8 Things I Wish I knew Before Starting Te Araroa
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- čas přidán 2. 07. 2024
- How to buy DOC Hut Pass:
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00:00 - Intro
01:59 - Number One
02:56 - Number Two
04:00 - Number Three
05:52 - Number Four
07:00 - Number Five
08:38 - Number Six
10:42 - Number Seven
12:45 - Number Eight
14:16 - Outro
In regards to the lack of switchbacks, we call that "straight up the guts" and it may not be comfortable or efficient, but, hey.
Also! Possums are not rodents. They are marsupials brought here from Australia.
Great piece Murph. I've lived here for decades and have done most of the great walks (but not the TA or sections) and learned new things specific to TA.
Thanks for checking out the channel!
Thanks great vid!! I enjoyed your thoughtful & concise comments. I'm not keen on road walking, but I know quite often there are variations one could do away from the official Araroa trail that would improve the overall experience.
agreed! hike your own hike and have fun out there!
This is so interesting! Thank you for sharing! As a New Zealander I didn't realise how weird it was to see so many youtube videos about hiking in America, until seeing this video. It makes sense though because the population in America is so much bigger. But it's so refreshing to see a video about New Zealand! It was also very interesting to hear about it from someone who's not from New Zealand and hear about the differences in culture and geography etc. I really enjoyed this, thank you!
Murph. Good piece. Three other thoughts. Nine. You get your feet wet most days, at least in the South Island. There are numerous creeks to cross every day, and there ain't so many bridges. And the grass is wet with dew in the mornings. Having footwear that can cope with this continual dampness is sensible. The tracks are very hard on your feet. Ten. The weather can be very changeable. You can get snow in the middle of summer, even if just for a day. Or heavy rain with strong winds. The rivers can go up quickly and be dangerous to cross. Eleven. Sandflies. At least on the South Island can be thick in the air, and can cause numerous itchy bites. An insect-proof tent is something to stop being driven mad.
A comment on the lightweight craze. You find people experienced in NZ conditions are prepared to take more stuff, food, warm clothes, raingear, a windproof tent, etc, often through bitter experience. Leaving cooking gear, a waterproof raincoat, etc, behind to save weight seems fine when the going is good, but not so great when conditions change. It can get super miserable in a hurry. I'm sure Kiwis survive walking through that grizzly territory when visiting the USA and keeping all their food in the tent. If you find the locals are giving you advice constantly, maybe they are making a point. I'm surprised no one has died yet on TA.
Oh the river crossings can be mental! I thought I was gonna get Trench foot for a while there. Same with the sand flies, out of this world. However, the weather seemed way better than the continental divide back in the states. Those daily thunder storms in Colorado can get a bit annoying.
It’s worth mentioning sleeping with your food in your tent in grizzly country is a very bad idea, in my option, if you end up making it out that way. People have certainly died from that.
@@MoveWithMurph I'm a Kiwi and I completely agree with you regarding the food bags in grizzly bear country in the US.
I have watched many vlogs of the classic thru hikes in the USA, and the bear bag up in the tree out on the branch, an appropriate distance from the tent, is definitely the safest option! 🌿 👍🏾 💖 😊 🙆🏻♀️
We have had several people die on the teararoa, the most recent was may this year
@nikauoak People die driving their cars to work, from tripping over pavements and cracking their heads, from falling off ladders replacing lightbulbs. Turns out life is dangerous huh.
@Shrouded_reaper yes that is very obvious, it doesn't mean you shouldn't take care however, rivers are the biggest hazard on the TA and should not be taken cheaply. They used to refer to drowning as "the new zealand death" due to the fact there were so many drownings in our early days. A visit to some of the old cemeteries is quite sobering
Great video mate. I concur with your fast-pack light pack. Mine is a 35l fast pack bag and it’s perfect size for 3 days away from supplies. That’s as long as you need really. No one needs to be carrying 3 pairs of shoes!!
Loved it, and so right did Arthur's Pass to ship's Cove this February 7-3/8
Took me a minute to realize the beard was disappearing. 😂 Would love to hear more about the canoe part of the trip.
lol, it was very challenging to start recording without laughing. I had to turn the screen away from myself.
Took me read this comment to realize that :D :D :D so funny
I didn't know what a switchback was til I hiked in the US. Australian tracks tend to go straight up and down too. I actually prefer it even though it's a little scary at times. Some of the US switchbacks just drag on and I remember thinking, c'mon, I just want to get there!!
