Te Araroa, New Zealand's Long Pathway

From Cape Reinga in the north to Bluff in the south, the Te Araroa trail spans 3,000 kilometres of Aotearoa’s sandy beaches, rugged mountains, dense bush, and metro areas. 

And as the Te Araroa season wraps up, over 2,000 walkers are estimated to have completed the feat since October.

Walkers come from a range of different backgrounds, but all share the same goal – making it to Bluff.

This season the Tiaki Rangers initiative kicked off, aiming to enhance the experience of walkers. 

Volunteer rangers from across the country spent their summer on the trail to care for and teach walkers all about the Te Araroa trail.

Alan Clelland is a Tiaki Ranger from Christchurch, and previously a ranger for the Department of Conservation (DOC).

He spent his summer monitoring the Lake Coleridge area but walked as far south as Queenstown and as far north as Nelson Lakes district.

He has met a range of different walkers aged from 6 to 82 years old (possibly the oldest person to tackle the TA) and everywhere in between, like solo-walker Chiara Coletti from the Netherlands, who completed the walk in February, 120 days after she began in October last year. 

She posted her journey to social media sharing the highs and lows of trail life.

Coletti says everyone she came across on and off the track were, “super friendly and nice".

"There was a real sense of community where we worked together and helped each other out.” 

For Coletti, reaching Stag Saddle in Canterbury’s Two Thumb range (the highest point of the trail at an elevation of 1925m), was one of the highlights of her experience.  

“I will never forget the people I shared that day with, howling to each other at sunrise with the clouds dissolving below us was a moment on the trail.”

She found out about the trail in the summer of 2021, but didn’t consider doing the trek until early 2024 as a break from finishing her PhD.

From March to October 2024, she spent as much time as possible researching New Zealand, the trail, logistics, gear and other peoples experiences to be as prepared as possible.

Coletti says nothing can prepare you for the terrain, as it is a lot more technical and challenging than imagined. 

Clelland says each season people's knowledge of the trail is becoming more sophisticated.

"In the early years people would rock up and get a real shock by the scale of terrain.” 

Nowadays there are many resources available to help the many walkers, included a detail map on the Te Araroa app. 

Bookings for this summer season open in July, and details can be found at the Te Araroa website.