Users will be able to view official trail notes, maps, elevation, user comments, campsites, huts, and offline topo maps without cell phone coverage. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! It would have been possible to swing on Kungsleden too, there is a service called “bussgods” servicing the rural areas in Lappland, although a bit pricey and a bit of a job as it is not as easy as walking into the post office… For Te Araroa resupplying will be fairly straight forward on the North Island, every 4-7 days or so. Cape Reinga to Bluff thru hike 3000km New Zealand with ToeK! Stretching 3,000 km from Cape Reinga, at the top of the North Island, to Bluff, at the bottom of the South Island, the TA is defined by its challenging terrain, unpredictable weather and navigational obstacles, and just may be the toughest of the world’s major thru-hikes. Te Araroa is New Zealand’s premier long-distance hiking trail, stretching 3000 km (1860 mi) across the country’s two main islands. The trail travels from Cape Reinga on the North Island to Bluff on the South Island, passing through 9 distinct regions on its way. The trail features a wide variety of experiences, from natural to cultural and historic. Heading southbound, like I plan to do, a September-December start is recommended. Music, as an art form, is essentially playful. The whole point of the dancing is the dance. Hey friends, I am seriously considering a Te Araroa Thru-Hike in 2018. and yes there is no serious purpose at the end. From January to March 2017 I walked the South Island part of Te Araroa, New Zealand’s walking trail from Ship Cove to Bluff. In December I’ll be setting out on a 3,000 kilometres, 5 months solo hike down the length of New Zealand, following the Te Araroa path. I should have access to electricity and wifi while resupplying about once a week or so, but who knows…. If not now, then when? It is best understood as an analogy by music. So I am starting towards the end of the seasonal window and many people have already started walking. Oh, missed this one and read the packing list first Great idea with the bouncebox. Te Araroa - New Zealand's Trail - is a continuous 3,000 km walking track from Cape Reinga to Bluff. Yes, a bouncebox will be very nice! Te Araroa Trail officially opened in December 2011, which makes it the newest long distance hike in the world. Passionate about the country of the long white cloud, their knowledgeable team can organize your trip for an unforgettable experience! We thought of life by analogy with a journey, with a pilgrimage, which had a serious purpose at the end. Rose. So, I am liquidating my company and taking an extended sabbatical. Learn about this amazing thru-hike through New Zealand called the Te Araroa, or also known as the TA. This is the warning that the Te Araroa is not an inexpensive thru-hike. Te Araroa is the ultimate 5-month New Zealand experience, but also offers section tramps lasting anything from a few days to a week or more, and many attractive day or overnight walks. The only part of the trail that does require a permit is the Queen Charlotte Track in the Marlborough Sounds. It is a celebration of New Zealand’s incredible variety, its mountains, valleys, rivers, lakes, tombolos and volcanoes. “The whole point of the dancing is the dance.”. More interesting than finding a purpose or a meaning to it all may be something a lot less specific… like a feeling or ideology perhaps, rather than a conviction or a road map. Life, after all, is what is going on all the while we are struggling to reach our goals or fill our intended social roles and live up to some absurd social norms… and instead what we really just ought to do is to follow our heart and enjoy the ride. Check out my Te Araroa Trail gear list – this will be useful if you are planning your own Te Araroa trail or long-distance (summer) thru-hike. This post outlines all the gear I’m taking with me on my thru-hike of Te Araroa. Let’s talk! Between Each Step – A Married Couple’s Thru Hike on New Zealand’s Te Araroa $ 15.95. I'll update the site regularly through my walk. Was it the right choice? Menu Skip to content. Many other long trails also generally have a geographic and geological unity while Te Araroa is quite the opposite. I will keep following your journey and wish you well. During this journey people will leave and others will jump “onboard”. Fine, I will pack some warmer gear in the bouncebox to be safe. