Planning: Clothes

The much delayed part II of the gear post: clothing! I'll just jump right in...

Planning: Gear

No topic related to hiking has generated as many words, ended more friendships, or started more holy wars than gear. I am strongly of the opinion that gear is a very personal topic. Beyond a minimum bar for safety and self sufficiency, what you carry is your choice. Every piece of gear involves a tradeoff, whether it's weight, convenience, size, durability, or price, and no one else can make that tradeoff for you.

Planning: What Will it Cost?

A really common question that prospective TA hikers ask is: "How much will it cost?"

Planning: What to Expect

Taking on a thru-hike is not a small decision. You have to put your life on hold, leave behind friends and family, and head off into the unknown for 4+ months.

Days 175-179, Epilogue 3: Tongariro

The trail sure didn't want to give up the last bit easily! We made it around the Northern Circuit in Tongariro National Park, but the weather did not cooperate.

Days 167-174, Epilogue 2: Familiar Faces

After joking about how trudging through muddy forest for 7 days on Stewart Island was our idea of relaxing, we were looking forward to resting our feet and bodies for real. We hung out in Invercargill for a few days, waiting to see Ben, our giant German friend, one last time. Meanwhile, we tried, mostly unsuccessfully, to start eating a more normal amount of food again.

Days 158-166, Epilogue 1: Stewart Island

What a way to finish off our tramping in NZ! Stewart Island, or Rakiura, is a small island that lies 30km south of the South Island. Most of it is a national park, and while it does have many of the invasive species that plague the two main islands, the native flora and fauna are much less threatened here (probably due in large part to significant conservation efforts). Over 7.5 days, we did the Northwest Circuit, which is a 125km tramp that goes around the northern half of the island. It is famous for having epic mud and a high rate of kiwi-spotting.

Days 156-157: BLUFF!

Our feelings in Riverton, as depicted by my sister

Well, we've made it. We arrived at the much-anticipated signpost in Bluff yesterday, marking the end of our journey on the Te Araroa.

Days 148-155: To the Ocean!

This trail definitely doesn't want to end with a whimper. We knocked off our last forest sections, but they didn't go quite as easily as we had hoped. Now we're in Riverton, on the southern coast, and can just about see Bluff from here. Out of our entire 3,000 km journey, all we have left is a rounding error (we actually hit km 3,000 today, Bluff is at km 3,063).

Days 143-147: Side trip to the Routeburn & Milford

Our long-planned side trip with Karen to the Routeburn Track & Milford Sound came off without a hitch! It was great to see a friend from Boston, and despite somewhat uncooperative weather, we had an awesome time.

Days 139-142: Mavora and Mararoa

We've made it through to Te Anau, and it's time for our sidetrip with Karen, who is here on vacation from Boston! We're about to head back to Queenstown to start the Routeburn Track, then spend a day in Milford Sound, before getting back on the trail for our last week and a half to Bluff.

Days 134-138: Motatapu to Queenstown

Another 100km down, and only 320km left! We've caught ourselves already occasionally talking as if we've already finished, rather than still having 10% of the trail left. While I'm sure there are still some tough parts left, I think the Motatapu Alpine Track, which we just completed, was the last really challenging section.

Days 129-133: Across a River, Down a River, Up a Hill

What an up and down few days - both in terms of elevation and mood! We made it across the Ahuriri River, down the Timaru River valley, and over Breast Hill. We had some easy walking, tough walking and incredible views along the way.

Days 125-128: Tekapo to Twizel and Beyond!

We cranked out almost 100 km in three days - not a lot for some, but a lot for us! We found this section a bit boring and tedious, but we had some incredible views along the way to keep it interesting.

Days 118-124: Tussocks, River, Tussocks, Mountains!

7 more days down! This last stretch from Lake Coleridge to Lake Tekapo was interesting, beautiful, and pretty tough in some places. Along the way we went through chest-high tussocks, across a 10 km wide river valley, and took a highly recommended detour off the marked track for possibly the best afternoon on the trail so far. From here we have "only" 650 km to go until we reach Bluff!

Days 115-117: Harper River Track

The Harper River Track was a nice cool down section for us, after busting our butts on the Harper Pass and Mingha-Deception tracks. We got some more good river valley views, stayed in a "flash as" hut, and made it to the last of our Wellington food boxes, at Lake Coleridge Lodge. 

Days 109-114: Harper Pass and Mingha-Deception

Whew. We had an exhausting five days through the Harper Pass and Mingha-Deception tracks. Harper Pass was not our favorite section - partly due to the pace we were on, partly due to the weather, and partly due to the lack of the mind-numbingly amazing views we've come to expect after the last couple of weeks. The Mingha-Deception was tough, but interesting... I'll cover that later though.

Days 103-108: Nelson Lakes & Waiau Pass

Wow! Another amazing stretch of trail! I can see why lots of people cite the Nelson Lakes region as one of their favorite spots on the TA. We were a bit nervous about Waiau Pass, the highlight of the section, but it turned out to be easier than we were expecting. We spent five and a half days getting from St. Arnaud through to Boyle Village, and loved almost every minute of it.

Days 95-102: The Richmond Alpine Track

Well, we made it. The Richmond Alpine Track was billed as the hardest section of the TA, and, having completed it, I believe the claims. I also really hope it's true, because if something harder is waiting down the road, I want to know about it now.

More than being tough though, it was beautiful. Easily the most beautiful section of the trail so far, so it was definitely worth the hard work, long days, bruises, and maybe just a few tears.

Days 90-94: Wait, There's a Whole Other Island?

On to the South Island! After mailing a month's worth of food ahead to ourselves, we said goodbye to the Angela, Nik, and the North Island, and hopped on the ferry to Picton.

Days 84-89: Wellington and South Island Planning

Hooray, we've finished half of the islands! We arrived in Wellington, and have spent the last few days planning for the south island.

Days 78-83: The Tararuas

We made it through the much anticipated Tararuas! They were tough, dangerous for the unprepared, and amazing.

Days 72-77: Back To Walking

We're finally back to what we came here to do: walking. We spent about a week walking from Whanganui to Levin, the last resupply point before the Tararuas. Most people are not very excited about this stretch of trail - there's a lot of road, and much of it is not particularly scenic. However, the entire stretch stays pretty close to civilization, and the terrain is not very challenging, so it was a great section to use to get back in shape and go easy on Liz's foot.

Days 64-71: Whanganui River Journey

Finally back on the trail! The river journey was a perfect place to pick back up on the trail - we spent 5 days paddling about 160 kms down the Whanganui River, ending in Whanganui city. We went with a group of 8 people - 6 TA walkers, and 2 people crazy enough to hang out with 6 TA walkers for a few days - so it was like a big party most of the way.

Days 56-63: Christmas In Wellington

We took a detour to spend Christmas in Wellington, the capitol city of New Zealand. There's quite a bit to do there, and we welcomed all the distractions around the holidays.

I'm waaay behind on blog posts, so I'll try to keep this one short and sweet.