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Te Araroa Solo Woman Safety
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.
When Things Go Wrong - Umukarikari
Below me the swollen river raged down the valley, dirty grey water rushing, crashing and tumbling, rolling boulders, tugging trees from flooded banks, swirling and churning every which way.
Above, sky the same colour as the water closed in, the tops of the mountains remaining hidden in the murk. I knew what it was like up there, near horizontal rain driven by a malicious wind intent on tossing me off the narrow ridge. Behind, the perilous trail from where I’d descended was more a cascade than a track.
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About Sharon
I’ve a passion for travel that provides adventure, challenge, nature and inspiration.
Regularly hosting Group Tours, I specialise in bringing likeminded people together to explore incredible destinations while engaging with and caring for our natural world.
I’m a professional storyteller on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Threads and TikTok with thousands of followers across my channels.
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Group Trips
Freewheeling Kiwi Group Trips brings likeminded people together to explore incredible destinations while engaging with and caring for our natural world.
All Trips are hosted by our Freewheeling Kiwi founder, Sharon Evans, and are for those of you who would love the opportunity to immerse yourself in nature, learn new skills, gain confidence and most importantly, make lifelong friends!
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Hi and welcome to my website. I’m Sharon Evans and I’ve a passion for travel that provides adventure, challenge, nature and inspiration.
I’m a professional storyteller here and on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Threads and TikTok with many thousands of followers across my channels.
Join me as I share my authentic experiences from around the world 💚