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. I will share my packing list next as usual. They will help me with logistics through my exciting journey. And The whole point of the journey is the journey…. First there is a lot of planning to do! Before I get into the breakdown of my total expenses for Te Araroa, I want to note that my thru-hike of the Te Araroa took less than the average of 4-5 months. It was a musical thing, and you were supposed to sing, or to dance, while the music was being played.”. Thanks André! The rewards of thru-hiking are many, but the trail presents equa… Once a week I hope. The Te Araroa presents a unique path, stretching over 3000 km , along the backbone of New Zealand. Wow…this is so exciting Karma. Started looking into logistics and seems the biggest obstacles will be weather and topography related. November 5, 2017 November 7, 2017 / Matt / 2 Comments. Bottom line, none of us know how much time we have left in this life. When deciding to thru-hike a long trail, gear can make or break your experience. The reason I am pushing back my start date is to give my knees as much time as possible to rehab from the last hike…  I am doing a physical therapy program every day until I leave. I started by thru-hiking the famous Kungsleden (The I am at a turning point in my life right now, in more ways than one, and it is my choice how I proceed from here. Te Araroa - Walking 3000km across New Zealand. Tramping the length of New Zealand is no easy feat. Appalachian Trail Guide Appalachian Trail FAQ. 5. Te Araroa, a rugged and harsh route, mostly unformed at the time I thru hiked it. Coming home was really hard though… harder than I thought it would be. Written by: McKenzie Barney. ; Other New Zealand Adventures. Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. Thru-hikes: Kungsleden 2016, Te Araroa 2016-17, The Skye Trail 2017, Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) 2018, Norway to Spain 2019-20. This podcast and a lot of my outdoors adventures over the past few months have stemmed from the Te Araroa thru-hike that I completed earlier this year.It was the most incredible experience and I'd encourage anyone to go and do it. Along its meandering route, the TA crosses through native bush forests, rural farmland, stunning alpine vistas, and even Auckland’s city center. Tramping the full length of the trail generally takes three to six months. For a country rich in natural beauty, it is perhaps one of the most thorough ways to see all that New Zealand has to offer. This was my rite of passage as a hiker. Frogs-in-NZ … The main concern being weather, either early or late in the season. While trying to wrap my head around all this I was listening to British philosopher Alan Watts talk about life. Te Araroa Trail pack – Lowe Alpine Air Zone trek 45-55 pack (including luminous pack rain cover) UK South West Coast Path pack – Osprey Eja 48 litre (top flap removed, size small). This time I am hiking alone so even though my friend and I really hiked our own hikes (while together) last time, I imagine there will be even more time to think, I will be out a lot longer for one… but I am also curious about the trail culture and look forward to meeting other hikers. I try to get outdoors as much as possible. Home; About WTA; About Raise; What is Te Araroa? I told you I would share my reflections after my last hike… this is what I came home with. I spent most of the night contemplating whether I would be able to hike today. It wasn't so much a "Get tough for Bluff" mindset. There might always be reasons stopping you from doing it, but seriously, take the chance and go!I trekked through the South Island of New Zealand for 68 days on … This being the southern hemisphere all the seasons are reversed, so I might run into winter before I am done in April just like I did on Kungsleden. But we missed the point the whole way along. The 3000km route stretches from Cape Reinga in the north of New Zealand to Bluff in the south. The last bastion of ‘truth’ and most reliable source of information on the internet (hope you sense the irony here), Wikipedia, defines thru-hiking as: hiking a long-distance trail end-end in one hiking season However, the concept of a true ‘thru-hike’ is much-debated. Hmm… good thing I will have time to mull this over some more soon…, “The existence isn’t going anywhere… it doesn’t have a destination. Chosen in preference to the Lowe Alpine for UK thru hike and all NZ hiking since, as it’s a … I most definitely will have a lot of amazing moments going forward… and I plan to dance to the music along the way too! There is already a great community on Facebook