Day 21/64 🥾Te Araroa Trail - The South Island 🇳🇿
📍Supported by ZOLEO @zoleolifeeurope #ChallengeWithZoleo
ℹ️Stats: Sunday 21st January
Weather: Sunny all day until the evening - then rain & thunder ⛈️
From: John Tait Hut
Start time: 7.25am
To: Blue Lake Hut
End time: 6.35pm
Accommodation: camped ⛺️
Terrain: Rocky, forests, mountains, steep climb, river crossings, wet, muddy, more rocks
🥾Km: 13.7
🦶Steps: 17,562
Total Km: 2014.5/3028 = 66% ✅
💰Costs: $0
Subjective feeling out of 10 on:
Enjoyment: 9/10
Fatigue: 6/10
Ease of terrain: 8/10
⭐️Highlights: passing 2000km (although I didn’t realise it). It was good to start early and get the kms in. Pleased I got to Blue Lake Hut. It was a tough - but fun day.
🏔️Challenges: 1 or 2 slips - bit of blood on the elbow - but I’ll survive.
💭Thoughts: what’s going to happen with the weather tomorrow? Can I make it over the pass? Is it safe to walk?
Day 22/64 🥾Te Araroa Trail - The South Island 🇳🇿
📍Supported by ZOLEO @zoleolifeeurope #ChallengeWithZoleo
Waiau Pass Track (Te Araroa’s second-highest point) - incredible 🥳
ℹ️Stats: Monday 22nd January
Walked with Kai (🇩🇪)
Weather: cloudy then sunny
From: Blue Lake Hut
Start time: 10.30am
To: flat ground by the side of the river. 2024.5 km
End time: 6.30pm
Accommodation: camped - it would have been another 4hrs walking to make it to the next hut. Good decision to stop.
Terrain: very steep scree slopes, boulders fields, scrambling, steep drop-offs Avalanche zone, walking through streams, river crossing, high passes (1870m).
🥾Km: 8.8
🦶Steps: 11,339 - every step was tough
Total Km: 2024.5/3028 = 67 % ✅
Enjoyment: 9/10 mixed with a good dose of fear
Fatigue: 4/10 - felt ok today but very tired towards the end. You needed to concentrate for every step. Which is so tiring mentally.
Ease of terrain: 10/10 - brutal descents and the climbs…..
⭐️Highlights: what a day! Some very tough terrain, but the views were incredible. Reaching the pass was a highlight, putting the poles away and scrambling down rock faces - was so much fun - as were the river crossings. It was all brilliant!! 🤩
🏔️Challenges: thunder and lighting at night. Woke up in the tent ⛺️ and I was lying in a mini lake. No joking I was 2 inches in the water - luckily everything in the tent was dry. (Very impressed with this!).
Got up at 6am ish and took everything from the tent to the hut. Weather was horrendous - rain etc - lots of chat about what to do.
I decided I would wait it out as the next stretch was 7 hrs. So as long as I started before 11ish. I’d be good.
Weather turned better just before 10am and Kai (🇩🇪) decided to give it ago. If it was impassable or we felt unsafe - we’d turn back. Turned out to the right decision. We had a brilliant day. Super tough - but we took our time, took loads of pics and enjoyed the amazing scenery.
💭Thoughts: I tried to avoid the ‘group think’ lots of people decided to turn back as they didn’t feel comfortable with the weather and the potential risks.
You really need to know yourself and your cababilities in these situations. I felt comfortable and happy to push on and give it a try.
Day 23/64 🥾Te Araroa Trail - The South Island 🇳🇿
📍Supported by ZOLEO @zoleolifeeurope #ChallengeWithZoleo
Waiau Pass Track
ℹ️Stats: Tuesday 23rd January
Weather: rain all day with a rainbow 🌈
From: campground ground by the side of the river. 2024.5 km
Start time: 8.10am
To: Ann Hut (890m)
End time: 4.30pm
Accommodation: mattress - top bunk
Terrain: grassy flats, 4wd track, rivers,
🥾Km: 22.3
🦶Steps: 28,616
Total Km: 2057/3028 = 68% ✅
💰Costs: $0
Subjective feeling out of 10 on:
Enjoyment: 8/10
Fatigue: 3/10
Ease of terrain: 5/10
⭐️Highlights: so nice reaching Ann hut - having a fire and getting dry and warm 😊 seeing a rainbow at the end of the day. Having a swing bridge to cross instead of crossing the river. The views of the valley.
🏔️Challenges: so many river crossing. My thighs rubbing together, being wet all the time! It was a big day of walking.
💭Thoughts: didn’t take a huge amount of photos - because of the weather and now I’m disappointed 😞
Day 24/64 🥾Te Araroa Trail - The South Island 🇳🇿
📍Supported by ZOLEO @zoleolifeeurope #ChallengeWithZoleo
ℹ️Stats: Wednesday 24th January
Weather: cold in the am - warmed up in the afternoon
From: Ann Hut
Start time: 8.10am
To: Boyle Flat Hut
End time: 1.10pm
Accommodation: bottom bunk in the hut
Terrain: flat and grassy
🥾Km: 13.6
🦶Steps: 17,490
Total Km: 2074/3028 = 68% ✅
💰Costs: $0
Subjective feeling out of 10 on:
Enjoyment: 8/10
Fatigue: 4/10
Ease of terrain: 2/10
⭐️Highlights: the views of the snow covered mountains in the morning. 😍
🏔️Challenges: in order to stay at Boyle education centre. You need to arrive before 5pm - I could have made it - but it would have been a real push. So I decided to stop at Boyle Hut and have a more chilled afternoon and then I can get to the village tomorrow earlier on in the day and have more time to sort stuff out. Before setting off on the next section.
💭Thoughts: 954km to go (39 days)- I need to average about 24km/15 miles per day to catch my flight in March. Which is still very manageable. So I’m good for time! Hope the weather stays good and there are no more delays!
Day 25/64 🥾Te Araroa Trail - The South Island 🇳🇿
📍Supported by ZOLEO @zoleolifeeurope #ChallengeWithZoleo
ℹ️Stats: Thursdays 25th January
Weather: frosty in the am and then hot and sunny ☀️
From: Boyle Hut
Start time: 7.45am
To: Boyle Outdoor Education Centre
End time: 11.30am
Accommodation: bottom bunk - had the small room to myself 🙏
Terrain: flat grassy, rooty, muddy & foresty
🥾Km: 10.8
🦶Steps: 13,846
Total Km: 2087/3028 69% ✅
💰Costs: $45 accommodation
$40 resupply 3x chocolate bar & box of museli bars
Total = $85
Subjective feeling out of 10 on:
Enjoyment: 7/10
Fatigue: 3/10
Ease of terrain: 3/10
⭐️Highlights: reaching Boyle, the swing bridges, doing laundry and having wifi 🥳
🏔️Challenges: food resupply…. There is very little
🍀Luckily there was loads of free food in the hiker box. So I was able to do a resupply (oats, tuna, mashed potatoes, cherries, peanut butter)
💭Thoughts: so pleased I did what I did. I basically had 2 half days. Plus arriving around 11.30 ish I was able to do laundry, have a shower, eat food (mashed potatoes canned peaches, chicken noodles gf) and I have a room to myself! Bliss! There are 3 other hikers here - Erika (🇸🇪), Scott (🇳🇱) & Pierre (🇫🇷).