Te Araroa Trail

Te Araroa (The Long Pathway) is New Zealand's long distance tramping route, stretching the length of the country from Cape Reinga to Bluff. It is made up of a mixture of existing tracks and walkways, new tracks and link sections alongside roads,[1] and tramping the full length of the trail generally takes three to six months.

History

The idea of a national walkway goes back to the 1970s, and in 1975 the New Zealand Walkways Commission was established,[2] but in 15 years made little progress.[3] In 1994, journalist Geoff Chapple, wrote in favour of putting put in place a New Zealand-long walking track, and founded Te Araroa Trust.[3][4] Advocacy and negotiations for access continued, and by 2006 plans for the trail began being part of local government plans.[5] The 3000 km (1864 miles) route officially opened on December 3, 2011 after 10 years of work by hundreds of volunteers.[6] Construction coordinated by the trust is ongoing.

The trail has approximately 300 sections ranging from walks of 1–2 hours through to a 9-day route in the South Island where full equipment must be carried. 40% of the trail crosses conservation land and the Government allocated $NZ3.8 million for development of new sections of the trail on conservation land in 2007.[7]

Walking the trail

The straight-line distance from Cape Reinga to Bluff is 1475 km, but Te Araroa covers a longer nominal distance of 3000 km.[8] and has since been adjusted with upgraded sections. Several portions of the trail are challenging, and trip planning, navigation, and river crossing skills as well as a good level of fitness are requirements.[9]

The normal times are between 100 – 160 days for the complete trip,[10] but the full trail has been done in 53 days, by British ultra-marathoner Jez Bragg[11] with a dedicated support crew[12] during the 2012-13 season.

With the exception of short section of the Queen Charlotte Track at the very top of the South Island,[10] no permit nor fee is required to walk Te Araroa, but a Te Araroa Trust suggests a donation of NZ$500pp for those walking the length of Te Araroa, NZ$250 for those walking one island only and smaller amounts for more specific tracks/distances.[10]

References

  1. ↑ "Breast Hill track open for trampers". Otago Daily Times. 31 March 2011.
  2. ↑ http://www.nzlii.org/nz/legis/hist_act/nzwa19751975n31250 New Zealand Walkways Act
  3. 1 2 "Te Araroa - The Long Pathway opening", speech by Sir Jerry Mateparae
  4. ↑ "Te Araroa: Take a very long hike", 2001, John Yeld
  5. ↑ "History", Te Araroa Trust
  6. ↑ http://www.teararoa.org.nz/
  7. ↑ "Up to 150km to be added to Te Araroa Walkway". 27 May 2007.
  8. ↑ http://www.teararoa.org.nz/aboutus
  9. ↑ "The first man to die on the Te Araroa Trail", Charles Anderson, December 25, 2015, Stuff.co.nz
  10. 1 2 3 FAQ, Te Araroa Trust
  11. ↑ Winner of the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc in 2010
  12. ↑ "Record run". 8 February 2013.

External links


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