People travel from far and wide to walk Te Araroa. Wilderness meets some of the overseas trampers who’ve come to do the trail.

Annabel Marth from France learned about Te Araroa while hiking in Europe.

“My friend told me about the trail and I thought, why not? I’d lost my father recently and I’d never been to New Zealand, so I booked the flight.”

Marth is hiking the South Island leg of Te Araroa. She met fellow hiker Georgia Everett-Brown, from the United Kingdom, in the Richmond Ranges. 

Everett-Brown found out about Te Araroa through YouTube. “I was at university, and during exam season I’d relax by watching hiking videos,” she says. “I found a series by Elina Osborne about the trail and watched it every exam season for three years. When I graduated I was supposed to start another course immediately, but I didn’t feel ready to commit to another four years of studying.” 

Everett-Brown decided to take time out to figure what she really wanted to do. “I had a good picture of the trail in my head and I wanted to experience it,” she says. 

Both women have found life on Te Araroa needs to be flexible. “Something we’ve learned is: no plans, no problem,” says Marth. “At the beginning I was planning everything. I had the whole first month mapped out. Then, on the first day, I met people – and my plan was over because they suggested different things to do.” 

“You can’t plan your whole trip to a tee, because it just won’t work,” adds Everett-Brown. “Te Araroa has taught me to be flexible. Some of the best experiences have come from being spontaneous and going with the flow.”

They don’t know yet if they’ll walk the rest of the way together. “We take it day by day,” says Marth. 

“I started solo and planned to walk by myself a lot of the time. It was going to be a reflective journey,” says Everett-Brown. “But I began to meet like-minded people and had great conversations. I thought I could walk this by myself, but it’s such a different and amazing experience to share with other people, and I’ve enjoyed doing that.”

American Annemarie Athey’s interest in Te Araroa was sparked by a book about running the trail. “A friend I made on the Appalachian Trail in 2021 sent me The Pants of Perspective by Anna McNuff. I was sold,” she says, “but the flights to New Zealand were super expensive. Then I came across a job in Antarctica. I did a  little investigating and realised the job would come with a ticket to New Zealand.” 

Athey signed a contract for the 2023 Southern Hemisphere summer season to get her foot in the door, then stayed for the winter: “After a year on the ice I came to New Zealand for Te Araroa, and soon I’m going back to Antarctica again.”

“I’d done the Appalachian Trail and already put a lot of time into thru-hiking planning and research. I had my gear dialled in and knew you can’t plan this type of thing,” she says. “I let it unfold as I go.”

Her favourite day was Goat Pass on the Mingha–Deception route. “I was really nervous about that section because a lot of people were skipping it,” she says. “The night before, I camped in a beautiful setting and was apprehensive about setting off alone, but after about 20 minutes, trail runners started passing me left and right. They were training for the Coast to Coast and it immediately took my anxiety away to know people were around. I ended up having so much fun in the boulders, in the water and climbing up waterfalls.”

Athey’s trail journey finished prematurely 200km from the end. “From Mavora Lakes I hitched to Te Anau to add in Milford Sound and the Kepler Track,” she says. “At Iris Burn campsite a kea shredded my tent. It meant the end of my trip. I had a deadline for getting to Antarctica so didn’t have time to get it fixed, and I couldn’t keep going without it. I cried so hard. I was so close to the end.”

When Athey finishes her next contract in Antarctica it’ll be lambing season, and parts of the trail she hasn’t done will be closed. “I might go to Australia for a couple of months and then come back,” she says. “I feel as though I have unfinished business.”

Sarah Williams from the UK hosts the ‘Tough Girl’ podcast and has interviewed  several women who have hiked or run Te Araroa. “So it’s always been on the cards,” she says. “During Covid I was desperate for adventure and started planning my trip.”

Williams’ brother lives in Australia, and her parents were planning to visit for Christmas 2023. “The timing was perfect. I could have Christmas with the family and avoid the UK winter as well.”

Williams is an experienced thru-hiker, having completed many long-distance routes overseas including the Appalachian Trail. “Te Araroa tends to be compared to trails like the Pacific Crest and the Appalachian because of the distance, but it’s a very new trail – only around since 2011 – so you can’t really compare,” she says. “Te Araroa is more of a ‘choose your adventure’ trip, because you have the kayaking section and others where you can cycle. It’s not so much of a  thru-hike in the traditional sense.”

She’s also found there are more logistics needed for Te Araroa. “With a lot of my previous thru-hikes you find out where the next resupply point is and off you go,” she says. “Here, it’s a lot harder. If you get stuck in the mountains you need extra food. Or you might need to arrange a shuttle, or hire a bike. Some rivers can’t be crossed, and you’re not allowed to camp in some areas.”

It’s also different to walking in the UK. “There, if the weather is bad it doesn’t really impact you,” she explains. “Here, you can be trapped for days in the mountains.”

She originally intended to walk the entire trail, but didn’t enjoy the road sections and hitched some parts

Williams is sharing her experience on social media. “I want to show people the realities. Some other people don’t share [details of] the sections they’ve skipped. I want to include all the hitches and give people a proper view of what the trail is like.”

Te Araroa should take her around 114 days. “The North Island took 50 days; I think the South Island will be about 64,” she says. “I’ve taken more rest days in the south, mainly because of the weather.”

“The North Island was challenging, and the scenery in the South Island has been amazing,” she says. “The Richmond Ranges and Waiau Pass were incredible. I had day after day of blue skies and 360-degree views, and was constantly reminding myself to stop and look around.”

Williams has already planned her next challenge and is heading to Spain shortly after she leaves New Zealand. “I’m doing the 1000km Camino Via de la Plata, one of the toughest and longest Camino de Santiago routes in Spain. Te Araroa is perfect training,” she says.