from the chicken shops! We did the assisted climb up the face to complete the views to the other side. Nice slippery route out on the south track after the couple of days of heavy rains.

TFTEC

This entry was edited by bella at waggy on Saturday, 27 August 2011 at 06:03:52 UTC.

A great track and did it with Tahitian muggles on a gorgeous day. Magnificent views and great company. TFTEC
Have emailed answers.
Cheers
nzkeko

Great recommendation to go with Pa, certainly an entertaining and reassuring guide, very positive and knowledgable.

TFTC Outward Bound, will email answers through

I have just returned to NZ to discover that there has been 2 new earthcaches placed on the island, I guess another return trip is on the cards!

Visited this spot earlier thismorning before flying home amazing views! Made for some great photos, didn't bring the climbing gear to get to the very top but ill save that for next time! Definatly worth the $70 for the tour with pa full of knowledge. TFTC

Brought PC bear along for the ride.