Day 56/64 🥾Te Araroa Trail - The South Island 🇳🇿
📍Supported by ZOLEO @zoleolifeeurope #ChallengeWithZoleo
ℹ️Stats: Sunday 25th February
Weather: hot & sunny ☀️
From: Queenstown - Greenstone Car Park
Start time: 7.45am / 9.50am
To: Boundary Hut
End time: 8pm
Accommodation: Hut - top bunk (3 other people) 1 person is snoring already!
Terrain: nice forest tracks, swampy, muddy, wet, rocky, grassy, muddy again!
🥾Km: 21.3
🦶Steps: 27,408
🚗 80km (not part of the official TA route)
Total Km: 2746/3028 = 91% ✅
💰Costs: $0 🥳 I love not spending money.
Subjective feeling out of 10 on:
Enjoyment: 7/10
Fatigue: 3/10
Ease of terrain: 6/10
⭐️Highlights: catching up with Julie @juliagsauthorspeaker & Mike. Who very kindly gave me a lift around the 80km detour.
🚗We also picked up @erikahikes who was hitching from Glenorchy. They also joined us for the 1st hr on trail. Which was awesome 🙌👍
🏔️Challenges: the mud, very tiring to walk in, especially when you get sucked into it. Plus you really had to concentrate on foot placement. In one section I ended up going down to my knees!
💭Thoughts: I’ve got to do a lot of big days!! I’ve got 282km to walk in 7 days. I need to hit a minimum of 40k per day! In order to catch my flight on the 4th.
🥾I’d really like to do a 50km day tomorrow - but I’ll have to see how I get on. There is about 12k of gravel road, which means I can walk quicker on those sections.
⏰The alarm is set for 6am - so fingers crossed I’ll be out and walking early!
Day 57/64 🥾Te Araroa Trail - The South Island 🇳🇿
📍Supported by ZOLEO @zoleolifeeurope #ChallengeWithZoleo
ℹ️Stats: Monday 26th February
Weather: dry & cloudy ☁️
From: Boundary Hut
Start time: 8am
To: Lower Princhester Hut
End time: 6.20pm
Accommodation: hut 6 bed - botttom bunk. 1 other person TA Nobo
Terrain: forest tracks, gravel road, over & under trees, 4WD road
Walked with - @Karlijn_Snoeijs (🇳🇱) / pocket rocket
🥾Km: 27.6
🦶Steps: 35398
🚗Hitched (Amy & partner from the states) from 2777 - to a junction level with 2790. (13km) walked 3k on the road and then
🚗 Hitched from 2793 - 2806 (13km)
Total Km: 2812/3028 = 93% ✅
💰Costs: $0
Subjective feeling out of 10 on:
Enjoyment: 7/10
Fatigue: 3/10
Ease of terrain: 5/10
⭐️Highlights: reaching the hut in good time! Having a good feed and an early night. Ready for a big day tomorrow. It was nice chatting with Karlijn as it made the time fly by as we walked and talked.
🏔️Challenges: in the forest getting past some of the down trees was a challenge. At one point it seemed like every 20 metres there was another tree/trees than you needed to go around, go over, go under. It was hard work. I also took a tumble. But landed on soft moss!
💭Thoughts: I’ve got a plan for tomorrow to get to lower Wairaki hut. But I can’t look further than that at the moment. It’s too much to take in.
I need to take it 1 day at a time and do as much as I can. Estimated time to get there is 11hrs.. it’s going to be an early start. Maybe…. - I’m not great at getting up early!!
Day 58/64 🥾Te Araroa Trail - The South Island 🇳🇿
📍Supported by ZOLEO @zoleolifeeurope #ChallengeWithZoleo
Tākitimu Track
ℹ️Stats: Tuesday 27th February
Weather: cloudy ☁️
From: Lower Princhester Hut
Start time: 8.05am
To: Lower Wairaki Hut
End time: 8.20pm
Accommodation: bottom bunk in the hut - I had the hut to myself
Terrain: grassy tussocks, mud, forest, mud, mud, mud, mud, mud.
🥾Km: 15.7 (I know it was more like 30k / my watch is done after this trip)
🦶Steps: 20,180
Total Km: 2842/3028 = 94% ✅
💰Costs: $0
Subjective feeling out of 10 on:
Enjoyment: 2/10 - not enjoyable today.
Fatigue: 3/10
Ease of terrain: 6/10
⭐️Highlights: not sure there was any! Struggling to think of anything good.
🏔️Challenges: the tussocks and trying to navigate through. The mud, in between the tussocks and in the forest.
💭Thoughts: what a day. Glad to get it over and done with. It was nice to have the hut to myself. That was a win!
Day 59/64 🥾Te Araroa Trail - The South Island 🇳🇿
📍Supported by ZOLEO @zoleolifeeurope #ChallengeWithZoleo
Tākitimu Track
ℹ️Stats: Wednesday 28th February
Weather: cloudy with light rain 🌧️
From: Lower Wairaki Hut
Start time: 8.15am
To: Birchwood Road
End time: 7.40pm
Accommodation: wild camped ⛺️
Terrain: forest, 4WD tracks, little bit of gravel road
🥾Km: 28.4
🦶Steps: 36,356
Total Km: 2881/3028 = 95% ✅
💰Costs: $0
Subjective feeling out of 10 on:
Enjoyment: 4/10
Fatigue: 3/10
Ease of terrain: 5/10
⭐️Highlights: glad to walk from the hut to the Telford campsite in 3hr 45 and take 7hrs 15 mins to do the next section. Solid day.
🏔️Challenges: another long day. Cloudy in the morning, so couldn’t see anything on the ridge walk and I needed to be careful with my navigation.
🧠I had a mental wobble at the start of the day not knowing if I was going to be able to get the kms done.
💭Thoughts: so ready to be done with the TA. Can’t wait to finish and get home. 🏡
I know I need to do 40km each day. So it’s just a case of getting it done. I also starting to think and plan what I need to do when I get home. Trying to stay in the present, but it’s hard to do.
Day 60/64 🥾Te Araroa Trail - The South Island 🇳🇿
📍Supported by ZOLEO @zoleolifeeurope #ChallengeWithZoleo
Birchwood to Merrivale- Woodlaw Track
ℹ️Stats: Thursday 29th February
Weather: Sunny ☀️
From: Birchwood Road
Start time: 8.25am
To: Longwood Forest Track
End time: 6.30pm
Accommodation: wild camped 2912km approx
Terrain: farm land, forest tracks, gravel road, road, gravel road, forest tracks.
🥾Km: 30
🦶Steps: 38,589
Total Km: 2912/3028 = 96% ✅
💰Costs: $0
Subjective feeling out of 10 on:
Enjoyment: 6/10
Fatigue: 4/10
Ease of terrain: 4/10 - easy ish day today.
⭐️Highlights: I’ve got a plan for the final 3 days and feel confident. I just need to make sure I leave the forest tomorrow! Not sure what it’s going to be like. But I need to get to the other side!
🏔️Challenges: little hard getting the tent pegs into the ground. The gravel/road walking has slammed my feet. They are super sore.
I don’t know why I only took 5 pictures today! 🤷♀️
💭Thoughts: you can tell summer is coming to an end. It’s starting to get colder in the mornings and the evenings.