Rarotonga Cook Islands - Canuck Cache
A
cache
by dmcl
Hidden
:
2/10/2009
Difficulty:
Terrain:
Size: 
(Small)
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Rarotonga - Cook Islands - Canuck Cache
Getting there:
Rarotonga is the main island in the Cook Islands. All
visitors will enter the country here, unless you arrive by boat. We
have visited these islands several times over the years and keep
returning because of the friendly people and the balmy climate. The
island is an outdoor tropical greenhouse filled with beautiful
flowers and the people have an extremely easy going, relaxed
lifestyle. The Cook Islands are a wonderful getaway from the fast
paced, hectic lifestyle found in so many other countries.
About the cache:
The cache is easy to get to on Uruau Drive. You can walk or drive
right to the hide. I always rent a scooter when I visit Rarotonga,
to give me the flexibility for travel around the small island. The
only drawback with the scooter is that you are limited to a maximum
of 2 passengers and it does rain in Rarotonga. The cache is hidden
along the road which leads to the cross island trek - but you do
not need to hike the island, to get to the cache. If you do
the trek, you can find the cache along the way.
Cross island trek:
Start waypoint north end: S21 12.348 W159 47.105
End waypoint south end: S21 15.786 W159 47.729
Total distance with side branch to the Needle: about 9 km.
The cache is hidden on Uruau Drive, which is the first part of the
cross island trek for those hiking from north to south (which is
the recommended direction). The trek is a fairly rigorous, steep
walk which can be done independently or with the service of a local
guide. It takes about 3.5 to 4 hours to complete. Most hikers catch
a bus to the harbor and get out at the intersection of the main
road and Uruau Drive. Just tell the bus driver you want to do the
cross island trek and he will drop you off at the right spot. I set
a waypoint at the north end of the trek (See above), which marks
the beginning of the hike.
You begin the hike on a paved road, which heads inland and climbs
slowly up a narrow valley. You will cross over the inland road and
soon arrive at the cache, which is exactly 1km from the start of
the trek. The lower part of the valley is farmed and makes for a
beautiful walk. Along the way you will pass: the power station for
the island, small farms with taro patches and grazing goats and
pigs. The paved road ends at a bed and breakfast near a small
parking lot.
Just read the signs and the trail route is obvious. Here, the paved
road turns into a narrow dirt road that winds slowly upward through
the jungle and ends in an open area near the public water intake on
the Avatiu Stream . At the end of the open area you will get to the
trail which follows the Avatiu Stream for a short distance. The
trail then crosses the stream and you will come to a huge boulder.
Stay just to the right of the boulder and the path begins a sharp
ascent up a 'staircase' of tree roots. Do not follow the trail that
goes beside the white pipe. As you climb you are surrounded by
dense jungle, with the odd vantage point showing views back to the
harbor and forward to the rocky needle at the top of the
climb.
As you approach the rocky pinnacle called Te Rua Manga or "The
Needle", you will reach a fork in the trail at S21 14.308 W159
47.280. Going to the right will take you on a short 10 min climb up
to the Needle at 413m and S21 14.344 W159 47.327. The trail ends
here and there are great vistas to the north and south sides of the
island. It is well worth the time to go up to Te Rua Manga.
When you head down and return to the main trail, follow the other
fork - which will take you down to the south side of the island
along Papua Stream. Along the way you will reach another fork in
the trail at S 21 14.610 W 159 47.286 by a large tree on your left
hand side. The left branch follows the traditional route and is the
easier hike. If you stay to the right following the white power
casing pipe, you will end up walking along a very steep-sided ridge
that ends with an extremely treacherous, loose rock slope, that
drops down to Papua Stream. I would definitely recommend that you
follow the traditional route, unless you are an experienced hiker
wearing good hiking boots. This was the third time I have done the
cross island trek, and this was the only time I took a wrong turn
and ended up going down to Papua Stream on my 'butt'.
The trail along Papua Stream parallels the stream and crosses it in
several places. The ferns are gigantic and tower over your head. In
some sections the trail is hard to follow, so take your time and
watch for signs of foot traffic. The difficult section of the hike
ends at Wigmore Waterfall at S21 15.228 W159 47.255. This is a
perfect spot to rest and take a dip in the pool to refresh the body
and soothe the feet - which are likely to need it by this point.
The trail from Wigmore's Waterfall to the end on the south side is
on a good road that runs through farmland of banana, papaya and
vegetables. Near the end you will see the abandoned Sheraton/Hilton
complex which has been left unfinished for many years. As soon as
you reach the main road you have completed toe trek.
Congratulations!
Original contents:
Log book Pencils
Deck of Canada playing cards
Canada bandana
Mosquito repellant button
Dental floss Bracelet
Lanyard glasses holder
Screwdriver Canada key chain
2 Canada logo pens
Canada luggage lock and keys
32mb SD camera memory chip
Assorted coat lapel pins
My home is in Canada, so I thought it would be fun to give the
cache a national feel by adding some contents which are
representative of my country or have a Canadian logo on them. If
you choose to add to the cache and can place something from your
home - that would be great, but is not a requirement.
A special thanks to the local Cook Islander named Tau who has
volunteered to monitor this cache.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Haqresbbg gura bireurnq
Find...
Along Uruau Drive
Bridge over Avatiu Stream
Near the cache
The Needle
Te Rua Manga visible in the distance. For those who hike the cross island trek, you will climb to the base of it along the way.
Loading Cache Logs...
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Current Time:
Last Updated: on 1/1/2012 12:48:42 AM (UTC-08:00) Pacific Time (US & Canada) (8:48 AM GMT)
Rendered From:Unknown
Coordinates are in the WGS84 datum