and according to the signup sheet there we are about 156 thru-hikers to date for the class of 2016-17. So it’s important to make sure you have the right stuff for the journey. This guide assumes a good level of familiarity with New Zealand tramping and conditions. Compare to other thru-hikes like Pacific Crest Trail or Appalachian Trail, Te Araroa Trail is very different and unpredictable every day; mostly because of the weather, terrain and navigation. Dahn Pratt decided to thru-hike the Te Araroa (New Zealand) with ultralight gear. Well, I guess I have an answer to that query now – this is only the beginning! Direct purchases from the author support authors more than other formats and I greatly appreciate your support! How To Thru-Hike . This reboot basically involved a whole lot of walking. Stay tuned! Perhaps you have an idea or project in mind—and think our values match yours—or maybe you just have some friendly advice and would like to shout us a cup of coffee? There is a reasonably wide window of opportunity to walk Te Araroa. It differs somewhat from other long trails in that it actually promotes interaction with the kiwi culture and people along the way, especially on the North Island. In December I’ll be setting out on a 3,000 kilometres, 5 months solo hike down the length of New Zealand, following the Te Araroa path. He was explaining that life doesn’t have a destination like we have been lead to believe. Established in 2011 it is a newcomer on the though-hike circuit, but it is already touted as one of the world’s greatest long walks and it is not hard to see why. I want to share my passion for tramping, photography and nature. With every thru-hike comes new and unique challenges. Hiking, Te Araroa, Te Araroa Thru Hike, Te Araroa Trail Preparation, Thru-Hiking, Uncategorized. When I set out on my Kungsleden thru-hike this summer I told you that I wasn’t sure whether it would be the big crescendo of my reboot-at-forty journey or just the beginning. It takes a kind of courage to take a step like this and to write in such an openness. You must ensure you have every item you’ll need in … May 15, 2020 / When it comes to planning your food and resupply strategy on a thru hike there’s a fine balance between being over prepared and under prepared. Thank you very much! According to the official website a thru-hike takes somewhere between 100-160 days. There are reasons for this, but what it means is that TA thru-hikers who stick to the official trail will miss some of the most stunning sights in a country renowned for beautiful scenery. I’ll update the site regularly through my walk. This is a massive undertaking requiring a daunting amount of preparations. We want you to have a safe hike so it's important for you to understand this app is not a safety tool. Because when you’re hiking 3,000km from Cape Reinga to Bluff you don’t want to forget anything! Rebooting for me is a journey of discovery and my thru-hike this summer flung the doors wide open. Currently building an off-grid house bus in New Zealand. I am trying not to get overwhelmed by the task, taking it on one step at a time, just like when hiking… one foot in front of the other. My knee was aching and every time I moved I was woken by another sore muscle or sunburned backs of legs - you know how much that hurts whey out are trying to sleep! Te Araroa means “the long pathway” in Maori. There is just a walk as your walk is, without an ending point, because the ending point is a starting point of a new part of your journey. Her next adventure will be rowing across the Atlantic then Indian Oceans in 2020 supporting research into Parkinson’s Disease and PTSD. Without Tools He is Nothing, With Tools He is All. Because my hike was relatively quick, I had to buy less days of food, and readers should take my numbers as something of … Te Araroa Gear List. Frogs-in-NZ is the leading online travel agency for French visitors to New-Zealand. What is a thru-hike? I am looking forward to finally getting there and to settle into the walking routine again. You don’t aim at a particular spot in the room because that’s where you should arrive. Everyone is different, but I usually budget about $1000/mo if I include my bills like health insurance, phone … Te Araroa is NZ's walk of a lifetime. Here’s a breakdown of everything I packed for my thru-hike of New Zealand’s Te Araroa trail! Music differs from, say travel, one doesn’t make the end of the composition the point of the composition. WHERE: Te Araroa "the long pathway" – New Zealand WHEN: