
Tips for Te Araroa Long Distance Trail
Patrice La Vigne
Have you heard about the new kid on the block among long-distance trails? It's the Te Araroa Trail in New Zealand or, more appropriately, just Te Araroa, meaning “the Long Pathway in the native Maori language. It is a pathway stretching more than 3,000 kilometers (nearly 2,000 miles) from Cape Reigna at the top of the North Island to Bluff at the bottom of the South Island.
Te Araroa takes you from Cape Reigna to Bluff. Map courtesy of http://www.freeworldmaps.net/oceania/new-zealand/map.html
My husband, Justin, and I just walked it. We started on Nov. 27, 2014, and finished on March 29, 2015. During our 4 months hiking on the trail, we encountered every type of jaw-dropping New Zealand landscape the brochures boast. Does the country live up to its hype? Yes to the 10th degree. Go watch "Lord of the Rings." Then imagine yourself walking through scenery from the film, like we did.
Te Araroa (pronounced tee-are-a-rho-o) didn't officially open until Dec. 3, 2011, and has a colorful history. Back in 1975, it was just a dream. In 1994, Kiwi journalist Geoff Chapple made it more of a reality when his newspaper article stirred up awareness and led to the formation of Te Araroa Trust, which now manages it.
Though it is still in its infancy, its popularity is spreading like wildfire. This year, Te Araroa snagged a spot on the National Geographic's list of 20 World's Best Hikes and CNN's list of 10 World's Most Amazing Long-Distance Trails. While we were on trail during the 2014-15 hiking season, we heard reports that nearly 150 people were hiking the whole thing, and even more just doing the South Island.
The only time we ran into a bunch of other Te Araroa hikers was at a gathering in Queenstown in March.
We thought it would be helpful to offer some insight for those thinking they may want to head over to New Zealand to tackle all or some of Te Araroa. This is not a comprehensive "what you need to know" to hike the trail. Our pre-trail preparation required weeks and weeks of sifting through information gathered from blogs and other resources. I will tell you it is crucial to start your planning with the Te Araroa Trust, the Te Araroa Wiki and the Te Araroa Facebook Group There is not only a general Te Araroa Facebook group, but each "hiker class" has its own, so we were part of the 2014-15 group.
Instead of a "how to," we have some off-the-wall tips that are not so obvious within the official Te Araroa resources. Enjoy!


5 Essential Pieces of Gear Specifically for Te Araroa
1) Sunblock, sunglasses and even a hat. Do not underestimate the sun in New Zealand; you are closer to the equator and there is very little pollution in the air, making the UV rays super strong. 2) GPS and/or mapping app on your phone. We used our Garmin Fenix watch, as well as the "IHikeGPS NZ" app, both of which were lifesavers for navigation on the trail. On the North Island in particular, you will search for the trail at least once a day. Most phones have satellite chips and will work in remote areas. 3) Battery backup or solar charger. Your charging opportunities are far and few between, especially on the South Island, and if you are using an app for navigation and your phone for taking pictures like we did, your battery will drain faster than you can find outlets. Our PowerTraveller SolarMonkey Adventurer charger worked like a charm. 4) Trekking poles. Switchbacks on Te Araroa are seldom, so you will find yourself going straight up and straight down. Give your knees a break, use trekking poles. Plus, they are a huge help during the river crossings. 5) PackTowl. This is not an item we typically have in our backpacks. But, U.S. trail hostels often provide towels to hikers. In New Zealand, you occasionally can "hire" a towel, but a Packtowl is light enough to avoid that expense each time you want to shower.5 Kiwi Words You Will See in the Trail Notes or Hear While Hiking
1) Undulating: on trails in the states, we affectionately call these pointless ups and downs. Te Araroa undulates a lot. 2) Sidling: walking sideways and clinging to the hillside is common on New Zealand trails, where erosion and wet weather often causes slips and disappearing trail. 3) Tussock: long and thick grass that covers much of the trails on the South Island. Pretty to look at, but a battle to walk through. 4) Paper/metaled roads: unpaved/gravel roads. The first time we saw this in our trail notes, we were literally looking for a metal road. 5) Good on you: good for you/good job. Kiwis love this phrase and this is usually the response you get when you tell them you are walking the whole length of their country.5 Money-Saving Tips
1) If you are planning any off-trail adventures, first check out BookMe. There are deals on both tourist attractions and dining. 2) Packets of ketchup, butter, jelly and other condiments are not free at fast food restaurants in New Zealand. They usually cost between $0.20-$0.40 each! 3) Gear is wicked expensive in New Zealand. For example, hiking shoes cost $300 at minimum. Consider bringing extra gear and mailing it to different drops along the way just in case. 4) Besides gear and ketchup packets, add other items to your mail drop or bounce boxes to avoid New Zealand's high price tags. Some suggestions would be batteries, travel shampoo/soap, medicines (i.e., allergy, ibuprofen) and single-use laundry detergents (hostels sometimes sell powder) 5) Skip the bus and hitchhike. There are many times on the trail where you have to get across a body of water (i.e., Victoria Bay, Rakaia River, Lake Wakatipu) and we almost always relied on paying for shuttles, which ranged from $25-50 per person. However, you could certainly get by with hitching. People are so friendly and it just takes patience and time to yield a huge cost savings.