6 Eye-Opening Lessons from My First Month Hiking Te Araroa
I’m now over a month into hiking Te Araroa, New Zealands longest “tramping” trail. I’ve learnt a lot, been challenged a lot, been exhausted and thrilled, pushed myself quite hard from day 1, and met a lot of great people. My thoughts often go back to compare this trail with my thru-hike of the Pacific Crest Trail in 2022, so here’s some of my thoughts about the main differences and things I’ve really noticed so far.
I’ve been hiking Northbound, starting in Bluff on 7th December 2024.

1. Trail – what trail?!
Much of the trail in the first week of Te Araroa starting from Bluff is very challenging. This was something I had not expected or discovered in my pre-trip research as I had decided to do this trip quite at the last minute. Parts are completely overgrown, so the trail is difficult to find or non-existent. As a northbounder, this is the less popular direction to start, so the trail is less trodden at this early stage in the season. Parts of the trail are not maintained, particularly some sections where you walk on private land. Bushwacking through overgrowth with an ability to use GPS is essential to stay on the trail successfully. As you wade through muddy sink holes in exposed areas of head high long grasssy tussocks or take a wrong step on the lightly visible forested trail with limited markings, that gps phone app really helps. Or maybe you lose your sense of direction in the Longwood Forest as you become surrounded by muddy bogs.
When there is a more obvious trail to follow, it is not a well graded one. Traversing mountain sides in the forest is not easy when there are tree roots, blown down trees, land slides, and other obstacles to navigate around. It’s exhausting.

2. All seasons in 1 day
Storms, hail, and beautiful sunshine all in the same hour. Even rain with blue skies and no clouds. Expect any weather at any moment. I’m constantly putting layers on and off, waterproof jacket and trousers for the downpours are taken off moments later to walk in hot sunshine only to be replaced with a wind shell jacket as I reach an exposed sunny and windy ridge.
Clothing has been very tricky to choose and know how to pack the best layers. Nights in huts are sometimes cold, so I have extra warm dry layers to wear while relaxing in the evening. While other nights, I’ve been sweating in my sleeping bag when the hut is full of people. As the trail has been more technically challenging, I’ve wanted to wear hiking clothes that allow me to scramble over trees, scree, and boulders while also sweating up a mountain. My legs have been getting torn up wearing shorts in the overgrowths of spikey plants, but I’ve not wanted to add another pair of trousers to my lightweight thru-hike gear list. As time goes on, I’m sure I’ll get to know what works.
3. Long days and not a continuous trail.
Unlike other thru-hikes I have completed, Te Araroa is not well established with lots of trail heads, frequent camping areas, or many comfortable resting areas at the start. This means there will be days that could be about 30km between either huts or campsites with no alternative routes to allow you to get off trail easily. When you are on the trail, you have to stay committed to your end point with limited flexibility to change your plans.
This means being more aware of your next resupply option and knowing your capability to get through those longer sections. Of course, once you have trail legs from weeks of walking, it gets easier. As I hike towards more Huts, the options for resting and sleeping increase.
Te Araroa is not one continuous trail from south to north. It is made up of sections and many smaller trails. There are often sections where Te Araroa will finish with no available comfortable or safe walking route to the next section. This is either due to a busy highway or an area that is too dangerous to cross, such as wide braided rivers. This adds additional logistical challenges and cost and means hikers have to get straight into hiking with resupply and hiking strategies.
4. The views take a while
Road walking is fun on a great day with friends and to get some big kilometre hiking days in, but gravel roads with dust clouds following cars or the long tarmac road walks can get tedious. It is not all big mountains and lakes every day. The trail is not a continuous hiking trail, so road walking between sections is how Te Araroa is pieced together. I’ve chosen to hitch most big road sections for now, unless there is a great view.
Many people are surprised to walk through so much agricultural land. The trail starts on the coast, which is beautiful, and the rolling hills and cute sheep are endearing and remind me of much of the walking I do in the UK. The first few weeks of hiking, Te Araroa had left me longing for grand mountains and epic views. They did come eventually…

5. It can get quite lonely without many hikers around.
Before I found my little tramily, I had hiked completely alone without seeing anyone for 2 days. I enjoy solitude, but I had expected to see many more hikers. As the options to sleep remain quite rigid, if someone is a day ahead of you, it’s unlikely you will see them. Everyone tends to hike the same distance every day. The Northbound route is the less popular, but I had thought I’d see a few more people around. As I hike into more challenging sections, which include river crossings and exposed ridge walking in remote wilderness areas, I am very appreciative to have some friends around me to support each other and make the planning between us more fun.
6. Sleeping and going to the toilet feels like luxury.
I mailed my poop trowel ahead pretty quick with some other things. Pooping in the wild just isn’t necessary when there are huts and campsites with privys at convenient distances.
Sleeping in huts with a mattress is so much more comfortable than sleeping on the ground in my tent! I’m really enjoying leisurely mornings in a hut, no wet tent, a cup of coffee, and a seating area. So far, I’ve slept in a comfy hut considerably more than in my tent.

This website contains affiliate links, which means The Trek may receive a percentage of any product or service you purchase using the links in the articles or advertisements. The buyer pays the same price as they would otherwise, and your purchase helps to support The Trek's ongoing goal to serve you quality backpacking advice and information. Thanks for your support!
To learn more, please visit the About This Site page.
Comments 1
Keep your eyes peeled for Sam and Frodo. Frodo especially is easy to miss.