Come to New Zealand and DON’T walk through Te Araroa

Without a doubt, New Zealand is one of the top ten countries in the world for walking, and yes, Kiwis even have their own word for walking, which gives a good idea of ​​how seriously they take their outdoor adventures.

Te Araroa, the long trail that runs from the top of the North Island to the bottom of the South Island, is the walk marketed to the rest of the world. Europeans flock there every year. Some intrepid travelers from the US also jump over an ocean. And a small group of people from nearby Asia and Oz join in the fun.

Well, it should be fun. Except well, it’s not. Fun that is. There are several reasons why this is one of the worst designed hikes on the planet, and I’ll dive into them later.

What’s worth focusing on is how good this country is when it comes to trail management. The Department of Conservation, known simply as DOC, maintains a staggering 12,900 km of travel through some of the purest natural areas left on the planet. To put that figure into context, the length of state highways in New Zealand is 11,000 kilometres. The national government maintains more hiking trails than roads.

Despite the volume, the reality is that this network of trails takes you to some of the most beautiful and impressive pristine paradises on the planet. Anyone who has seen The Lord of the Rings can attest that the movies only begin to scratch the surface of the sights you can visit on a long hiking trip.

What happens to the Araroa?

The challenge of the path created is entirely logistical in nature. For the New Zealand government to attract long-distance hikers to venture far from their homes, the trail must meet a number of requirements.

The first is that it can be traveled continuously, without the need for multiple transportation options. The second is that you need the average hiker to be able to complete the trail in less than six months, both for visa reasons and to reach the limited weather window that a country so far south of the equator allows. Thirdly, people want to be able to say they have walked the length or breadth of somewhere, so the trail must meet the first two considerations and allow hikers to say they have walked the length of Kiwi land.

As a result of these limitations, we end up with a trail that runs in a reasonably straight line, as practicality dictates, between Cape Reinga and Bluff. The problem with this is that all the really beautiful things are not in the chosen line. Ok, sure, there are some cute roosters along the way. The harsh reality is that there are much more incredible things further down the road.

And that, fundamentally, is the question. National and international hikers are shown a truly scenically poor corridor through one of the most beautiful places on the planet.

One of the main weaknesses of the trail is walking on the road (or walking on the adjacent road on a ‘trail’). Estimates from many former hikers put the figure for the North Island section at 40% by road. This is a crime. Who wants to come to one of the last great wild countries on the planet and spend that much time kicking it down a trail? The situation is improving in the South Island, although there are still large sections of the trail walking on or next to a road.

Then there is the walk around the farm. Don’t get me wrong, there are many more sheep in this country than there are people and I understand that they need to live somewhere. The trail spends too much time allowing hikers to converse with sheep and cows. Day after day of hiking through this cleared land bars to hikers.

The word on the street

I have spent many years here in New Zealand and often meet hikers from all over the world when I go out and enjoy some of the best sections of Te Araroa. I always ask them what their experience is like, and that’s why I present to you my decade-long unofficial collection of general feelings.

• The North Island is overall a very disappointing hiking destination.. Tongariro, the Whanganui River Paddle and the Tararuas stand out as three incredible highlights (approximately ten days of a three month walk).
• Walking on the road can be really uncomfortable due to the lack of shoulder at times. You can literally be on State Highway 1, the country’s main artery, and walk on a thin white line as semi-trucks zip by at over 100 km/h.
• The weather is generally bad in October and November. This is the time when Te Araroa Trust encourages you to start the trail and they are two of the rainiest and most unpredictable months the country experiences.
• The South Island is much nicer than the North. It’s shorter, spends more time in nature, and hikers generally visit in a much better weather window, February through April.
• Side quests become the name of the game.. Most hikers arrive with the plan to follow the trail, but as stories spread about incredible places like Taranaki and Abel Tasman (and many more), hikers are heading off trail to see the country’s highlights. The eleven Great Walks are, without a doubt, exceptional primary objectives.

So what’s a hiker to do?

This all sounds very depressing. The good news is that there is an obvious solution. Come to New Zealand and walk. Daily. You can do your 3,000 km and spend four to six months seeing the most superlative landscapes you have ever experienced in your life. You just don’t do it in Te Araroa.

Depending on your budget there are several ways to achieve it. For the real idiots out there (my people), this is one of the best countries in the world for hitchhiking. Download a great free topographic map of the country, bookmark the DOC website, pick the next closest trail, and stick out your thumb. Make your way up or down across the country. You will have the best experience of your life for a pittance.

If you have a little more money to spend, buy a camper. It’s the Kiwi style. Purchasing, registering and eventually selling vehicles is as easy as can be. Equipped vans range in price from a few thousand dollars to what your bank balance can handle. The good news is that you will most likely get back almost everything you invested in the truck when you sell it at the end of your trip. There are plenty of campsites to stay at and 12,900km of trails to embark on.

And if you have money and money is no object, you can use hotels, rental cars and bus trips to the main trails in the country.

The choice is yours

If you want to say that you have walked the Te Araroa, traveling the country from end to end, do it. I understand that the need to set a path is strong for many of us. If you want to experience the best of a country that offers some of the most unreal experiences in the world, I wholeheartedly recommend that you go off the beaten track and choose your own adventure. Whatever you decide, definitely come to New Zealand, it will change your life for the better.

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