Hey great video! Just wanted to point out the pronunciation of koha is "core-ha" rather than "koa" :)
Thanks for the correction!
🤣 Thank you Harriet
Im going to go walk Te araroa last of this year thank you so much. and I wanna see your video of Te araroa while you're hiking
I'm a Kiwi and I am hoping to hike it this coming summer as well. 😊
Fantastic Video, yea the whole switch back thing.. yea nz is all about strait up the ridge and along it, RIP to all knees and ankles... hear about overseas trails ours seem kind of bit quirky and rough... I am trying to lighten my pack as tramper, I think the culture will shift as more light weight stuff is cheaper in NZ and has been well tested here, all outdoor stuff is kind of expensive, the cheap stuff is heavy so eh... it kind of part of why.
Ko-ha not ko'a? could be regional maori language is do diverse, but that's how it is where I grew up.
Again great video and fascinating, instant sub.
I have been to NZ in 2014 and outdoor gear is just so expensive and choices are limited. Back in europe gear was much cheaper and lighter high quality options where availabe. Especially Kathmandu gear seemed to be overpriced, heavy and not so reliable. But nowadays it seems like Macpac has some nice lighter gear. Be it the Nitro Hoodies or the Hesper backpack. So i agree, tramping might get lighter in NZ.
@@entwurfung ten years later we do have a lot more variety, and more lightweight gear available.
More is being imported from some of the well known global brands which is fantastic.
Many of us are going as light as is reasonably possible for our crazy weather conditions here.
Being a narrow island our weather can change on a dime, and inadequately prepared people do perish out in the mountains and bush. ❤️
Possums are clever and seem to pass knowledge on by teaching too. Once they get wind of a hut where hikers leave food around, they'll gather.
Also the people giving you a hard time about your pack were just worried about you, or taking the piss a little.
I bet it was like being told 'it's not the heat it's the humidity' for the 1000th time by the end of it though.
I loved this video mate! You delicately touched on all the issues I had with the trail. I would certainly talk in a bad manner about the North Island accommodation costs. I would also vent about my interactions with kiwi trampers every single night when they hassled me about gear. It was a lovely journey but it has some shortcomings that ruined the vibe for me. Peace ✌️
Yeah seems like the north island was sold the trail as more of an economic growth thing. I will say people are slowly starting to come around to the lighter lifestyle though.
Have just purchased a Zpacks 50L pack for the Te Araroa in nov, thanks for the warning ill start working on my comebacks now lol
Lol, multiple people are going to ask you if you’re safe, just look them in the eyes and say no…… then quickly walk away.
Some Kiwis do it with the 50L Z packs - you'll be fine. 😊
Very interesting and informative.
Thanks!
Haha the beard! Genius
"make your backpack look big" PMSL.. really enjoyin your videos i hope you keep it up & oh yeah hitch hiking tips would be great. did you do another trails while down there like the 5 passes or the AMC?
Did not really do to much extra, I checked out Milford sound, very amazing. I ended up moving to Nelson NZ so I can hang out for a bit and do some more exploring.
the O in Koha is a little lower, and it's two syllables, Ko-Ha, almost.
Or at least that's how I've always said it, how I was taught. As always, it differs from place to place.
Happy to hear about the no switchback thing. I was looking at the elevation and was curious as to why people kept saying it was so tough. The elevation looks like the Appalachian Trail. But with no switchbacks, well that's exactly like the AT, and that is a brutal trail.
What do you think about carrying an UL umbrella? I didn't use one on the big 3 in the US, but did when I did Ireland and Scotland. And over there it was pretty fantastic. I had rain for about 3 months straight (at least it felt like it) . But not sure if the trail is overgrown or two exposed and windy.
And I'm definitely gonna get shit for my pack if they don't like UL. In my 10k mile hiking career so far I've learned that the biggest luxury on trail is to have a light pack. I think the misconception they have is that with a light pack you can't be safe. That just isn't true if you have good gear. I think that will change soon though. NZ is starting to put out some good UL gear.
Yeah I think the culture is slowly changing around it. I don’t think for the TA you would get as much use out of the umbrella. It rains a lot on the west coast of NZ but I didn’t get too much rain. Maybe I was just lucky though?
@@MoveWithMurph Cool thanks!
Great video
Thanks for the visit
Kiwi here, yet to do my first thru hike. The possum situation terrifies me! I need to not let it stop me but truthfully I don’t even want to see one and I live in the bush! I guess I just get braver… thanks for the informative video! By the way I live in Auckland so I don’t see much hitchhikers here. Good to know the mode is alive and well. I’m pretty sure my dad will sooner drive me to kaitatia himself than let me stick my thumb out 😂
Don't worry about it. I walked TA last season and only got bothered by possums once - on the Queen Charlotte Track. You'll be fine!
