Te Araroa - Post One
Te Araroa (South Island) Post One | Prologue & Days 1 to 10
- Total trail distance hiked: 227.1km
- Days on trail: 10
- Current stop: Te Anau
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| Starting at Stirling Point, Bluff |
On 29 December, Sid and I set off north from Stirling Point, Bluff on our journey northbound on the South Island of Te Araroa.
Te Araroa (the Long Pathway in te reo) (or the TA) is a 3,000km hike between Cape Reinga and Bluff. However, the plan is to “only” do the South Island portion from Bluff to the Marlborough Sounds (approximately 1,400km).
Sid, who I hiked a substantial portion of the PCT with in 2024, was up for his next thru-hiking challenge and arrived in Wellington on Boxing Day. Unfortunately, Sid’s bag containing all his hiking equipment did not arrive on the carousel so was somewhere between Mumbai-Singapore-Melbourne-Wellington (more on this later).
After a whistle stop tour of Wellington, we headed down to Christchurch the following day and were hosted by Tom and Queenie.
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| Delicious brekkie in ChCh made by Tom (ft. Queenie) |
On the flight down to Invercargill, I chatted with my seat mate (an Invercargill local and keen tramper) about the plan and she offered some helpful tips.
The following morning, Sid and I caught a shuttle down to Bluff to start the 35km walk back to Invercargill for night. All but the initial 8km of the first day was along SH1 (a hot day with very limited shade). Highlights along this section of SH1 include: views of Tiwai Point (New Zealand’s aluminum smelter), a fertiliser factory, and Invercargill sewage treatment plant. I promised Sid that New Zealand’s scenery improves!
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| Sid (note lack of hiking clothes) and I about to set off. |
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| The first 8km were beautiful. |
Upon reaching the motel, Sid’s bag had still not arrived but it had been located in Singapore and was en route to NZ. Not keen for another day hiking in denim, we decided to have a rest day in Invercargill awaiting the bag’s arrival.
Sid’s bag finally arrived the following afternoon so after a shop at Pak ‘n Save for the following week, we set off on New Year’s Eve for Riverton. It was approximately another 35km to Riverton primarily along the beach.
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| Arrival into Riverton |
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| Riverton in the distance. |
Luckily, the sand was hard packed so walking the entire day on the sand wasn’t as tough as we were expecting. It was an unceremonious New Years Eve and I was in my tent sleeping by 10pm.
The next day’s journey involved further beach walking to Colec Bay followed by road walking before entering into the Longwoods Forest.
On the road walk towards the Longwoods, a car suddenly pulled onto the shoulder in front of us. A woman jumped out and came toward us. It turned out to be my seat mate from the flight down to Invercargill a few days earlier (who I think recognised my bright blue shorts (with a patch sewn in)) - classic small New Zealand.
We had heard that the Longwoods Forest can be extremely muddy. Thankfully, we managed to avoid the majority of the mud before arriving at Martin’s Hut. Just prior to Martin’s Hut, a chilly bin was filled with cold Cokes and L&Ps - the first trail magic!
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| Trail magic |
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| Martin’s Hut |
The next day our smugness at avoiding the mud quickly disappeared. The mud was just as bad as everyone had warned and it was slow going to Merriview Hut. It rained throughout the day so we didn’t stop and trudged along to bring the mud to an end as soon as possible.
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| Mud |
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| Mud |
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| and more mud |
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| Merriview Hut - a private (non-DOC) hut |
The following day the track mostly followed farmland before a steep decent towards another private hut: Birchwood Station (shearers’ accomodation) with electricity, proper mattresses, and hot showers (!).
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| First view of the Takitimu Mountains |
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| An entrepreneurial young lad was selling these for $5 a can at Birchwood Station |
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| Birchwood Station |
At Birchwood we were joined by Jane (from Dunedin), Georgia (Canada), and The Beckies (from Queenstown and Germany).
The following day involved more farmland walking primarily through Mt Linton Station before calling it a night at Dougie’s Hut.
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| Lunch break on the riverbed |
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| Mount Linton Station |
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| Sid practising good housekeeping |
Day Seven started with a steep incline followed by a gentle decline to Lower Wairaki Hut. After a brief lunch break, it was on to Aparima Hut (our stop for the evening). The day was challenging. The track is narrow and difficult to locate in places. Your feet are constantly wet or muddy, and the elevation gain and loss is substantial. This is difficult NZ tramping! Today also marked the first blister I got (this was a bit of a novelty after no blisters during the entire 4.5months on the PCT).
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| The climb |
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| Beautiful swimming hole right before Aparima Hut |
At the hut we were joined by Jane, Georgia, and Sam and David (a Aus/French couple). My feet were sore and my shoes were shredded. A new pair of shoes will be needed in Te Anau.
The following day we left before 7am with the knowledge that the sooner we left, the sooner we could make it to Te Anau.
After a relatively easy initial 4km, the track became non-existent and very boggy - I’m resigned to the fact that my feet will probably be wet for the next month and a half.
After exiting the Takitimu Mountains, the trail followed a farm road to SH94. Sid and I managed to score a hitch (my first in NZ) from a German guy to the Manapouri intersection, followed by another to Te Anau.
The following morning Sid’s foot was still giving him a bit of grief so we decided to have a zero day in Te Anau, resupply, and replace our shoes.
The next section of the track involves hitching back to SH94 where we left off and continuing towards Lake Wakatipu and Queenstown.