Tales and adventures of a Belgian lady and her fourteen furry friends
Finally I'm starting to come to the end of going through all the photographs we took during a year of hiking and traveling in New Zealand and Australia. During the entire 4500km across New Zealand, Stewart Island and Australia we made self-portraits, inspired by other hikers who had done the same along the PCT. And… Continue reading One year of through hiking
Cape Reinga - Bluff 169 days (Mason Bay - 182 days) Trail slogan: Just Go For It! Distance covered: 3202 km (including Stewart Island) Number of walking days: 141 Number of resting days: 28 Number of nights in a tent: 67 Number of nights in a hut: 47 Nights in a bed (hostel, motel, holiday… Continue reading TA Fun Facts
I felt empty after reaching Bluff, purposeless, and after two days of sitting still in Invercargill somewhat confused as well. Why are we not walking anymore? Regardless of the weather forecast we booked a flight to Stewart Island. We all wanted to go. Marylène and Patrick joined in the enthusiam. They would only come along… Continue reading The Bonus Round: Stewart Island
We left the hotel together at 8 in the morning. It was drizzly and windy outside. While we walked from the city center to the start of the track a big rainbow appeared over the Invercargill estuary.The sun started peeping through as the clouds passed. What better weather to have for the finish than the… Continue reading Bluff
One last resupply. One last heavy pack loaded with 9 days of delicious food. We rather took it on the safe side for the final rough tracks with unpredictable weather and tired bodies. Up and down, up and down, up and down we went, until we stood on the beach. The TA challenge is not… Continue reading To the Southern Ocean
A little detour with a great result. Routeburn, one of New Zealand's nine Great Walks, is officially not a part of Te Araroa but connects so perfectly to its route that we couldn't resist the temptation of covering it. Patrick joined in too. Because, really, what are an additional 54km when you've almost walked 3000?… Continue reading Routeburn, Mavora Lakes & Mararoa River tracks
Along the lines of a historical Maori route Te Araroa winds its way from Wanaka to Queenstown. Motatapu is a fantastic track. It is not characterized by your typical dramatic mountain landscape - glaciers, snowy peaks, blue lakes - yet there is something inherently impressive about it. It is different from any other mountainous place… Continue reading Motatapu Alpine Track
If there is one thing that characterizes the last few days it is definitely a mixture of emotions. I've rewritten this post 3 times and rewrite it now once more according to the mood and emotion of the moments passed, being enthusiasm, tiredness, cold and back to enthusiasm. We've spent a lot of time thinking… Continue reading Summer’s Over – @ Wanaka
After crossing the Rangitata river we immediately started going up Two Thumbs Track. We wanted make it as far as possible that day, to Royal Hut, right before Stag Saddle, so we would be in pole position to get across if the opportunity arose. The terrain was more challenging than we anticipated. The section between… Continue reading Caught in the storm – Two Thumbs Track
A few natural barriers form breaks in Te Araoa's continuum. The Cook Strait is one, the Rakaia and Rangitata rivers are two of the others. Water from the Southern Alps is drained in their endless braids, filling up their huge shingle beds measuring up to 10km across. Both of them are Hazard Zones and unpassable… Continue reading The Big Two
Lost in the Hills 