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
Today, it has been exactly one year ago since we stepped on a plane in Oslo and headed for New Zealand. The excitement, the nerves, the anxiousness… When I think back about it today, I think about two rookies about to embark on the hike of a lifetime. And I wish that today was that… Continue reading Reminiscing Te Araroa
Leaving New Zealand was something we had both been dreading for a while. Even as the weather was getting colder, wetter and increasingly miserable, it had grown on us as a home far away from home. A million things I still want to do in the country are on a list that kept growing until the… Continue reading Hello Australia!
Once upon a time, New Zealand hosted a variety of bird life unseen anywhere else on the planet. The birds were everywhere and everything, in all different sizes, shapes and colours, filling the forests with songs so loud they could be heard from miles offshore. Today, many of the forests we walked through are silent. On… Continue reading Battle for the Birds
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
Lost in the Hills 