Trail Notes, Trip Stories and Honest Advice from the Field
The Freewheeling Kiwi Blog
Sharon Evans is the founder of Freewheeling Kiwi and one of Australasia's leading small group Himalayan trekking specialists
She has walked the full length of Te Araroa — 3,000 kilometres from Cape Reinga to Bluff — and led multiple groups to Everest Base Camp with a 100% summit success rate. She also treks in Australia, Bhutan, the Annapurna region and across New Zealand.
The Waikato River Trails
Some of New Zealand’s most beautiful outdoor experiences are closer to home than we think.
The Waikato River Trails are a perfect example, offering 104 kilometres of walking and cycling through native bush, along quiet stretches of river and past fascinating hydroelectric history. Having ridden the entire trail and walked almost all of it, I’ve come to appreciate the variety of experiences this wonderful network offers, whatever your pace or level of adventure.
One of my favourite sections runs between Arapuni Dam and Jones Landing, where towering cliffs reflect in still water, swans glide past with their cygnets, and kingfishers dart along the riverbanks.
Add the century old Arapuni Swing Bridge and the remarkable history of the dam and powerhouse, and you have a little adventure that doesn't require travelling far from home. Join me as I explore why sometimes the best discoveries are right on our doorstep.
Reset and Recharge in the Waiorongomai Valley
Every walk teaches you something. This one taught me that gold miners were tougher than any of us, that a broken gas bottle is character building, and that sometimes the best thing you can do after six hours in the bush is lower yourself into a hot pool and stay there.
The June Reset and Recharge Walk took us into the Waiorongomai Valley near Te Aroha, a place most people have driven past without ever stopping.
What they don't know is what the valley reveals only to those who walk into it — gold mine tunnels, hidden waterfalls, a swingbridge into the dark, and history scattered through the bush like it was left there yesterday.
This is the story of that day.
Reset and Recharge in the Kauaeranga Valley
Every idea has a beginning. This one had four women, a Coromandel valley, and a very cold river.
Sharon, Lietta, Karen and Irene gathered from across the North Island for the very first Freewheeling Kiwi Reset and Recharge Walk.
They walked without hurry through ancient native forest, stood beneath a 900 year old Kauri tree, and finished with a freezing swim in the Kauaeranga River and hot tea on the bank.
They arrived as strangers. They left as friends. This is the story of that day.
Sharon Evans is the founder of Freewheeling Kiwi and one of Australasia's leading small group Himalayan trekking specialists
She has walked the full length of Te Araroa — 3,000 kilometres from Cape Reinga to Bluff — and led multiple groups to Everest Base Camp with a 100% summit success rate. She also treks in Australia, Bhutan, the Annapurna region and across New Zealand.