Well. Wow. Ow. Been a few miles in the wilds since the last update.
Besides a couple of days, have had the trail to myself for the last few weeks. There are still people a day or two ahead and behind, and occasionally at the same overnight spots, but during the day it's like the hills and valleys have been reserved for me alone.

And then there's the towns. Such a treat for me, a pie, a pint, a hot shower, but each town is increasingly touristy, full of gap yearing backpackers, "van lifers" and busloads of Chinese tourists taking pictures of everything - everything within a small radius of the car park that is.

Plenty of climbs and inevitable knee punishing descents, mixture of 4x4 tracks, including some up hills where you wonder what the motivation was to bulldoze them, bike paths where you have to stay alert for occasional swarms of electric mountain bikers, and proper tracks, scrambling up scree slopes, sloshing up streams, crossing wide (fortunately currently shallow) rivers, bashing across tussocky prairies, views of spiky peaks, including the snow topped Mount Cook, views of ridiculously blue lakes, deer farms, farms abandoned to rabbits, salmon farms, hydro power stations and associated river diversions, basically, enough to keep things interesting!

Some specifics:
Walked an extra two days to bridge the powerful Rakaia river, and resupply in Methven to collect a warranty replacement Thermarest mattress. Impressed with their helpfulness, and given the price of a new one quite a relief..

Crossed the braided Rangitata river with no drama whatsoever, other than the surrounding dramatic scenery (which was used in lord of the rings movies)
Woken by a group of Kea (alpine parrots) landing on the hut tin roof just above my head (being in a top bunk) and proceeding to try to dismantle said hut roof.

I eventually hitched out from Tekapo to Timaru on the coast to pick up new shoes which should see me through to the end.
Hitching is part of life here, amongst kiwis anyway, given the extreme lack of rural public transport. And you meet some interesting people!
An electrical engineer (guess what - they work in power lines by dangling out if helicopters), hydraulic engineer on 24hr call, the world's 16th best sheep shearer, kids looking for seasonal winter jobs, parents on their way to the airport to see their son at pilot school, a barman who I helped load a van with beer, another barman (friendly types!), an Australian couple on a driving holiday, sisters travelling to Auckland for a concert. Sounds like a lot of hitching, and that's just me getting from the trail into town for food and back, I won't bother ranting about hikers skipping sections again...

Camped on the highest official point on the trail, stag saddle at 1800m, to wake to an icy tent, but a clear day of stunning views
Met various other hikers and bikers making podcasts, YouTube vlogs, video diaries etc. Escaped all of them, but can't say no to free peaches, scones and even a beer at the Hawea Hotel.

Avoided another river walk (the notorious Timaru) by spending 2 days on a ridge, over Mt Proctor, and the unignorable Breast Hill and Little Breast Hill. Didn't realise the clocks had gone back though and when it got too dark to see, had to camp on the track on the first bit of flat ground I could find. Then another big day and a massive descent down to the valley, just before those very peaks covered in snow. Well, probably not deep but better to be not up there!

Taking nothing for granted, but what remains is now a fathomable distance, 3 more sections?

Having completed the notorious Richmond Ranges, said by many to be the hardest section of the trail due to the length, elevation, terrain, weather dependencies, with no dramas other than building up an appetite, I've had a day off in lakeside St Arnaud, stuffing my face with pies, pizza, burgers, ice cream, fry ups, pork scratchings, and beer. Basically as many calories as my poor shrunken stomach can take.

Tomorrow it's off up into the Nelson Lakes region, though seems to be less about lakes and more about climbing up more mountains, said by many to be the hardest section of the trail due to the altitude, scree slopes, sandflies, and weather dependencies - such as the two days of snow forecast later in the week. Should make things interesting, and finally justify the waterproofs I've been carrying for the last three months.

After all that comes a section that many people say is the hardest on the trail, due to its many river crossings, walking up rivers, detours around rivers, angry parrots, and more mountains.

But today has been relaxing at a vintage boat show and chatting to other hikers about other trip plans, a list which continues to grow...

Remember you don't need a boat that floats, you just need a good bilge pump

North island complete!

...Bye bye boots!

Footwear procrastination has taken a decisive turn - boots needed binning regardless, but have decided to commit to trail runners as primary shoe, and get sandals for light duties.
I wore the trail runners throughout the Tararuas as I couldn't trust the grip on the boots, and they did ok. Just anxious about how quickly they might wear out, so may need to get a new pair delivered at some point. Benefits are, feet feel lighter, and bag is lighter. Although the sandals probably weigh similar to the trail runners.

In Welly met up with Matt after a 12 year separation, last time I saw him was in Scotland having also just walked 1000 miles. Difficult theme to keep maintaining though!
Now he's the very model of an expat.

SOBO's seem to be thinning out, now only either fast people starting late, or other really slow people. But who knows, maybe a fresh batch doing just the south island.
Having now read/ skimmed the trail notes for the south island, I'm projecting to finish at the end of April, ie another 10 weeks. Which is on the slow side of average but whatever! And that's barely allowing for delays due to bad weather, swollen rivers, shoe deliveries, sore feet, random events. I've got another 2 weeks of buffer time on the visa, but it's more a case of getting finished before winter lol

Oh also I bought a PLB (satellite beacon)
Mobile reception is almost zero for much of south island and this lets me summon a helicopter should something terrible happen.
Also let's me update location on a map if a feel like it:
https://share.garmin.com/stuartpinchin

Paddling the Whanganui

After a beautiful but tiring trek around Tongoriro National Park, a rest for the legs - but a relentless workout for the arms. [...read the rest]

I guess I should post something just so that the map recentres if nothing else!
Have written copious notes over the last month / first month of the trail, but too lazy to collect them into coherent paragraphs. Can do retrospectively.

So right now, the morning sun is beginning to warm the earth, and I'm surveying the terrain ahead - after many days trudging through the city suburbs and industrial parks, had a windy camp on a panoramic hilltop last night. Worth it for the views, though had to be up early before the local joggers got here.

Feet are toughening up at the same rate as boots are inevitably wearing out, so planning in future replacements.
Have leaned on my mate Matt in Wellington again and sent off a parcel to lighten my pack and replace a few items with more sun appropria [...read the rest]

I first heard about the Te Araroa trail ten years ago, when I has just finished Lands End - John o Groats and was full of enthusiasm for what to do next - the Appalachian trail? The GR5 grand traverse des alpes? In the end I've chickened out / worked / been distracted by other stuff, and in the meantime Te Araroa has been developed from just a concept to an established and popular route, with circa 2000 people per year flocking to it's 3000km.
It has some lovely symmetry to LEJOG, in terms of distance, and location on the globe. That's all I really needed to know to be enticed to do it.
I have previously covered the north island while backpacking, but the south is all fresh, and obviously has a big reputation. I've tried to avoid looking at too many photos so as to preserve the sense o [...read the rest]