Cross Island Track, Rarotonga, Cook Islands

Each time we've been to Rarotonga I've wanted to do the Cross Island track, but it's been hot and humid, or I haven't been fit enough so we've never done it. This time the weather was perfect (winter and a lovely 26C) and after the Inca Trail, I could no longer say I wasn't fit enough!

The Cross Island track is 7 km in total, from the harbour to the old Sheraton site. It's about a 40 minute, 2.25 km easy walk from the bus stop at the harbour to the car park where most people seem to start.

It's then a steep walk through the forest to the Needle. It took us about 75 minutes for 1.5 km, mainly due to the path being slippery and having to keep an eye out for tree roots and rocks.

The next stage for me was the most difficult, I am not the most sure footed person and it's a steep, but the view about 100 m is is pretty spectacular. It's a slow decent, with many steam crossings. It evens out at the end just before you get to Wigmore falls. This took us about 1 hr 45 min for 1.7 km, but we were going slow.

The final section is along the road from the falls, leading back to the main road. It was an easy 30 minutes for 1.3 km and comes out at the old Sheraton site. You can catch the bus from this point, but we took the easy 3 km walk back to the hotel (Sanctuary).

All said and done, it's a nice way to spend half a day. You spend a lot of your time eating, sleeping and swimming on Rarotonga (or we do!) so it's good to get out and do something else. Make sure you take some insect spray, water and let someone know where your going before you head out.