takitumu conservation area

We took a 3 hour tour with Tom and had an excellent tour. You have to make reservations ahead of time but it is well worth it. Tom was very friendly and brought us bananas to start the tour. He was very knowledgable and made the hike one of our most memorable experiences on Rarotonga!

Our guide was very knowledgable about the flora and fauna - he had the unfortunate situation of a handful of DoC staff in his party who wanted to know everything, and largely, he did. The streams are lovely and the buttress trees are big. We saw lots of fish, crayfish and tuna in the streams, bats across the valley and fresh coconut for lunch. It was a privilege to share the walk and support a local initiative.

We saw the sign - drove up the road - came across two empty buildings that we thought may have been the offices but no one around only a sign staying you were not allowed in the area without prior arrangement. We would have been more interested if someone could tell us where to make contact.

Visiting the Takitumu Conservation Area was easily my favourite activity of a full week in Rarotonga that included diving, snorkeling and the Cross-Island Trek. The guided walk is not difficult and the pace is slow/steady with many stops for discussion of the forest and the inhabitants. We had many sightings of the rare Rarotongan flycatcher/kakerori. We also saw koura, longfin eels, skinks, tropicbirds, native woodpigeon and fruit bats. Our guide Tom was extremely knowledgeable about the flora and fauna and the conservation efforts in the area. He is about 80 and has seen many changes to the Rarotongan environment over the years. He also gave thorough explanations of the traditional uses of many native plants and was more than happy to answer our questions.It was refreshing to get away from the bustle of the coast and see some of the forest critters. I did the Cross-Island Trek with Pa earlier in the week and the only animals we saw were a few tropicbirds from a distance. The rat-trapping in the Conservation Area has made all the difference, without it the birdlife is nil. New Zealanders will no doubt be familiar with this phenomenon.Overall this was a very rewarding day out on Rarotonga and at $30-35, extremely good value for money, especially when compared to the fee for a guide on the Cross-Island Trek. Our tour lasted 4 hours.Do bring mozzie repellent and a bottle of water. Lunch is not provided though Tom did crack open some coconuts for us to share. Bring a snack to tide you over. This is a non-profit organisation and they don't have a lot of money to spend on advertising. Hence it can be a little hard to get information about the walk - the number to call once you're on the island is 29906. They will run the tour for groups of 2+, and make sure you call ahead early in your trip to avoid missing out.

Because of my interest in learning when I travel, this was my favourite attraction on Rarotonga. Nine of us got 4 hours of guide Tom's undivided attention. We were able to ask him all sorts of questions about the traditional use of the island's natural resources and he gave considered answers on a huge variety of topics, and demonstrated a huge wealth of knowledge from a lifetime of living off the land and the sea. It was very informal and personalised and we really felt like guests of the Takitumu Conservation Area Management Committee. The forest walk was peaceful and interesting and we were fortunate to see several kakerori (Rarotongan flycatchers), although we didn't see any of the colourful juveniles on this occasion. This is community nature conservation in action, the money raised from guided walks goes back to the nature conservation project occurring on land belonging to 3 families, and to provide a living for the guide. If you want to support nature conservation on Rarotonga going on this guided walk is top priority. Just don't expect it to be like a commercial tourist attraction, looking after the kakerori comes first, there isn't money going back into making it more commercially attractive (such as communications, marketing, advertising), instead you get genuine interaction with a person who is involved in managing the land. Highly recommended.

You may not get to see the birds you are after but we did get a reasonable glimpse. It was an interesting walk with one of the volunteers and a different aspect. Some good information at their offices.

I'm a keen birdwatcher and a visit to Rarotonga wouldn't be complete without a trip to see the Rarotongan Flycatcher. As soon as I had dates confirmed I emailed the Takitumu people to arrange a convenient time and was asked to email back closer to the time. I did this and was asked to phone Tom on my arrival on the island. I duly phoned him and arranged for the walk the following morning. We turned up at the appointed time - no Tom, no anyone. From speaking to someone in a neighbouring garden it sounds like Tom had been waiting for us an hour earlier. My mobile wouldn't work on the island so I couldn't phone him, we waited for an hour and then went back to our apartment.We had only 3 days on the island so it wasn't possible for me to re-arrange the trip; I was so angry that I didn't phone Tom again to find out what had happened. I'll let the Takitumu people know that I've posted a negative review here so perhaps someone will post a response.I would urge anyone visiting Rarotonga to go on this trip - just make sure the arrangements are water-tight!

Tom, our 80 year guide was very knowledgeable. Easy walk in the forest, looking for young flycatchers and learning about plants.

Great walk with very knowledgable guide. Saw the little flycatchers - so cute!! Tom is extremely personable and lovely. This walk is suitable for all ages and abilities

Tom is a very entertaining guide and can tell you something interesting or useful about almost any plant in the jungle. He said the best time to see the Flycatchers is January but we were able to locate a couple of them. Bring plenty of bug spray and your camera. The hike is fairly easy but does involve climbing over rocks and fallen trees in places.

We had a VERY enjoyable day with Tom our guide [who is almost 80] we saw heaps of wildlife you will be lucky to see elsewhere on the island,The walk was easy and the view at the top was awesome. Toms knowledge on all things was great and if he didnt know about something he wasnt afraid to admit it. At $35 per person this for me was the best value for money activity that I did in Rarotonga

This a walk through a privately funded conservation estate set up to conserve a rare native bird and has been successful.Well worth the small fee which goes to help the conservation estate.

This is a large inland area of land owned by 3 family groups. They manage the area mainly to protect the Rarotonga Flycatcher, which was critically endangered (only 29 birds left, endemic to Rarotonga) but now more than 400.

Conservation and nature nuts, this is your No. 1 attraction on Rarotonga. We got to see Rarotongan flycatcher and a number of other birds (ok, including jungle chicken). Also, Tom was an expert on local flora so we learned heaps about local (and introduced) plants as well. The 'banana lunch' from the garden adds a nice touch :)

about 3 hours walk We found it interesting and informative. We saw the flycatchers and many tropical plants in the wild. Wear sturdy shoes and bug repellant.