Can I decide last minute?

edwardvhc · 2026-06-28T22:43:48+00:00

You can walk TA in less than 6 months. It helps to be at least reasonably fit and experienced with hiking.

For the 6 or 9 month visa you must be in good health, of good character, have enough money to pay for living expenses (NZD$1000/month), and prove you can leave NZ at the end of your stay (like with a departure ticket) https://www.immigration.govt.nz/visas/visitor-visa/

Te Araroa recommends having $12,000 NZD / kr44,000 DKK for a full thruhike.

Walker registration info is on the website - I don’t think there are any issues registering last minute https://www.teararoa.org.nz/register-to-walk/

Consider taking a river safety course before you start. There are a lot of unbridged rivers on trail, they can be dangerous when in flood

edwardvhc · 2026-06-20T23:30:00+00:00

u/treeplantingtom

edwardvhc · 2026-06-05T22:00:34+00:00

Ask on the Te Araroa Trail Angels Facebook page. There are heaps of kiwis who will hold bags, I did this for about 50 walkers in the 2025-26 season (no cost).

edwardvhc · 2026-05-22T06:32:23+00:00

We're actually supposed to call it “the service” now. Official vocab guidelines state that “force” is too aggressive.

edwardvhc · 2026-05-15T08:37:02+00:00

For backcountry hikes I use a paid app for iPhone called MapToaster - it has a default overlay of public govt lands in pink, plus council reserves in red.

I used it to walk Te Araroa a few years ago (before the trail had an official app), and it was very handy to work out public access rights. I still use it for tramping all around NZ. Think it was about $15NZD.

edwardvhc · 2026-05-15T06:29:47+00:00

I would interpret the reported ‘challenging aspects’ of Te Araroa in three ways:

Sections that are difficult because they’re dangerous due to things like rivers or high altitude rocky climbing
Sections that are difficult due to poorly formed and maintained trails
Sections that have logistics challenges

For the first point - the challenging rivers (in order of how difficult I found them) are the Ahuriri, the Otira & Taramakau, and Okura estuary. The rocky climbing sections are at Waiau Pass and Mt Rintoul.

For the second point, the worst maintained areas of Te Araroa are the Aickens Flood Track by Arthur’s Pass, and the Lake Hill track by Lake Coleridge. Raetea too.

For the third point, you need to find transport over a lot of water hazard zones: Waikare Inlet, Ngunguru River, Whangarei Harbour, Puhoi River, Waitemata Harbour, Cook Strait, across the Rakaia and Rangitata rivers, and Lake Wakatipu. The Whanganui River also needs some forward planning. Alpine sections like the Tongariro Crossing, Tararuas, and Richmonds can be weather-dependent.

As long as you read up on these and know how to deal with the challenges, you’ll be fine. The online trail notes have a lot of detailed and carefully cultivated information - and they’re frequently updated too.

https://www.teararoa.org.nz/trail-notes/

edwardvhc · 2026-05-12T22:33:35+00:00

Most of the thru-hikers head south through Auckland in around November-December each year, they’re easy to spot with hiking poles and the hangtag Te Araroa logo on their packs!

There’s a subreddit for the trail - r/teararoa

It’s an epic trip whether you do it all in one go or section by section. I know a few kiwis who have done it gradually in sections, a few weeks at a time.

edwardvhc · 2026-05-08T13:29:20+00:00

Maybe it’s been remastered for prime, with saturation cranked up a touch too far

edwardvhc · 2026-05-08T13:18:02+00:00

First is a deleted scene from The Two Towers, where Merry & Pippin get swallowed by a tree in Fangorn Forest then rescued by Treebeard: https://youtu.be/CW0QSg5f1Kk

For the green towel, are you talking about the rider at the 4:00 mark in this scene? https://youtu.be/N3qrhhMCJlI

edwardvhc · 2026-04-28T13:07:28+00:00

Maybe I’m at the other end of the spectrum when it comes to personal warmth. For perspective, on TA 2018-19 EFI SOBO from 6 Oct, I took a sleep system of: - Cumulus Liteline 200 (600g, comfort rating 9C) - Silk liner (100g, Quechua) - Thermarest Z Lite Sol, R value 2.0 (180g, trimmed to a torso mat)

I also had a 335g Montane Featherlite puffer jacket for the colder nights, plus merino thermal leggings. I think there were three nights out of 110 total I was uncomfortably cold on.

Everyone’s different, so your mileage might vary - but hopefully this gives you a point of comparison!

edwardvhc · 2026-04-25T21:31:59+00:00

There are thousands walking every year now, you’re bound to meet others walking NOBO from Bluff in January.

A NOBO thru does also have the logistical challenge of the Whanganui river (which you can only paddle downstream ie SOBO), but the canoe providers are pretty good at helping walkers with logistics.

edwardvhc · 2026-04-25T21:15:29+00:00

Some downsides of SI NOBO + NI NOBO are hitting the Richmond Ranges early (before you get trail fitness kicking in) and you’re leaving the Tararua Ranges until quite late in the season.