Lol. Thanks for the heads up. As a kiwi, thinking about what gear I might take, I'm guessing most wished THEY were carrying less as you went skipping past them.
Hahah I definitely got some dirty looks, and a wide variety of comments about it. but as always, hike your own hike, and take what makes you comfortable.
Perhabs you saved my life. Thanks a lot for the information. The only problem i will never have is the small backpack 😂
That's ok as long as you're enjoying yourself!
Jesus, thought I was going mad with the beard
One of the design features of the Long Trail in Vermont was to have no switchbacks to minimize the environmental damage.
Ohhhh that’s ingesting. Does the irrigation do a pretty good job there? I would assume the steeper a trail is the more erosion would occur without a switchback.
@@MoveWithMurph I think the reasoning was that they assumed that some people would shortcut the switchbacks, making more erosion pathways, so one direct path made for less erosion.
Ahhhh that makes sense at least at that point they have a chance to deal with the irrigation if needed. Good to know!
Did you video your trip? I'd love to see vlog segments of your trip if you have them!
I didn’t do much vlogging unfortunately.
I see what you did there. I had to rewind as I was positive you had a full facial beard at the start.
Good video
Talking about the trail conditions probably should put me off, but it's making me more excited to hit the trail this October.
Would love a hitching tips vid. Is hitching the best way to get to Cape Reinga?
Hahaha, it’s all in good fun, the you get used to the mud, I honestly stopped even trying to keep my feet dry.
I am not sure if it’s the best way to get up there but it is certainly one of the cheapest, and more adventurous ways.
Aaron are you in the TA Facebook groups? Lots of great tips in those too. 😊
🤣 It's not as bad as he's saying
Pronunciation well what can I say lol
Hey mate! Cheers for the informative clip. I’m an American as well and setting out this year. from your experience, you reckon I should hitch the road sections of the north island, or did you find the heaps of road walking part of the experience. Cheers bud and thanks again!
I only skipped 20km of road walking, I would suggest walking them unless you have a really tight budget. It was a great way to meet some locals and experience a lot of culture many people don’t get to see. The road miles can be tough on the body and mind. But at least there is no mud.
@@MoveWithMurph roger that bud, thanks!
Most of the road walking section have a ver good trail angels. So if you want to meet NZ people do the road walking
Hi ! Thank you for the vidéo and well done for your TA !
I'm planning to realize the TA this year but i did not understand something : Is i it realy impossible and "illegal" to camp on other places than camping zone and accomodations on the north island ? Or is it possible to pitch in the nature at some points ? Last Question : How can i know if a spot is authorize or not for free camping ?
Thank you a lot !
hey there! good luck on your upcoming journey, that sounds really awesome.
From my experience, a lot of it is unavailable and or no camping. That being said, there was a couple of places along the way we did wild camp on the north island. Having had more information I think we could have gotten a bit more creative.
I didn't learn until later on about a map called NZ Topo. It's relatively affordable and has plenty of information about land ownership. If you snag that it will probably pay for itself, and then just carry a bit extra water capacity for some of those wild camps. being able to camp high and dry is helpful with with this.
Wow thank you for this complete answer dude !
Great video Murph. Light packs and switchbacks - it almost seems like cheating 🤣
Hahahahha
Southern island trails please. Any done departing from Queenstown?
Please could you write the names somewhere of the place names you say at 8.02 mins? It sounds like Rakaia and Rangitata, but I'm not quite sure.
That is correct.
The beard was a nice touch 😂
🤣
where did you get food? I heard something about bounceboxen
There’s lots of good spots to resupply, the trail notes/ far out is how it would generally determine how much food to carry at a time. I only needed to send two boxes. One to St. Arnaud, and one to Arthur’s pass. Arthur’s pass doesn’t have much for food, and St. Arnaud is extremely expensive.
The comments on far out are great for determining what stores are very expensive.
Some ultralight hikers have definitely disappeared in the bush in past years (never to be found) ... in bad weather. The rivers/streams are also a killer. Also the South Island has far more conservation land and so the trail will be in it more often.