December 1, 2016 - April 14, 2017 WHO: Karma OBJECTIVE: Te Araroa thru-hike DISTANCE: 3000 km Turning forty a few years ago kickstarted a journey of discovery culminating in the realization that I needed to reboot my life. I am leaving on November 25 and have a return ticket booked for April 29 next year, but it is open ended so I can change that date if I need to. Te Araroa - The Trail App provides useful information to guide thru hikers along the Te Araroa trail. By Dahn Pratt Like a giddy school girl, wearing her new outfit on the first day of high school, I galloped down 90-mile beach and embarked on a quasi-metaphysical acid trip down the thru-hike … All books ordered on this website are fulfilled by Patrice & Justin, from Alaska. Nov 1, 2019 : Danny Strayer Bloggers. Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window), Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window), online travel agency for French visitors to New-Zealand. Karma is a designer, storyteller, and long-distance hiker from Gothenburg, Sweden. T-12 months: persuade your work to … So my plan is to thru-hike Te Araroa (Maori for the long pathway), a 3 000 km trail spanning the entire country of New Zealand, from Cape Reinga in the north to Bluff in the south. My Resupply Strategy on Te Araroa North Island. I woke at 6:10am, got up … Continue reading Day 3 – A Serious Test Get comfortable there’s a lot to talk about. As usual I doubt I will find the time and energy to blog live, but I will try and share a few thoughts and snapshots on social media (Facebook, Instagram and Twitter) along the way. I haven’t been to New Zealand, it’s on the list, but as an American, it may be a while before I can go, but there are a few episodes on this podcast about New Zealand including experiencing Milford Sound and Black Water Rafting.. New Zealand’s Te Araroa Trail is the world’s newest long-distance thru-hike. To think that life would have some serious purpose at the end is all a great big hoax, and in thinking this way we completely miss the point. It traverses the entire country; beaches, forests, mountains, volcanoes and cities and should likely take me four to five months to finish. There are of course a number of variables in play, but most seem to aim for about 4.5 to 5 months to complete the trail, and I will too. Upon reflecting I knew I would never be the same. I have a responsibility to myself to listen to what my soul is trying to say… and it is not chaining me to a desk – it is telling me to keep walking! I felt almost a sense of panic at the thought of assimilating back into my old life again. I had set out to redefine happiness after all… this is a start! Te Araroa (The Long Pathway) is New Zealand's long distance tramping route, stretching circa 3,000 kilometres (1,900 mi) along the length of the country's two main islands from Cape Reinga to Bluff.It is made up of a mixture of older tracks and walkways, new tracks, and link sections alongside roads. The Journey of one man’s thru-hike of Aotearoa New Zealand. Te Araroa Thru-Hike: Exposure, river crossings, navigation. Although there's no compulsory fee to complete Te Araroa, Te Araroa Trust requests a donation of NZ$500 from thru-hikers, which goes towards maintenance of the trails. New Zealand’s Te Araroa is a trek like no other and it’s important to know what gear is essential and what should be left behind. Te Araroa Trust asks that all trekkers register, even day trekkers. When is the right time for daring, radical decisions and life changes? Bluff was the southern terminus of the infamously wicked Te Araroa, and I was only about two weeks into the rugged and mentally exhausting trail. In the south it is further between stops 7-12 days perhaps, and for a few stretches (2 or 3) I will need to send supplies ahead by post. So my plan is to thru-hike Te Araroa (Maori for the long pathway), a 3 000 km trail spanning the entire country of New Zealand, from Cape Reinga in the north to Bluff in the south. Hey Karma, Well this is quite a story to read. Build in Time for Side Trips – Contrary to popular opinion, at least on the eastern side of the Pacific Ocean, the TA covers only one of New Zealand’s nine great walks. Jumped directly into a thru hike of the Te Araroa followed by cycling 81 days across Australia with a hop to Indonesia for another couple months of cycling. Away from constant digital connectivity and close to nature and my own thoughts. 2 Comments I have an answer to that query now – this What... 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