In September of 2017 Tim and I stumbled into a chance to travel in New Zealand, where we hiked the 3000 kilometer (or 1900 mile) Te Araroa. ‘The Long Pathway,’ as it translates, winds from the tip of the North Island to the tip of the South Island. Below are day by day journals of the trip.

Prep: Put yourself In The Way of Luck, and then, Hang On.
Prep: Time is Flying and so are We

North Island

         Northland

Day 1: 10/15- Auckland Arrival
Day 2: 10/16 – Matilda to the Rescue
Day 3: 10/17 It is English, in’t it?
Day 4: 10/18 Ode to Foreign Groceries
Day 5: 10/19 Walking Legs: Activate
Day 6: 10/20 90 Mile Beach
Day 7: 10/21 The Bounty of the Beach
Day 8: 10/22 Say yes to Mullets
Day 9: 10/24 A Milkshake by Any Other Name
Day 10: 10/25 The Herekino
Day 11: 10/26 Out of the Forest, Into the Farms
Day 12: 10/27 The Ratea
Day 13: 10/28 Mangamuka
Day 14: 10/29 Across the Gorge, An Unusual Dessert
Day 15: 10/30 Among the Kauris
Day 16: 10/31 KeriKeri
Day 17: 11/1 Choreful Layover
Day 18: 11/2 Ducky Camping
Day 19: 11/3 Holiday Park Hop
Day 20: 11/4 Mauri Greetings

        Auckland

11/5 Bridge Lurking
11/6 What is the Captain?
11/7 From Destruction to Terrarium
11/8 Across Ngunguru
11/9 Taiharuru Estuary
11/10 Two for the Price of One
11/11 Double Token Kind of Day
11/12 Pizza of our Dreams
11/13 The Stoicism of Hedgehogs
11/14 School Days and Squalls
11/15 Not All Orange Triangles are Created Equal
11/16 Prince Hector’s Domain
11/17 Paddle to the Hibiscus Coast
11/18 Dance of the Kites
11/19 Heuristic Tidings
11/20 Closing the Lollipop
11/21 Layover in Auckland, Act I
11/22 Layover in Auckland, Act II
11/23 Birthday Magic
11/24 Through the Municipal Maze

       Waikato-King

11/25 Hunua: Epicenter of Generosity
11/26 Podge’s Pizza
11/27 Cathy’s Pie Shop
11/28 A Little Private Kauri Time
11/29 Hamilton
11/30 A Jump to the Left, And a Step to the Right
12/1 And Then There Were Four
12/2 Enter the Rat
12/3 A Lesson in Compassion
12/4 I’d Rather Glow
12/5 The Swimming Holes of the Mangoakewa
12/6 A Marathon + A Victory Lap
12/7 The Timber Trail
12/8 A Thousand K’s
12/9 What is the Ongarue Spiral?
12/10 Taumarunui
12/11 0 K, 0 Sanity
12/12 What Does An Ostrich Say?
12/13 The 42nd Traverse
12/14 Honeybee Haranguing
12/15 The Tongiriro Crossing
12/16 The Bro Puppet
12/17 The Horse of Shoes
12/18 To the Banks of the Whanganui

        Whanganui

12/19 The Great Launch
12/20 Bridge to Nowhere
12/21 50/50
12/22 The Flying Fox
12/23 Messing About In Boats
12/24 Christmas Eve with the Trail Family
12/25 What Makes Christmas
12/26 A Bull Market
12/27 A Magical Home
12/28 The Layover
12/29 Livin’ On A Prayer
12/30 Monkeyflowers and Lemon Beer

        Wellington

12/31 New Years Eve – 52/48 to Stay
1/1 The Tararuas
1/2 A Premium Dip
1/3 The Beginning of the End of the North Island
1/4 The Park That Was No Holiday
1/5 Wishes in the Wind
1/6 And Then There Were Two
1/7 South Island Food Packing: Commence!
1/8 Postal Relay, Ostrich Answers.
1/9 Into Wellington
1/10 One Island Down, One To Go

South Island

        Nelson-Marlborough

1/11 The Island of The Greenstone Water
1/12 Schoolhouse Bay
1/13 Along Queen Charlotte Sound
1/14 To Stink or Not To Stink- That Is Subjective
1/15 Green Lips and a Decision to Detour
1/16 The Golden Coast
1/17 A Wild Day in a Tamed Place
1/18 Across Awaroa Bay
1/19 Inland
1/20 Castle Rocks and Moa Park
1/21 TA-bound
1/22 Back On Track
1/23 Along The Pelorus
1/24 Starveall and A Secret Rain Barrel
1/25 Over the Rintouls and to the Tarn
1/26 Along (and in) The Wairoa
1/27 Half Day at Hunter Creek
1/28 Out of the Richmonds
1/29 Nelson Lakes – The Reunion Tour
1/30 Of Shortcuts, Lakes, and Hygge
1/31 Waiau Pass and Return of the Mouse
2/1 Inside the Cyclone
2/2 A Serviced Hut
2/3 Bored in Boyle
2/4 The Hundred K Day

          Canterbury

2/5 The 1940s Triple Decker
2/6 What Makes A Trail
2/7 Flood and Deception
2/8 The Case of the Missing Mouse
2/9 Attack of the Keas
2/10 Harper River Valley
2/11 The Trail Provides…Broccoli
2/12 Layover In Methven
2/13 The Many Moods of Tussock-Land
2/14 On Trail with my Valentine2/15 Shall We Cross the Rangitata?
2/15 Shall We Cross the Rangitata?
2/16 The Crooked Spur
2/17 Across the Tawny Waves
2/18 Tagging the Top
2/19 A Bagel Before the Storm
2/20 Layover In Lake Tekapo
2/21 A One K Day
2/22 Visions of Mt Cook
2/23 Of Lakes and Moon Boots
2/24 Along the Ahuriri

           Otago

2/25 The Airy Battle at Martha’s Saddle
2/26 Attraversiamo Timaru
2/27 Down and Around Lake Hawea
2/28 Wanaka
3/1 Marvelous Motatapu
3/2 The Arrow River
3/3 Plastic Steampunk and Chinese Polkas
3/4 Stereotype Down
3/5 The Routeburn
3/6 The Caples and The Greenstone
3/7 The Lakes of Mavora
3/8 Three False Starts and a Bottomless Bog
3/9 A Fortuitous Hitch

       Southland

3/10 Lake Retreat
3/11 The March of The Tussocks
3/12 Tempest on the Tops
3/13 Woodlaw Outlaws
3/14 Merriview’s Porch and The Morepork’s Guestroom
3/15 Beginning of the End
3/16 Meeting the Southern Ocean
3/17 Beach Reflections
3/18 The Bluff and The Finish