Rarotonga is the main island in the Cook Islands and where almost 90% of tourists spend their entire holiday. Rarotonga has lush tropical mountains, pretty coastal scenes, sandy beaches and a very slow pace of life. The island takes just 45 minutes to go around by bus. A much nicer way to get across the island is the cross island trek which is the most popular . The trail literally crosses from the north side of Rarotonga to the south side passing Te Rua Manga (or the 'Needle') at 413 metres. It's a fairly challenging trek through tropical rain forest but one that can quite easily be done on your own if you are a confident hiker and the rains haven't been heavy. The walk is best approached from the north coast from Avarua Town, which I found out only afterwards. The trek takes about 3 hours and finishes at Papua Waterfall where you can take a refreshing swim in season (waterfall usually dries out from July to October). If you want to visit the waterfall without doing the strenuous trek over the mountains, approach from the south side along a dirt trail for about half an hour.The views near the needle are just magnificent and this trek definitely makes a very nice day away from the beaches.
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