Te Araroa: That’s a Wrap

Hiking Te Araroa was an incredible experience. I made friends from across the world, learned a lot about many different things and hiked some of the most beautiful land on the planet. I can’t think of any other way I’d rather have spent the last four months. 

I’d been thinking about attempting this hike for the last couple years. In early 2019, I actually figured it could become a reality. I had finished my masters degree and had my first full time job, I could finally afford it. As the months went by I slowly sold myself on committing to it. Once I had bought my plane ticket and notified my job I’d be resigning my position it was all I could think about. Here I am in February of 2020 and the hike is over. After wanting to do this for so long it’s hard to believe it has come to an end just like that. As I sit on this plane flying over the Pacific back to America I would like to give my final thoughts on the hike, this amazing country, and more. 

The question I’ve already noticed I’ve been asked the most is “What was your favorite part or thing about the hike?” Just like many others who are asked this question, I liked a lot of things or else I wouldn’t have kept doing it for four months, so to narrow it down to one is hard. 

I loved the views and scenery, from the Northland Beaches to Tongariro to the Whanganui River to the Tararuas to literally everything on the South Island. I thought coming into it that I knew a bit of what to expect but I was wrong. This country is nothing like I have seen before. 

I also loved the people I met along the trail. How lucky am I to have met two awesome guys my age on the first night, become great friends, and then finish together in Bluff four months later? Charlie and Peter became life long friends on this hike. I will definitely be taking them up on their offer to visit them at their chalet in Austria at some point. There were many others along the way that I hiked with for a few days to a few weeks that also made the trip memorable. The three of us were quicker than the normal pace of most hikers so we were able to meet a lot of different people on the trail. 

But there is one thing I liked more than anything else about this hike. I just loved the challenge of hiking 3,000 kilometers, day after day chasing a huge goal. I am a very competitive person. This experience allowed me to wake up every morning and push myself. A very small percentage of people hiking Te Araroa walk every kilometer. But I enjoyed the grind of boring gravel roads and backcountry routes in addition to the amazing scenery. Not many people keep track of kilometers per hour or notice how fast they go compared to the DOC signs. I loved pushing my limits and getting faster and stronger every day. I know some people would say “just slow down and enjoy your time” but that’s not me. I enjoy going fast and putting in long days. I decided to do a thru hike cause I wanted a challenge. 

Sometimes in life or in school the goal or destination isn’t very clear. On the trail the goal was clear each and every day. Wake up, put in the effort, and get closer to Bluff. The only things I had to worry about was the amount of food, gas and water I had with me. Everything else was unimportant. 

I am definitely proud of the fact that I walked (or paddled when required) every meter of the trail. Before starting I thought many more thru hikers would be attempting to complete the trail this way. However, Team Belgium and I estimated of all the people that hiked the TA this year it couldn’t have been more than about 5% of people that completed the whole trail without hitches. I’d guess between 60-80 people total for this season. Being one of those people is awesome. In the four months that I hiked the trail I only encountered 6 other hikers who were set on completing the whole thing without hitches. 

Another question i’m asked is about the people I meet on the trail. Although I touched on some of the people I hiked with above, you come in contact with so many people from all over the world it’s astounding. I actually think I met someone from basically every EU country along the way. I also met a whole bunch of kiwis although I could not understand a single word from some of them through their thick accents. 

In all seriousness, the generosity of the people in this country was simply amazing. Five minute conversations turned into BBQs at locals’ houses. I can’t even estimate the amount of hitches I turned down. It just isn’t the same as where i’m from. The people here love the outdoors, they are proud that people come here to explore and they want to foster that in any way possible. I was offered approximately a million beers by people who just wanted to talk about the trail, where we were from and how we were doing. 

Something that many of my friends back home can’t wrap their head around was the fact that I was going to be camping for 4 straight months. It just isn’t an appealing idea to many. Te Araroa does a great job of mixing in towns with wilderness on the north island. We were in towns no less than every three days. If we wanted we could pay for a bed or a nice meal. The trail allowed hikers to be cheap and rustic or a bit boujee if they wanted to be. We actually slept in a bed the same number of nights we slept in a tent on the north island. 

