Land of the long pathway
Our very own, Toni Brown, is about to embark on an epic mission in Aotearoa’s wilderness. Traversing our beautiful country, on foot, from top to tail.
Get to know more about Toni’s mission and what sparked her interest in Te Araroa…
Kia ora Toni, Can you tell us a bit about the epic adventure you are about to embark on?
Te Araroa or The Long Pathway is a 3000km trail that winds its way down New Zealand. Typically most people start at Cape Reinga and walk south finishing in Bluff, this is known as SoBo (South Bound) and is the direction I have chosen to walk. Compared to other long distance trails overseas, this trail offers more diversity due to New Zealand’s beautiful changing landscapes and travel methods – one section is a week kayaking down the Wanganui River which is pretty cool.
The north island is the flatter of the two islands, it starts on 90-mile beach (4 days of walking) and does include a fair bit of road walking, but the north is more about going through beautiful bush as you travel down the island, other highlights being the Tongariro Alpine Crossing and the Tararua Ranges near wellington.
Then you ferry over to the South Island, port in Picton and catch another ferry to the tip of the south island and start on the Queen Charlotte Track. This is the start of some pretty remote back country walking that requires bush smarts, and solid navigational skills, good gear choices. Basically the path goes over as many remote, steep mountains with scrabbly rock and exposed tops as it can until it hits bluff.
Its also a regenerative trail so it offers walkers the chance to give back to the trail, registrations to walk (keeping track of numbers for funding) goes back into the trail upgrades, supports local business, and offers volunteer opportunities. Such a typical Kiwi way of life really.
How did the idea come about?
I don’t really remember the first time I heard about the trail specifically, however one day I decided to give tramping a go again, as an adult. I had done a bit of it as a kid / young adult when I went to Outward Bound, and overseas with family. I walked up Mount Pirongia (near Hamilton) on my own with borrowed gear and a pack that was not fit for purpose, haha, and stayed at the hut at the top (Pahautea Hut). This hut is one of the first huts on Te Araroa Trail and there was a couple staying in the hut who I got talking to – they were doing the trail and sparked my interest. I hadn’t really seen much of NZ so it sounded pretty cool walking through it all.
A year or so later, and I had started studying, I read a book about a guy who walked around the outside of NZ (Wildboy) and had been seeing more and more about people walking Te Araroa (probably because I was subconsciously looking) and it seems achievable, kind of, so I decided that I was going to do it at the end of my study as a way to celebrate and connect with my home country.
I had no real tramping gear, a decent about of fitness, and some limited back country skills – but I got involved with courses, skilled up, joined Land Search & Rescue and started researching and buying gear.
What are your top 5 – can’t live without items you’ll be packing?
I have tried really hard to limit the weight of my gear so I’ve packed all the must takes like PLB, sleep system, tent, cooking, warm layers..
But my few ‘luxury’ items:
A pair of Hut shoes which are a pair of Teva sandals and will double as town shoes and road walking shoes,
My blow up pillow
My kindle – which also has all the trail notes loaded into it.
What will you miss most about DCA?
The people, it’s a really supportive environment, with a lot of comradery. I think the ability to be able to turn to a friend and ask for help when you need (office or personal), or to just talk out a problem, or talk about how your weekend was. The bush is going to be a whole lot quieter than our office haha.
I am also going to miss the mental challenges and growth that I get in the office, but I think these will come about in a different way.
Track & follow Toni’s epic journey on Instagram:
@She_goesbush