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Aotearoa Weekly Kōrero 14/10/2026 (piefed.nz)
submitted 2 weeks ago by Dave@piefed.nz to c/newzealand
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Welcome to this week’s casual kōrero thread!

This post will be pinned in this community so you can always find it, and will stay for about a week until replaced by the next one.

It’s for talking about anything that might not justify a full post. For example:

  • Something interesting that happened to you
  • Something humourous that happened to you
  • Something frustrating that happened to you
  • A quick question
  • A request for recommendations
  • Pictures of your pet
  • A picture of a cloud that kind of looks like an elephant
  • Anything else, there are no rules (except the rule)

So how’s it going?

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[-] Dave 6 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

I went on holiday to Rarotonga! With the kids and a bunch of extended family too.

Here's snorkelling with turtles:

photo of a sea turtle underwater

I climbed this:

photo of "The Needle" in Rarotonga. It's a big rock jutting up from the trees. On the left there is a separate rock just as tall as the main one, but separate and leaning out at an angle, looking like a big penis. On the right there is a part much lower that juts out and has a steep walking/climbing track on it

Ok I didn't climb it to the top, but you can go on that bit on the right, so long as you don't read the sign until you're back: Sign saying: Danger, the walking track ends here. Look carefully and think BEFORE you decide to climb up the north face track. Climb at your own risk!

Apparently the view is amazing, someone told us as they were climbing back down (it was ropes and chains and cliffs). But it started raining by the time we got up there.

Photo of tree covered hills, with draw distance set to low due to rain

Another photo from the track:

Photo of tree covered valleys, with the sea visible between hills in the distance

We actually walked from the main road in town at the north of Rarotonga, right through to the main road by the coast in the south. It's called the cross island track, and it took us 6 hours (we had someone with an arthritic knee that really struggled with the straight up and straight down parts of the track). The signposted time is 3-6 hours - quite a range!

Also saw a cultural show:

Photo of Te Vara Nui - a stage over a lagoon, with people in local traditional dress singing and dancing

And spent a little time relaxing too:

Photo of sunset over ocean between two palm trees, with kids playing in sand underneath

[-] MadPsyentist 4 points 2 weeks ago

Looks like an amazing time! And both of those outcrops look like a harness and belay situation to me, great job getting to the top even if the clouds rolled in to obstruct your view.

How was the temperature? Hot and humid im guessing. With so many of you did you book out a house or a resort?

Good advertisment. Im going to have to try a trip to Raro i think! Loved Samoa when i went.

[-] Dave 4 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

And both of those outcrops look like a harness and belay situation to me, great job getting to the top even if the clouds rolled in to obstruct your view.

It was not the top one we climbed, but the short bit on the side. It comes about 1/4 of the way up on the right, not close to the top at all. There were ropes and chains along the path, and only one really nerve wracking part (not so bad on the way up, only on the way down after it rained and the rock was wet).

I didn't get a good shot of it but found this online. This is at the bottom, it gets steeper further up with ropes and small foot spots cut into the rock. This photo doesn't show it well but this is the most nerve wracking bit, where you're sorta on the edge of a cliff. The bit further up has some dirt and vegitation on the outer edge which made it feel a bit safer, even if only because you couldn't see the cliff below you.

Chain for holding on tophoto showing rock face, with track lined with a chain for holding on to. The chain is in the side of the rock face on the left, the rock face goes straight up. On the right the track drops away, but you can't really see it from this photo

Here's another I cut out of one I found online that shows that first bit that drops away, you wouldn't want to slip...

North face trackDrone shot of the side of "The Needle" that shows a big rock, with a track up the close side. You can see the lower bit is exposed but the higher bit has vegetation on the outer edge

How was the temperature? Hot and humid im guessing.

Definitely shorts and T-shirt weather but not too bad. It was cloudy most of the time we were there, and a little wet at times. I think it was probably mid 20s most days so it wasn't uncomfortably warm, and never cold.

With so many of you did you book out a house or a resort?

We stayed at a resort. Booked a bunch of villas at one of the bigger resorts. All up we had about 20 people.

Good advertisment. Im going to have to try a trip to Raro i think! Loved Samoa when i went.

I've never really been interested in the islands because they are normally hot and I thought people went to sit around and relax. But it turns out it can be a nice temperature and there is heaps to do. The one thing we didn't get to do is whale watching. It's the end of humpback whale season, but while we were there the conditions weren't great. We were rebooking things a lot around the weather and sea conditions.

One tip is to avoid the school holidays haha (both NZ and Australia). Most of the stuff didn't have many booking spots available.

this post was submitted on 14 Oct 2026
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