The South Island was completely different though. Getting to a town was just getting to a small village with a population sub 1,000 that had a single restaurant, which was also their grocery store. It sold ramen and gas canisters, only because it knew the trail ran through it. Cell service? Haha good one. 

The South Island was a true thru hiking experience. It put 4-7 day sections together back to back to back to back. Getting WiFi once in a ten day span was a luxury. You’re feet were wet every day. If you didn’t cross a river or a creek it’s because you skipped some part of the trail. It was an absolute wilderness adventure but it was amazing. I totally get why people come here just to hike the South Island now. 

Something that I found in common with many other hikers was the hiker hunger that you hear about before starting. Normally back at home I don’t over eat much at all. I rarely have breakfast and don’t snack much. However, just a few days into the trail I noticed my hunger increasing exponentially. By about two weeks in I could eat virtually non stop. When we got into towns I would stuff myself and then was still hungry. There were times on the South Island were the guys and I would eat three regular size dinners back to back to back without breaks. I could quite easily put down 6,000-8,000, and maybe more, calories a day when I was in a town and didn’t have to carry the food. If you’re planning to hike this trail or another long distance one in the future I would recommend way over budgeting on food. Hunger hiker is very real. 

I also noticed that my craving for sweets increased on the South Island. I was burning so many calories by then that my body always wanted ice cream, cookies or chocolate. I’ve already noticed since my hike ended that my desire to eat sweets has stopped, reverting back to how I was pre trail. 

As an American I also feel like it is my duty to give a few unsolicited thoughts on the foreign country I visited. For starters this place needs Ketchup. Right now they use some nasty tomato sauce substitute and it just isn’t good. I also was a little surprised by the lack of cell phone service. I know the trail was in wilderness areas and I didn’t expect to have service there but even in some towns the service is nonexistent. This made keeping up with the blog much harder than I originally anticipated. 

That’s about the extent of my complaints about this country. The people are very friendly and genuine. The food is awesome. The scenery is first class. The hostels are generally a great experience. And they have some pretty amazing hiking trails as well. It’s no wonder their immigration is so strict or everyone would move here. 

I would also like to write specifically to people reading this blog who are considering hiking the trail in the future for a second. My advice, figure out a way to make it happen next season. For three years I followed along as other hikers made their way from Cape Reinga to Bluff from home. I was jealous and wasn’t sure if I was ever gonna pull the trigger and actually do it. It’s a huge sacrifice to put your life on hold at home and hike for 4-6 months, but I don’t have a single regret about choosing to do this hike. It was everything I wanted and more. If you really want to do it figure out a way to make it happen. 

When I started this blog i didn’t have any idea what it would turn into. To be honest, I wouldn’t have been surprised if it just turned out being my parents and a few friends who read along with the trip. With over 7,000 unique visitors so far I am shocked by how far this thing spread. I hope that these posts brought you joy in some way, maybe a laugh once in awhile, and for those looking to hike Te Araroa in the future, some good information. Please do not hesitate to reach out to me if you have any questions about the trail or gear or anything. I love talking about that kind of thing if you couldn’t tell. My Instagram is linked at the bottom of the page or you can find me in the Te Araroa Facebook pages. 

So, what’s next? I am a person that is always planning and plotting my next adventure, trip or goal. I’m not sure if another thru hike is in the cards for awhile. I do need to get a job back home and make some more money. However, I could definitely see myself attempting another long distance hike further down the road. I think for now i’m gonna keep my goals small and just sign up for a marathon or half-Ironman in the fall so I can stay motivated to keep my body in the strong hiker shape it is right now. If I do pursue another thru hike i’m sure it will be accompanied with some type of blog! 

Although I could write about this experience forever I think I’ll wrap it up there. Thanks for reading the last few months as I was MakingMiles across New Zealand. I really enjoyed sharing my journey with you all. 

-Alex