Three Coconut Trails

My wife and I are sailing on the Paul Gauguin leaving on March 1 for 11 days. I have booked the Three Coconut Trails hike and wonder if anyone who has been on that hike might comment. I am in reasonably good physical condition and do note the tour can be on uneven ground and perhaps a bit wet. I do have some balance issues and wonder if it will be a problem. Also, the duration of the tour is quite long in time, but apparently the hike is about 5km, so wonder a bit about how long it takes to get from the ship to the start of the hike. Cheers... Bob

That can be a bit tough if your not in good shape. Great views and you will see areas very few tourist get to see but it is tough.

Thanks, Tikiintahiti. My balance issues are generally more prominent when I am tired or not thinking correctly about what I am doing. A 5km walk is not out of the question for me although from what I have read it is all(?) uphill. Do you do a climb and then your transportation back to the ship is from the top? I like you comment that my friend and I will see things most tourists don't get to see. Perhaps I will take a smaller camera instead of my DSLR. Cheers... Bob

I am DSLR poor : )

Bought another one Saturday ....... that makes 9 cameras :eek:

I'd also love to hear feedback on this hike. My wife is taking it while I go diving.

If there's no feedback before you go, please come back and post your experiences and pictures if you can.

Just home from our cruise. I had posted the original request for feedback about this excursion so I'll give you my review.

It was a spectacular hike and one I am proud to say I completed, but I must note that I was the slowest in the group of six passengers who took the hike on. I felt as though I had a reasonable level of fitness, being able to walk the required distance with ease and able to climb the slopes required. What I did not consider was the wet weather and the uneven ground. That was very difficult despite my good hiking shoes.

The guide was excellent and on the way up we stopped numerous times to hear him speak about the flora and fauna or to gather at the viewpoints. We rested at the summit for a half hour and the downward trip was more intense with lots of places to be extremely careful on the banks or to navigate the slippery rocks.

If you are not in above average conditioning and already enjoy walking / hiking, I would not recommend this excursion. I would not book this hike again, though as I said, I am glad I accomplished the hike.

Another very tough hike is the one in Raitea. My DD went on it some years ago. They had to do a bit of rapelling as well as slip sliding down the cliff face. I had given her one of those $1 raincoats so her upper body was relatively mud free but the rest of her was totally covered. Had to ditch her runners as they were unbelievable.

I liked it but my wife was not a fan of it.

Just home from our cruise. I had posted the original request for feedback about this excursion so I'll give you my review.

 

It was a spectacular hike and one I am proud to say I completed, but I must note that I was the slowest in the group of six passengers who took the hike on. I felt as though I had a reasonable level of fitness, being able to walk the required distance with ease and able to climb the slopes required. What I did not consider was the wet weather and the uneven ground. That was very difficult despite my good hiking shoes.

 

The guide was excellent and on the way up we stopped numerous times to hear him speak about the flora and fauna or to gather at the viewpoints. We rested at the summit for a half hour and the downward trip was more intense with lots of places to be extremely careful on the banks or to navigate the slippery rocks.

 

If you are not in above average conditioning and already enjoy walking / hiking, I would not recommend this excursion. I would not book this hike again, though as I said, I am glad I accomplished the hike.

Tiki was spot on once again :)