Mention Herekino or Raetea forests and the very words can strike fear into potential Te Araroa thru hikers, rightly so because these two forests should not be taken lightly, particularly during or straight after wet weather. We made a decision in the planning stages of this hike, to swap out our trail runners for hiking… Continue reading Overview of the Northland forests

Te Araroa is way more than just a hike, it is as much about the people we met on the way, locals as well as other TA hikers, as it is about the beautiful landscapes, coastline, flora and fauna. Make no mistake, it is tough, both mentally and physically, to get through each day and… Continue reading Recap…… 90 mile beach

One week before our hike and we have finalized our gear with the option of offloading anything that proves redundant to a bounce box we have sent to Kaitaia. We are going to use Hoka One One trail runners for the majority of the walk but we have decided to use our hiking boots and… Continue reading Weigh in time

Living in the country you are planning a hike in is a whole lot easier for sure but Te Araroa does pose problems getting to the start, especially if you are southbound, because of Cape Reinga’s isolation……..here’s how we intend to get there. We live over 700kms from The Cape, in the Bay Of Plenty… Continue reading Cape Reinga Bound

From at least eleven years ago Jan had a yearning which was to walk the length of New Zealand. There was no trail as such at that time but that didn’t dampen her enthusiasm. The years went by and then in 2011 Te Araroa was officially opened and along with that her interest went up… Continue reading How a dream turned into a plan and then into reality.