Today 4 of the most intrepid of our group decided to cross the Island, a 3 - 4 hour trek that is deemed difficult and requiring a guide. We decided that it couldn't be too hard and what goes up simply must come back down again so off we go..... Brent, Les, Kim and Jocelyn.
There is a fairly well trodden track for the first 3/4 hours or so... hmmmm a bit of off road trekking and we think we are back on the main track, but not 100% sure. We just kept the "Needle" in our sights and we can't go too far wrong.
It is fairly steep in parts but we were in no hurry so just kept going up and enjoyed the scenery. What surprised us was the complete lack of bird life. The only living things we saw was a multitude of native lizards or skinks as we call them. And even then you had to be in the front to see them skuttling away.
We made it to the base of the Needle in good time and stopped for about 1/2 an hour and had a bit of lunch (leftovers from the feast last night!).
Then off we go for the downhill climb. Hmmmmm ... again! We think we followed the main track for a while and then, while there was a track we think it wasn't the main track!
A bit of 5 point contact with the ground required (butts being the fifth point!). We were not the first ones to use this particular track, but we are sure that the guided tour would not require visitors to slide down a skree/dirt slope for about 200 metres!
Never mind, we got to the waterfall at the bottom which is the correct exit point, so while we had muddy pants to prove our journey, we did manage to exit to the carpark where we were very pleased to see Fred drive up in the wee sports car to save us a walk to the bus stop, and maybe some serious explaining to the bus driver to let us sit on the bus!
The whole trip took us about 4 and 1/2 hours, but with about 45 minutes to an hour of rest breaks we felt that we didn't do too bad, and the effort was well worth it, the views and the satisfaction were spectacular.
Then off we go for the downhill climb. Hmmmmm ... again! We think we followed the main track for a while and then, while there was a track we think it wasn't the main track!
A bit of 5 point contact with the ground required (butts being the fifth point!). We were not the first ones to use this particular track, but we are sure that the guided tour would not require visitors to slide down a skree/dirt slope for about 200 metres!
Never mind, we got to the waterfall at the bottom which is the correct exit point, so while we had muddy pants to prove our journey, we did manage to exit to the carpark where we were very pleased to see Fred drive up in the wee sports car to save us a walk to the bus stop, and maybe some serious explaining to the bus driver to let us sit on the bus!
The whole trip took us about 4 and 1/2 hours, but with about 45 minutes to an hour of rest breaks we felt that we didn't do too bad, and the effort was well worth it, the views and the satisfaction were spectacular. 
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