Ref: PAColl-5744-10. Geoff also kept a blog of his walking expeditions and in 2001 produced a study of international long walking trails as part of a Churchill Fellowship. You also need to know what survival equipment to carry and how to avoid getting hypothermia… A moderate level of fitness is all that is required to make a realistic attempt at a through-tramp.". New Zealand’s Te Araroa Trail is the world’s newest long-distance thru-hike. People clapped him through, brought him cups of tea, waved and tooted from cars, screeched to a halt by the entire busload. The Te Araroa Trail gives the hiker a proper taste of what this means. /records/22777165. Te Araroa, Cape Reinga: Address, Te Araroa Reviews: 4.5/5. India is a stunningly diverse country for walking, and every Himalayan state and trekking route has its own special character. Chris had, in 1992, walked the entire Appalachian Trail in the USA, and came back home with the same vision for New Zealand. It’s the Te Araroa Trail in New Zealand or, more appropriately, just Te Araroa, meaning “the Long Pathway in the native Maori language. 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. For my first attempt at the trail, I used the MSR Trailshot Micro water filter. The Te Araroa trail is diverse and potential walkers should expect beach walking, road walking, exceptionally muddy native forests, traversing bustling cities, climbing active volcanoes, crossing farms with paddocks of bulls, six days canoeing down a river, majestic mountain trails, and crossing tidal estuaries and more than 200 rivers. Obviously, fitness training, namely hillwalking with a heavy pack, should be considered. It’s a spiritual place, so very fitting for what lies ahead. This was my first long distance trail, and it won't be my last. Geoff Chapple's Reports from North Island Trail, North Cape to Wellington, 1998, with photographs and maps. Not all who walk Te Araroa describe their adventure online, but those who do leave a vivid record. Geoff Chapple - one of our great Kiwis - picked up the concept that had previously floated around without any real traction. What followed was an 18 year labour of love to turn Te Araroa into reality, picking up many willing contributors along the way. It’s a walking track about 3,000 km long from Bluff at the southern tip of the South Island to Cape Reinga at the top of the North Island that was officially opened in 2011. Hike the best parts of the Te Araroa Trail on the North Island of New Zealand. These skills include trip planning, navigation, and river crossing skills, all of which are prerequisites to good decision making and capability in the field. Esther James. He took 73 days - November 24 1996 - Feb 5 1997. Their stories give us a powerful insight not just into Te Araroa but to New Zealand. North Island maps - 77 pages, 431 MB, 300 DPI. The quality of many of the tracks makes the going challenging, and many people get frustrated at the slow walking pace they are forced to take. Some were in their 60s, some were overweight, some had knee injuries, some were smokers, some carried 25kg on their backs. 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. He took one of the earliest digital cameras, a laptop and a mobile phone and posted stories of his journey. The trio started out in February 1995 and reached Bluff in May 1995, just after the first snows of the winter. Throughout the course of the trail hikers can find themselves walking on golden sand, through knee-high mud, on fluid scree, wading up rivers, boulder-hopping, scrambling on all fours over rocks, pavement pounding, and treading on seemingly non-existent paths, as well as kayaking, canoeing and cycling. Reed, 1961) A.H. says in explanation of the journey "Yes, I knew I wanted to travel leisurely on foot through the whole length of our favoured land..."A.H. that's it - you had Te Araroa spirit! There is a long-drop toilet, without toilet paper, some walk away. His North Island route mainly off-road, started at the northernmost point, Surville Cliffs, and ended at its southern-most, Cape Palliser. Support the trust today so that you can enjoy the trail tomorrow, either one day at a time, or all 3000km! But consider also New Zealand conditions, and especially the South Island, where the Te Araroa Trail is more rugged than the North Island section. The Mangaokewa River path is barely a foot wide and in poor quality, traversing high above a river. The written word follows this intrepid trek and relays the true characteristics of the journey – rough, raw, tenacious, and at times tedious. But, in his book From North Cape to Bluff (A.H.& A.W. It means the trail can be brutal and unforgiving; it has a reputation for both mud and road walking. She was working for the New Zealand Manufacturers' Federation promoting buying New Zealand-made goods during the depression. By the end of the second week I had 12 blisters on my feet and was forced to take extra rest days. Several sections of the route intentionally require kayaking and canoeing as well as the aforementioned ferry. The best word to describe the trail is demanding. You wouldn’t be walking the TA without all this, so give something back for that privilege and to make it even better by donating to the Te Araroa Trust . New Zealanders have coined the word tramping, which I like to define as extreme hiking. I met several ultra-lightweight walkers (mainly Americans), who had base weights of 6kg. In the decades since, many other Te Araroa walkers have also recorded and shared their journeys. Furthermore, the water tanks at huts can be contaminated with possum droppings or dead rats. A smelly old tramper from way back, Rex Hendry returned to New Zealand in the early 1980s after studying and working in Outdoor Education in UK and Europe. Alex Roddie offers the lowdown on this classic trek, and tells a few tales from the trail. Along its meandering route, the TA crosses through native bush forests, rural farmland, stunning alpine vistas, and even Auckland’s city center. He was bitten by wild dogs just beyond that town, but kept beach-walking down the western coast, kayaked across the Hokianga and Kaipara Harbours, went on through Woodhill Forest to Muriwai and the Waitakere Ranges. As it was, it would have been unwise to continue had my injury recovered because the seasons were already starting to change and I still had 1,000km left to walk. New Zealand’s long-distance hiking trail, the Te Araroa, connects the North Island and South Island by way of spectacular parks and reserves. The TA Trust supplies trail notes and maps on its website which can be downloaded to your smartphone (although I met two walkers – both French – who had printed out all the trail notes and were carrying them in giant ring binders). At an average of 25 kms a day, the trail takes 120 days to walk – four months. In the North Island, food and resupply isn't a big problem because of the towns regularly walked through. The backcountry huts are old huts often set up for hunters or musterers decades ago. Well, it all comes down to planning your resupply strategy on Te Araroa around the way the trail is routed and the facilities that are available. Getting to the northern start of the trail requires a bus from Auckland and then a tourist bus from either Kerikeri, Paihia or Kaitaia. Please help UKHillwalking continue to provide varied and free content by becoming an official UKH Supporter. Everyone will give advice on how to prevent and treat blisters. It is known for its electrical sub-station that supplies the lower central North Island (visible off in the distance at right as you approach the village) and the historic Glaxo factory beside the road at your right. And along the route, class after class of school-children were gathered for compulsory, but unforgettable, immersion in the eerie spell cast by this old, gaunt giant of early hiking. Walkers should not assume the Te Araroa is just another long-distance trail, and it should be thoroughly researched before attempting it. What is the Te Araroa Trail? How it compares to other long-distance walking trails. 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