Route, Gear, Food and Training – Te Araroa Trail Planning
I did a lot of reading, research, preparation and planning for Te Araroa trail (2017/18 season). I love preparing for a trip – it’s half the fun of the journey for me. Other people throw some things in a pack and go for it. Click the links in red below to view linked content.
Where to start your research:
On the official Te Araroa Trail website, other people’s blogs and Youtube videos. Next, I downloaded the previous season’s maps and trail notes and familiarised myself with the tricky things e.g. tide times and river crossings.
I joined the Te Araroa Facebook groups for their wealth of knowledge. Use the “search” function within the groups to search for specific topics like gear, shoes/boots, tents, navigation, river crossings, safety and much more. When I started the trail I ended up meeting many of the people I’d been speaking with online! The groups I joined were: Te Araroa trail Facebook group, the current season Te Araroa trail Facebook group, Te Araroa trail women’s Facebook group and the After Te Araroa trail Facebook group.
When to start walking:
I picked my Southbound start date for mid-October to avoid the worst Spring weather, the New Zealand lambing season, and to start on low tide at 90-mile beach.
My journey in a spreadsheet
Previous Te Araroa trail walkers had created spreadsheets of their journeys, so I used their ideas to create one of my own months before I started walking. It was a handy guide to know roughly where I would be when. NOTE: If you do create a spreadsheet, I guarantee you’ll deviate from it once you’re walking. This version looks nothing like the version I started with!
Post-trail, I completed my spreadsheet detailing my route, gear, food and training for Te Araroa trail. Click here for a copy.
Also check out my Te Araroa Trail itinerary page and Te Araroa Trail gear list page.
Maps
When my start date drew near I downloaded the current season’s trail notes and maps, and kept a copy on my phone for use on the trail. I printed the maps on A3 size paper colour, double-sided, and posted them to myself in my resupply boxes.
Outdoor Courses
I took courses on how to cross rivers safely (with the Waikato Tramping Club), and how to navigate properly. This was invaluable. Contact OTNZ if you’d like to do a course in New Zealand.
Food Planning
I massively over-prepared my food and sent far too many resupply boxes. Before walking, for some reason, I thought I wouldn’t want to hitch out to resupply or that it would be easier to have my own food waiting for me. This was NOT the case!
Click here for the list of places I sent my food boxes to. Note that some campsites/hostels may have closed since the 2017/18 season.
Reasons not to over-prepare/not to send yourself all your food:
– After the first few weeks, my body knew what it wanted, and unfortunately, it wasn’t the food I’d sent to myself. I couldn’t even look at flavoured tuna sachets after two weeks.
– Once I got going, I wanted to eat from stores or cafes in town because you need the treat, or because everyone else has stopped to get something so you’ll get food envy (this not a joke!). It’s also a great excuse for a break/socialising.
– Buying local means you’re supporting local businesses and getting to know local people.
– Resupplying in town is really easy.
– It was annoying to be carrying a pack full of food when I could have had a lighter pack/shopped in town a couple of days later.
– Hitching or going off trail to resupply is part of the trail experience. e.g. hitch to Nelson or Richmond (from the Richmond ranges via Rocks hut/Dun Saddle OR from Hacket hut). Hitch to Hanmer Springs (from Boyle village) and hitch to Methven (from Lake Coleridge). These places are all worth a visit and *bonus* hot pools in Hanmer and Methven! Side note* I ended up moving to Nelson after walking TA because I’d spent time there resupplying/waiting out bad weather a couple of times. Never underestimate the power of a spontaneous adventure!
– Your walk might change considerably from your original plan (as mine did) e.g. if you switch it up to make the most of a weather window, so you may not be in those food drop locations when you thought you would be.
Places I would send a food box to (in hindsight):
– St Arnaud and Arthurs Pass. Because the stores there are quite small, you may not be able to buy everything you need for the next (longer) stretches of the trail and because the hitches to nearest town are longer.
– Having said that, it’s not impossible to hitch to Nelson from St Arnaud or from Arthurs Pass to Greymouth/Christchurch but be prepared for it to take decent time out of your schedule.
Final thoughts…
Would I have done anything differently on Te Araroa? Yes, for sure! but that’s easy to say in hindsight 🙂
Check out my other adventures on the 1000Km South West Coast Path in the UK and all my other tramps and New Zealand adventures.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me here or on my Facebook page! Cheers, Jules
I wish you would have posted the original sheet with all the Mail Drop places. That would have been very helpful information for people who want to mail meals.
Hi There, Done! 🙂 Click the link in the page to open a spreadsheet of my food drop locations.