I followed the ridge into the fog that thickened and lifted again, while I continued to take pictures of every angle around me. Gina soon sped past, agile and fearless, while I carefully placed every single step in front of me. At this rate, this mountain range was going to take me all week to get through…
Te Araroa (Part 9) : The Whanganui River Journey, day 54-57
This was the start of our river journey. Huddled underneath the trees in our life jackets, sheltering from the rain as it unceremoniously poured down on us, while our barrels sat unloaded on the dirt track. We were in a queue of trucks launching canoes and tourists down the river and we were in the back. Everything was grey and murky and the river looked dull and cold…
Te Araroa (Part 8) : The Battle With The Cold In Tongariro, day 46-53
Tongariro! By the time we reached this section, everyone was quite excited. It felt like the real trail was starting, and Tongariro was, for many, the TA’s first highlight…
Te Araroa (Part 7) : Forest After Forest And… The Timber Trail!, day 35-45
After Hamilton, the TA made its first strides towards the sort of trail I’d been waiting for. There were more forests and mountains, littered with just a few sections of frustrating farmland to ensure the typical North Island TA experience.
Te Araroa (Part 6) : The Roadwalk Everyone Else Seemed to Skip, day 27-34
Out of the entire 3,000 kilometre TA, I was about to hit its most unpopular section. Everyone who was already cherry-picking and skipping sections, was definitely going to skip this. And those who hadn’t, were considering it.
Te Araroa : Cosmo’s Gear Advice for the First Time Thru-Hiker
Are you preparing for your first thru-hike and find yourself completely overwhelmed by all the gear lists, technical terms and lightweight or ultralight musings? Like when you read other hiker’s blogs and they talk about their trail runners getting soaked while walking through wet grass and you just think: ‘What in the world are trail runners? Aren’t hiking shoes waterproof?’ If that’s you, then this blog post is for you.
