Andrew Bain Dec 3 2014 at 1:15 PM
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Pacific islands package lethargy like few other places. Encased in sluggish heat and a warm ocean, they're typically places where doing nothing can feel like doing everything. But what happens when doing nothing isn't enough?
Crawl off the beach towel and there are opportunities on many Pacific islands for particular, and often unique, adventure activities.
Here's our pick of the adventures in paradise.
For 30 years Pa Teuruaa has been guiding hikers across Rarotonga's imposing mountain interior. Often walking barefoot and in a loincloth, the dreadlocked septuagenarian has traversed the island on foot more than 4000 times, leading visitors into the rugged heart behind Rarotonga's ring of beaches.
Pa's Cross-Island Trek ascends 400 metres from one side of Rarotonga to the serrated ridge that forms the spine of the island. The climb begins among trackside crops the likes of watercress and taro but moves quickly into the cloud forest that smothers Rarotonga's interior. It's a steep climb at times, but it's not long.
Atop the ridge, the trail passes beneath the Needle, one of the island's most striking rock formations and an ancient place of worship look at one side of the towering rock and you'll notice that it's been carved into the face of a god.
Far below you can see out over Rarotonga's airport to lines of waves smashing onto the island's reef.
A natural healer when he's not on the trail, Pa is one of Rarotonga's true characters. He walks silently he only talks to God when he walks, he tells hikers but at the regular stops he's effusive with stories. He's led the Dalai Lama across the island, and once guided a woman across on her 96th birthday they planted a coconut palm on the ridge to celebrate the occasion.
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Pacific islands: Paradise is packed full of heavenly adventures