Yeah those rivers can be really tricky. Had to pull some big days a few times to get around some weather
huh i see your envy about the puckled thai fish
10:42 A 6-8 kg base-weight can be safe and weather-proof only if it features extremely high-quality gear, and only if one is very, very very savy, experienced, prepared and trained. However, after much hike and research, I still fail to see how could a 3-4 kg base-weight possibly provide any basic safety on a mountain hike.
Thanks for the video ! loved the content !
For even more money i guess. With a zpacks Plex, a thermarest Uber lite and any ul quilt warm enough with like 600g max. Custom backpacks, maybe Customize even more. Not that i ever did that lol, but since people seem to do this a lot, it must be possible?
Great video. Storytime?
The beard change after koha threw me hahaha looked down looked back up and was like hang on a minute 🤔😅 had to skip back and double check. Next 1 didn't get me 😏
LMAO, I was laughing so hard to myself making this.
04:00 , 05:52 , 08:38 , 10:42 , 12:45 ...And I know now I'll lose my beard when I'll hike Te Araroa xD
Joke aside, may I ask if they sell Ziplocs in NZ stores (the original brand) ?
Thanks for the informative video, I'm planning and slowly (ultra-light) packing. Greetingz from France - Happy trails !
They don’t, butttttt once a year zpacks typically will do a free international shipping deal, so look out for that!
Alternatively, you could drop into the states and do a thru hike as training for TA and pick it up while you’re here.
Love how your mustache got smaller and smaller 😂
hahaha, it was so hard to not laugh while filming.
I've watched quite a few of these videos, but few are as negative as this one. When you go bush in New Zealand you have to get use to the fact that life is going to change for you and that sometimes it will be rough. Most people come exactly for that sort of experience to see life in another way. Most are not looking for comfort. They are looking for Nature and to challenge themselves. When you said "I'm a thru hiker", I thought you had done multiple hikes and would be able to compare them with others that you had done. Hopefully your trails in the future are more enjoyable than this one was.
The video was centered around things that I wish I had known beforehand. I was declaring now, having finished the trail I am a thru hiker officially as opposed to some of the other hikes I had experienced. I have done sections of the AT, CDT and the PCT. Expectations did not align with reality. Not saying it’s a bad thing, it’s just different. Just trying to help others who might expect something different.
Giving credit where credit is due. I’m certain it’s gotten way better than it was 5 to 10 years ago. But some of the sections just involved some pretty strange traversing of farm land. But hey it’s a pretty new trail. I enjoyed a lot of the trail, although some of it was a bit of a shocker.
I doubt there is a trail out there that’s completely enjoyable all the way through.
@@MoveWithMurph Fair enough. As I said, all the best to you on your future trails.
Fast and light
You better believe it.
That entire time I did not have a day longer than Cleveland.
@@MoveWithMurph is it even a hike if your not doing 18+ hour days
Awesome. I’m a kiwi but still liked your 8 things. I promise now not to give shit to hikers with little bags ….
hahahahah thank you
Its more like "teh" than "Tay"
1. I love the disappearing beard. Have you been growing it for the whole TA hike?
2. Would bear hangs work on possums? Or do those pesky little bugers just climb the hang?
3. I had to laugh on you portrayal of australian possums as the bad ones, the american possums are far less cute. that beeing said, i have so far only ever been bitten by an australian possum.
I don't think I had that Beard for the full trail, maybe I got it trimmed like halfway or something like that? cannot exactly remember.
Apparently you can do a bear style hang with fishing line and they cannot climb down it, haven't personally tried so cannot confirm. but I know paracord they can climb.
Pronounced “ tay Udder rower”
Te Araroa=Te-ah-rah-raw-ah
Koha=Call-hah
Core ha
Burly beard! Welcome to manhood
Lol, slowly shave your beard off, be a man.
I heard his beard hair was donated to children who can't grow mustaches
That is a very real thing for many
And that my friend is my personal problem. Hichhicke is cheating in a unforgivable way....
So congratulations you didn't walk te araroa trail. You must be very proud...
I actually walked every inch of the trail. Even some extra due to being lost. But Christchurch is not on the trail. Same with Hanmer Springs. Admin and resupplies require transportation. I guess I should have swam between this islands instead of taking the ferry 🤷♂️.
Your pronunciation is off my guy, if you want to hack the correct way to say it, just learn the vowel sounds
czcams.com/video/jTP-nRudTy8/video.html
You could practice Te Araroa by saying "Tear Are Rar Roar Are" and then cutting off the back of the words "Te Ar Ra Ro Ar"
LOL, months of practice and still was off. It was rough. I did learn that slowing down helps quite a bit and learning the vowels changed my game.