Understanding and managing risk for solo women while hiking New Zealand’s 3,000 kilometre Te Araroa.

When planning to hike Aotearoa New Zealand’s 3,000 kilometre Te Araroa trail, I had the usual safety concerns like navigating a fast flowing river, becoming lost in the bush, suffering from hypothermia or possible injuries which were all dangers that I could anticipate and plan for.  

In this blog however, I’m not going to address those general concerns. Instead, what I will be discussing are safety concerns unique to us women hikers. Specifically, the danger that is presented by the one thing that women worldwide have learnt to fear the most, and that is men. 

As I cautiously edged my way down the Dragon's Tail, the heat intensified, volcanic steam and poisonous gases escaping wherever they could from the surrounding rubble.  Reaching the valley floor, sunlight beat down mercilessly and not satisfied, it then bounced back up from the glaringly white sand.

Assuming it was compressed, I tugged harder on my hydration tube which remained stubbornly dry. Running out of water in the midst of a desert on a hot summer’s day was clearly not my intention but it was my reality.

For many in the developed world, striving for material wealth, status and possessions is given precedence above all else. What if instead, we recognised the importance of relationships, community contribution and service, self development, and physical and mental health? Purposely living a simple life asks that we reconsider our priorities.