
Te Araroa
New Zealand’s North Island
12/10/23—02/01/2024
Between December 10, 2023 and March 22, 2024, I tramped the length of New Zealand's 3033km long trail, Te Araroa, from Cape Reinga to Bluff.
My first 54 days on Te Araroa involved hiking and canoeing 1133.4 miles across the North Island to the monument at Island Bay, south of Wellington. The trail on the North Island was frequently a verge-less road, occasionally a highway, and when it was neither of those things, it was a beach.
I forded the mouths of many rivers at low tide where they poured into the ocean, I walked across estuaries waist deep in opaque, brackish water as stingrays darted around my feet. I fell into the bloated, brown Mangatāwhiri River in the middle of a cow farm when it was in flood, and was forced to swim to the opposite shore with my pack.
Beyond beaches, roads and river crossings, I walked muddy farm tracks, I stumbled through dense jungles with floors of slick clay and squelching mud, I was beaten in the face by countless ferns—usually in the rain—and I crashed through a million spider webs. The wildly varied terrain of the North Island made navigating the trail all the more challenging, I rarely knew what to expect from any given day.
When I reached the tiny town—population 8—Whakahoro, I began paddling down the Whanganui River for the next 108 miles in a canoe with a group of other hikers.
After the Whanganui River, the final challenge of the North Island was to hike through the Tararua Ranges, which proved steep, densely forested, and, overall, quite breathtaking—both from the relentless climbs and the staggering beauty.
The North Island as a whole was marked by wonderful interactions with New Zealand locals; I learned so much about native ecology and Maori culture. I also learned that a New Zealand-sized helping of bacon is the perfect amount of bacon.
My stay with Rick & Ang in Te Kao
Cape Reinga
Te Paki Stream Walk
90 Mile Beach
Pohutukawa blooms
Pied Shag drying its wings
George and Manu
Apple cucumber
Raetea Forest
The first stile of the TA
Shoe cleaning station to prevent Kauri Dieback Disease
Puketi Stream Walk
Kauri Tree
New Zealand's DOC knows how to build a staircase
Resupply in Kerikeri
The ferry ride from Paihia to Russell in the Bay of Islands
Purple Jacaranda Tree in Russell
Helena Ridge Track
Quintessential mince pie
Holiday Park Life
The Ngunguru River
After picking us up in his boat, James walked us through how to ford the Horahora and Taiharuru Rivers at low tide
Horahora River Crossing
Estuary mud
Taiharuru River
Ocean Beach
Camp with Mikel, Rees and Jonne
Urquharts Bay
Confounding power plant with 6ft barbed wire fencing I may, or may not have climbed over
Brynderwyn Walkway
Black sand beach at Mangawhai Heads
Proper sunscreen application is of the utmost importance
Crossing tidal river outlets
The endemic New Zealand Fairy Terns; there are only about 40 individuals left in the wild
Mt. Tamahunga Track
Rainy day in the Dome forest
Curious cows
Hibiscus Coast walk
The Pohutukawa, New Zealand's Christmas Tree
Taking the night ferry into Auckland
Julie and Gary hosted me in Botany Downs
The Mangatawhiri River in flood
The crossing that quickly turned into a swim
View of Mercer
This was the most painful 3km of the whole trail
Young Kauri grove
Hakarimata Track
Zero day in Cambridge
Leigh hosted me in her home in Cambridge and took me on a field trip to Raglan
Karamu Walkway
Pirongia Mountain
Hihikiwi Mountain
More mud
"Don't sh*t on our land" feat. dead possum art
One of many bushy farm tracks
Mangaokewa River "Trail"
The Timber Trail
Pureora Mountain
"Trust yourself, be confident" Lynn's ring
Epic suspension bridges on the Timber Trail
1/3 of the way to Bluff (kind of)!
Taki and Ralf resupplying in Taumarunui
How to not flip your canoe
The most genteel of all ostriches
42 Traverse
Huhu, New Zealand's largest beetle (they fly)
Tongariro Crossing at sunrise
Taki at Blue Lake
Myself, Leo, Peter and Taki
The walk to Mount Ngauruhoe
Photo taken by Taki
Classic "1100km" timer photo for Taki's kilometer photo series
Rainy day out of Whakapapa
Cream cheese and olive on brioche, fine dining on trail
Fussy sparrows on a dewy morning
Packing the canoes for a 4 day river trip
Bridge to nowhere
Leo lounging and Taki and Peter paddling nearby
Casual final day on the Whanganui River
Kilometer 1300km
Turakina River Crossing
Photo by Ralf Polke
Photo by Ralf Polke
Treats outside the Four Square in Bulls on a very hot day
When in Bulls, NZ...
A very unclear directional marker
New shoes!
The start of the Makahika Track alternate, along the Mangahao River
Tom hiking up a root system in the Tararua Ranges
Mangahao Flats Hut
Kez climbing up boulders to finish off the Makahika alternate
Mt. Crawford
Kez, Tom, Ralf, Eva and I on Mt. Crawford
Mossy beech trees in the Tararuas
Ralf in the rain
Breakfast at Relish Cafe in Waikanae
Wild fennel
The Escarpment Track
Colonial Knob Walkway
Island Bay
The southern monument on the North Island