Thru-tramp of Te Araroa

[nwagers]

Craig, as I recall from some time ago, you were doing lots of hiking in NZ. I'm starting planning a Thru tramp of the Te Araroa. Have you hiked much of it? I'm currently out on a thru-hike here in the states on the AT. Do you have any logistical advice to offer?

I think I want to SOBO starting around Nov 1. Are there particular guides or maps you suggest? Do you know how much rain, bugs and cold weather I should anticipate? Tips for walking on sandy beaches? Should I bring all my replacement gear with me (4 pairs of shoes, mostly)?

[craigr]

Craig, as I recall from some time ago, you were doing lots of hiking in NZ. I'm starting planning a Thru tramp of the Te Araroa. Have you hiked much of it? I'm currently out on a thru-hike here in the states on the AT. Do you have any logistical advice to offer?

I think I want to SOBO starting around Nov 1. Are there particular guides or maps you suggest? Do you know how much rain, bugs and cold weather I should anticipate? Tips for walking on sandy beaches? Should I bring all my replacement gear with me (4 pairs of shoes, mostly)?

I have hiked most of the Great Walks on the South Island like Milford, Routeburn, Kepler, Rakioura, and Abel Tasman. Plus smaller tracks from time to time along with hunting huts, etc. Please understand that the trail system in NZ is pretty good with lots of backcountry huts. However some of the remote huts may not be well marked trails like the big Great Walks or the AT. Some areas will require backcountry navigation along with bush bashing and common sense. Cell phones also may not work in some parts of the country due to the very rugged terrain and remote nature.

The Te Araroa trail is open as you mention. You can start in Bluff, NZ south island and go to the tip of the north island (obviously taking a ferry across the strait). Also SOBO could also work of course.

Rain will be abundant in the North Island, but probably less in the Summer. The real rain is all west coast south island in Fiordland. It's all temperate rain forest and can be very wet all year. Bugs mostly will be sand flies, which are basically small black biting black flies. They are not fast, but if you sit still they will swarm you in some areas. Bug repellant with Picaridin will keep them away and is not toxic like DEET.

I don't know what kind of alpine traverse is involved with the trail that is present, but if there is any area that could have very tough and dangerous travel conditions, it is the Southern Alps of New Zealand. They are very rugged, very remote, and trails may not be well marked. Weather conditions are also rapidly changing as NZ is all maritime weather so you must be prepared for any kind of weather (including snow) year-round when in the hills. There are NO EXCEPTIONS to this rule. I don't care what anyone tells you. You must be prepared for bad weather always in NZ mountains. Only tourists think otherwise and many rescues result from this mistake each year along with deaths.

Don't underestimate the weather. If you get a Easterly or Southerly wind it will often be from the Antarctic area and can drop in temp quickly when at elevation.

Other than that, I'd say you won't have any problems. I would carry a PLB that is registered in NZ in case of trouble. The rescue services here are very good and if you get into trouble they can find you quickly if you have a PLB and carry it on your person at all times. I say the above because there have been people with PLBs that were in their packs, but they fell down cliffs, etc. and got into trouble because it wasn't on their person when out solo. They also have the New Zealand Mountain Radio Service which is a battery powered HF radio you can use to get daily weather updates, call for help, send messages, etc. You can rent these radios in country if you want to carry the extra weight.

For maps, etc. In country they have NZTopo maps for quads that cover the country. I doubt you'd want to carry all of them, but certainly for more remote areas it could be a good idea. There is also an iPhone App called NZTopo50 which is the digital version of all these maps. This is a big app, but it stores all the maps on the phone for the country so you won't have to rely on cellphone data to get them. This is critical of course in areas with no cellphone coverage.

For gear, there are plenty of stores here selling outdoor gear. I'd bring shoes you think you'd like. But understand that you can probably buy them here if needed. NZPost is very good also if you need to forward packages, but I don't know what they'd do in terms of holding supply packages for you. But you can always ask and they probably wouldn't care.