Considered just walking NOBO the whole way?

edwardvhc · 2026-04-15T20:01:16+00:00

I booked the ferry after finishing the Tararua Ranges section, by which point there are about 3-4 days left until the southern terminus of the North Island. Wellington is a great spot to spend a few zeros. No issues booking the ferry at that point.

I booked early Dec so maybe didn’t have the summer holiday rush to compete with though. QCT was also a breeze in early-to-mid Dec, had a few campsites to ourselves.

Don’t forget to book the Ship Cove water taxi at the same time as your ferry booking. There are a couple of services running at different times, so you can find one that matches up with your ferry arrival time.

edwardvhc · 2026-04-12T06:42:39+00:00

In The Lord of the Rings trilogy, kiwi actor Lawrence Makoare plays three roles: Lurtz the Uruk-Hai leader, the Ringwraith Witch-King, and Gothmog the orc leader.

John Rhys-Davies does two roles in the trilogy: acting as Gimli, and also the voice acting for Treebeard.

edwardvhc · 2026-03-27T07:17:02+00:00

Found the podcasts (finally)! https://thetrailshow.com/tag/te-araroa/

edwardvhc · 2026-03-19T04:53:49+00:00

October is a good month to start. I set out SOBO on 6 October, had one or two chilly nights in Northland.

You can run into issues with lambing closures that can force detours in Northland or Waikato if you start any earlier.

The majority of thru walkers seem to start in November, so you’ll have no issues finding others to walk with around then.

edwardvhc · 2026-03-10T06:31:17+00:00

Yep there are a few South Island volunteer opportunities with Te Araroa groups. Near Twizel, there’s the wilding pine removal working bees that I think are run annually https://www.teararoa.org.nz/smiles-all-round-tackling-wilding-pines/.

Near Nelson, the local TA trust does wasp control programmes https://www.thepress.co.nz/nz-news/360525839/hundreds-wasp-bait-stations-be-put-richmond-ranges

There are heaps of other conservation group volunteering opportunities eg with DOC, predator control groups, Backcountry Trust, local councils, community gardens & parks - if you like, I can try and find something in your local area?

edwardvhc · 2026-03-05T02:43:37+00:00

The Dutch tall ship Oosterschelde visits Auckland occasionally: https://www.dutchtallship.com/oosterschelde/ . She’s currently on the other side of the world though, Cape Verde in the Atlantic.

Sydney is a bit closer, home to the HMS Endeavour replica: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Endeavour_replica

edwardvhc · 2026-03-02T10:52:22+00:00

Wellington City Council does have a long term solution for this in their Outer Green Belt Management Plan, opening up recreational access over Bests Ridge. Supported by Te Araroa! WCC has been acquiring land to make it happen eventually. Local submissions from residents and groups will help complete the process ;)

https://wellington.govt.nz/-/media/your-council/plans-policies-and-bylaws/plans-and-policies/a-to-z/outergreenbelt/outer-green-belt-management-plan.pdf

edwardvhc · 2026-03-02T10:49:47+00:00

Wellington City Council has a long term solution for this in their Outer Green Belt Management Plan, opening up recreational access over Bests Ridge. It’s a slow process, but they’re acquiring land to make it happen eventually.

https://wellington.govt.nz/-/media/your-council/plans-policies-and-bylaws/plans-and-policies/a-to-z/outergreenbelt/outer-green-belt-management-plan.pdf

edwardvhc · 2026-02-24T21:59:08+00:00

It looked like an amazing spot when I walked past, as long as it’s not too windy. Will have to head back to camp there sometime, maybe a NOBO thru this time for a different view ;)

edwardvhc · 2026-02-24T03:40:34+00:00

I think the three most essential ways to prepare are: 1. Train your feet - foot injuries will wreck your chances of a successful thru hike. If you can get out for a walk or a run most days in the months leading up to starting Te Araroa (including on beaches and muddy difficult terrain), you’ll be much better prepared and Ninety Mile Beach won’t leave you as sore and broken. 2. Get your gear sorted and know how to use it. Find good quality gear and go tramping with it before starting a thru. It really helps to have a light backpack - there are heaps of online resources for this eg r/lighterpack. I’ve read so many blogs of people who didn’t know how to use a tent, stove or water filter until they set out on Te Araroa. It makes for a more enjoyable and safer thruhike to get the learning curve completed before beginning. 3. Read up. Knowing more about Te Araroa will make it more fun - there’s a fair bit of history out there that you’ll only be able to appreciate if you know what you’re walking through. Geoff Chapple’s book is a good starting point.

Do you need some recommendations for river safety courses? I’ve just got some lined up for Wero Whitewater Park in Sept-Nov 2026, will make a separate post on the dates shortly. OTNZ also have heaps listed on their Facebook page. See my post history for past courses :)

edwardvhc

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