The Walk of a Life Time - New Zealand?

Maybe I should change the title to ‘the wettest walk of a lifetime’

They’ve had a torrid time in the downpours - apparently wettest summer for some time.
Tne trail is treacherous in parts, rivers uncrossable and many walkers are just holed up for a few days to try and get dry.


Our two have kept going so far but, fair to say, they were a bit down last night.
Every morning for the last 6 days or so the have to pull on their wet boots and go again.

Currently 880km down and they’ve climbed the equivalent of Everest twice.
The NZ hospitality has been wonderful with ‘Trail Angels’ in most towns to offer comping in gardens, rooms, food etc.

Some decent landmarks to help them:
1000kms not far off
A further 700km finishes off North Island
All downhill after that ☀️
 
1finny said:
Maybe I should change the title to ‘the wettest walk of a lifetime’

They’ve had a torrid time in the downpours - apparently wettest summer for some time.
Tne trail is treacherous in parts, rivers uncrossable and many walkers are just holed up for a few days to try and get dry.


Our two have kept going so far but, fair to say, they were a bit down last night.
Every morning for the last 6 days or so the have to pull on their wet boots and go again.

Currently 880km down and they’ve climbed the equivalent of Everest twice.
The NZ hospitality has been wonderful with ‘Trail Angels’ in most towns to offer comping in gardens, rooms, food etc.

Some decent landmarks to help them:
1000kms not far off
A further 700km finishes off North Island
All downhill after that ☀️
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Yes its been pretty wet tbf, good on them for sticking with it.

They'll be in the SI soon, as you say all downhill.
 
Abel Tasman said:
Ah the Castlepoint lighthouse. Hope you enjoyed the wines in Martinborough! Did you get as far as the Lake Ferry hotel and enjoy their fish and chips.? The Wine Fair is one of the best events you could ever go to. A real drinking, music extravaganza.


That's the one. BDO sponsored. Starts and finishes in the Town Centre. There's a real tough climb at Hatepe Hill after 80 ks.~11.4% at its steepest.
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If you're not already up here for the bike race, pack your raincoat, it's been torrential these last few days
 
sorry 1finny, just seen this. I live at the top end of NZ and if I'd seen this earlier would have caught up with them when they came through Whangarei, but sound like they are well past me now..
I've done a few of the Northland stretches of the trail and know a couple of people who've done the whole length in one go. It's a beast, they said, but well worth it for the life-changing experience.
It's proving very popular
 
Kiwi Boro am driving up Tom morning - such a disappointment as last time I did it it rained then too.

Finny where exactly are they now do you know? The weather patterns are definitely changing and the Taupo bike ride should really be moved to March in my opinion. Better weather then to be precise it’s still officially Spring here until next week and Summer kicks off in December. Hopefully the weather starts to pick up for them as they pass the beauty of Tongariro and Ruapehu
 
Abel Tasman said:
Kiwi Boro am driving up Tom morning - such a disappointment as last time I did it it rained then too.

Finny where exactly are they now do you know? The weather patterns are definitely changing and the Taupo bike ride should really be moved to March in my opinion. Better weather then to be precise it’s still officially Spring here until next week and Summer kicks off in December. Hopefully the weather starts to pick up for them as they pass the beauty of Tongariro and Ruapehu
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Currently about 30km south east to Te Kuiti ?
 
1finny said:
Currently about 30km south east to Te Kuiti ?
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Good stuff. They are in Waikato region just south of Waitomo. I wonder if they managed to see the glow worm caves there. They have some pretty awesome terrain to meet in the next section as they go toward Tongariro and the amazing Tongariro crossing. The scenery there will be very familiar to fans of Lord of the Rings and Mount Ngauruhoe which was Mount Doom in the series.
 
Beverleyred said:
Hi Abel, yes we did make it to Lake Ferry. I have to say some of the best fish n’ chips I’ve ever tasted. I believe the fish was Dory, bloody tasty whatever it was. During our second visit to NZ, we stayed one weekend at the Martinborough hotel, where many of the cast from Lord of the Rings stayed, in fact, they renamed the rooms after hobbits etc. We love NZ wine, so the main purpose of our visit was to see the local vineyards. I remember my first visit to Martinborough a year or two earlier, we were visiting one of the vineyards with our host, who was the CEO of Met Service NZ. They were erecting a stage and a temporary seating stand, and I asked them what it was for, and it turned out that they had a Joe Cocker concert on that evening. In the middle of nowhere!! You couldn’t make it up…
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Was staying in the Martinborough hotel just a few weeks ago BR. You may recognise this view from the balcony. E15AE7FB-2783-48CA-B2EC-0C0F8A94A148.jpeg
 
Wow, looks epic, good luck to them.

Tell them to take care of their things whilst travelling through Mordor!

When I first read the thread title I thought….. “New Zealand??…….that will take them a bluddy lifetime”.😀
 
Abel Tasman said:
Good stuff. They are in Waikato region just south of Waitomo. I wonder if they managed to see the glow worm caves there. They have some pretty awesome terrain to meet in the next section as they go toward Tongariro and the amazing Tongariro crossing. The scenery there will be very familiar to fans of Lord of the Rings and Mount Ngauruhoe which was Mount Doom in the series.
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A fabulous place. One the days of my life was canoeing Lake Mapourika. Hope Finny's family get to walk nearby. It was beautiful beyond belief.
 
1finny said:
Probably
My son and partner planned to do this in October 2021 - for obvious reasons it tanked.
They worked, they sold up and eventually left UK in Jan this year.
In 4 days they start their dream 3000 km walk.

It was wonderfully emotional chatting to them this morning knowing they are going to fulfill their dream.

What an experience

The other exciting bit is they are about to book their homeward flight after visiting Japan for early April next year.

Te Araroa - New Zealand's Trail — Home

Te Araroa is NZ's walk of a lifetime. The 3000km route stretches from Cape Reinga in the north of New Zealand to Bluff in the south.
www.teararoa.org.nz www.teararoa.org.nz
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Good luck to them 1finny! A walk of 3000 km over mountainous terrain..that’s awesome🤗
And here’s me doing my Achilles in strolling the neighborhood for 100 km over 21 days. Oh to be young again😎
 
bungydinsdale said:
Hey AT, be careful you don't get overtaken by this lot tomorrow mate. At least there'll be plenty of help there if you do have an accident:


www.nzherald.co.nz

Crocodile bike team lines up for Lake Taupō Cycle Challenge

It will be a long day on the road and physically demanding, but they’re raring to go.
www.nzherald.co.nz www.nzherald.co.nz
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Back at base. Job done. Absolutely shattered but thankfully weather wasn’t as bad as feared. At least I could see the Lake this time. We had a small quake this morning in Taupo itself. Bit wobbly for a time. 3.2.

A45344FE-F57A-4C60-80E6-F3FA02504267.jpeg
 
Abel Tasman said:
Back at base. Job done. Absolutely shattered but thankfully weather wasn’t as bad as feared. At least I could see the Lake this time. We had a small quake this morning in Taupo itself. Bit wobbly for a time. 3.2.

View attachment 48296
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Jeez! - Look at those calories burnt! Treat yourself to a whopping fried breakfast with a side of extra buttery toast, yum!
 
Abel Tasman said:
Back at base. Job done. Absolutely shattered but thankfully weather wasn’t as bad as feared. At least I could see the Lake this time. We had a small quake this morning in Taupo itself. Bit wobbly for a time. 3.2.

View attachment 48296
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Awesome effort: you only felt the one quake? we felt two 30 minutes or so apart :) Hope the wind wasn't too much of a bother
 
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