The Te Araroa Experience

Over the last two years I have been walking and cycling the Te Araroa Trail through the length of the North Island. I wanted to experience New Zealand in a different way by travelling at a slower pace and observing more around me. At times I tramped through forests and stayed in huts, but more often I found places to stay in inhabited areas. Here I could meet people and find out about the area I was in. 

I loved the parts where I went through unaltered natural landscapes, especially when it was extreme and challenging. I remember vividly being up amongst the clouds on the highest peaks of the Tararuas, viewing a large part of the southern North Island as if I was in an aeroplane. Clambering up the steep sides of Mount Pirongia to the hut at the top of the volcanic cone was another highlight.  

But I was equally rewarded when walking or cycling along roads and passing through towns where I could stop and talk to locals. They gave me a sense of where New Zealand is at. What I remember most from my wanderings are my encounters with people, be they locals or Te Araroa walkers. I covered the 1700 kilometres in sections, each taking about two or three weeks, but it still felt like a single journey through the island from Cape Reinga to Island Bay. 

Being firmly in touch with the ground that I was passing over, I often thought about how the use of the land had changed over time. . Sometimes I could feel tension just below the surface. All along Ninety Mile Beach I was aware of Tiro Rangatiratanga flags flying in the sand dunes and signs claiming sovereignty. I felt very emotional entering Ihumatoa village after walking around the foreshore of the Manukau Harbour and learning of the history of the area. 

Each day I had seven or eight hours to immerse myself in my own thoughts on what I saw. I was never lonely as I had so much to contemplate. The farmland made for pleasant walking but sometimes I was disturbed by the lack of care for the land and the waterways. I spent many days following both the Waikato and Whanganui Rivers and felt drawn in by their power and importance. 

The Te Araroa Trail is a great way to see the country from a different perspective and I would highly recommend doing it in any way that suits your age, fitness and temperament. Each walker I met was doing it their own way – some very fast, some slowly and some just out for the day.

Bruce Congalton