Letter of the month
TA’s muddiest track depends on the direction of travel
I read the article ‘Which is the muddiest track of them all?’ (April 2024) with fond but very different memories. As one of the rarer northbound walkers on Te Araroa, my impressions were so different that I can only put them down to the fitness, skills and preparedness that we all gain across the 3000km. The TA walker starting the trail is a very different beast to the one finishing it. In my case, I regret not taking photos of how my body shape changed across the walk!
Longwood’s mud is etched in my memory as a gruelling and formative experience. I literally had to look up Raetea Forest after reading the article to remember that section. By then, mud, tree roots, and vines were part of the scenery. The same goes for the dreaded Ninety Mile Beach, which went as uneventfully as any weekend beach walk, only a whole lot longer.
This brings me to a point that I feel is often missed in discussing TA. According to many walkers I met who had done the Appalachian or Pacific Crest trails, TA trail conditions are far tougher. At both ends, the TA is peppered with the walking wounded and early retirees. I feel for these people, especially those who have come from overseas on an extended break for what should be a formative experience. It certainly is that once you gain ‘trail fitness’, but that only happens after about a month. By then I had sprained my ankle, first one and then the other – and I got off reasonably lightly.
Te Araroa was a life-altering experience for me and I wouldn’t change a thing. I came back a different and hopefully better person, and this seems true of all who complete it. My life is marked by it in an almost completely positive way. Nothing this good is ever that easy, after all.
– Andrew Spanner
Andrew wins a pair of Salewa Mountain Spike Crampons worth $169.90 from www.bobo.co.nz. Readers, send your letter to the editor for a chance to win.
Paparoa walk break
After reading ‘10 great short walks through ancient forests’ (March 2024), I felt I should share with readers our local forest walk in Paparoa, near Kaipara.
Now that the Brynderwyns are often closed, travellers could head north through Paparoa, and this walk would make a fantastic rest break.
The loop walk, constructed by the local Lions club, starts opposite the dairy in Paparoa and takes about 45min. There’s plenty of parking by the playground (except on Saturday morning, market day).
Cross the bridge, then walk beside the river and up through karaka and taraire bush with kūmara pits alongside the track. You’ll be accompanied by pīwakawaka while listening to tūī. It’s a real treat.
I walk it nearly every weekend with my sister and afterwards enjoy the local country market.
– Stella Clyde
Tramping with Covid
I recently tramped the Heaphy and unfortunately came away with Covid, which I most likely caught in one of the first huts. One other person in my group also contracted it, and I am aware of cases among other groups going on multi-day tramps.
Covid has not gone away but I didn’t see anyone wearing a mask, even those with obvious upper respiratory symptoms. Huts are ideal places for spreading the virus, and it’s virtually impossible to self-isolate in one. So it was a reminder to me to have some sort of plan for such eventualities. This could include:
- Test for Covid prior to the tramp if you have the slightest symptoms or have been exposed, and take a spare test with you.
- Take some masks in case you need them, preferably N95s.
- Take medication such as Ibuprofen or Paracetamol, and throat lozenges and maybe lemon and ginger tea. Kawakawa has anti-inflammatory properties and can easily be found in the bush and made into tea.
- Be mindful of your vaccination status and immunity.
- Have a contingency plan and don’t be shy about discussing your situation with a hut warden if there is one.
– James Herdman
Our routes, your trips (featured image)
Many Gisborne Canoe and Tramping Club members have Walk1200km goals and consider it a great initiative to help people become more active and healthier.
Several members recently repeated the Wairere Stream trip in Tongariro National Park that was published in the February 2024 issue.
The weather was cool with low cloud and showers, and they walked for two hours up the stream before returning to the Taranaki Falls Track and back to Whakapapa.
– Gillian Ward (president, Gisborne Canoe and Tramping Club)
(Gillian receives a Real meal for sharing this. Readers, when you do a trip that has been published in Wilderness let us know to receive your prize, too.)
TA walkers reign
Wilderness’s Te Araroa Special Issue (April 2024) did not include some of the walkers I recently encountered in Greenstone Hut on a wet night.
The conversations about hut tickets made it clear that many were not paying, but they were still very assertive about their right to a bed.
Trampers with tickets slept outside while the group slept inside and generally occupied the space, moving furniture so they could gather around a big table without any consideration for other users. Others camped in an area identified as fragile.
Some displayed poor etiquette, such as brushing teeth at the kitchen sink and not cleaning up.
The trail is putting pressure on huts and fragile environments. It is time to consider how to organise numbers and payments.
– Susanna Lawrence
Walking again
Wilderness is going to be a great source of inspiration over the months ahead as I recover from a broken femur, the result of a crash on my electric moped (unfortunately, another driver didn’t see me coming out of an intersection).
It could be easily six months before I’m out again. I might be slower and not go as far as I used to, but I will work hard to get back into the hills again.
Please keep up the excellent work of inspiring so many people. Wilderness is enjoyable for people new to the outdoors, as well as those of us with many years of experience.
– Russell Lake
Reality not AI, please
I love the epic and beautiful photographs from the winners and runners-up of the Outdoor Photographer of the Year competition (April 2024). But I did not like the AI artwork in the story ‘Ten types of people you’ll meet walking Te Araroa’.
You must have real photos. We don’t need AI in the magazine.
– Tim Wilson
– Fair cop, Tim. Other readers also shared your displeasure. We won’t be doing it again. – AH
