From First Follow to Base Camp: Why Trekking With Me Is Nothing Like Booking Online
Celebrating a 50th Birthday at Everest Base Camp!
Something happens when I bump into one of my followers on a trail.
They see me, their face lights up, and before I know it I'm getting a hug from someone I've never officially met. "I've been following you since Te Araroa in 2023," they'll say. Or "I watched every one of your solo camping videos." They know my voice, my sense of humour, they even know my cat, Jimmy! They know how I think about hard days on the trail.
To them, I'm not a stranger. I'm practically family.
And that, more than anything else, is what makes trekking with me different.
The Problem With Booking a Nepal Trek Online
If you've ever gone down the rabbit hole of researching a Himalayan trek, you'll know what it looks like. Dozens of overseas websites with nearly identical itineraries, stock photos that could be anywhere, prices that vary wildly, and no real way to know who you're actually handing your money — and your safety — to.
The fear is real. I hear it constantly from people who enquire. They've been burned before, or they know someone who has, or they've simply sat at their laptop for hours feeling more confused and anxious than when they started. The idea of wiring money to an unknown overseas company for the trip of their lifetime feels genuinely risky. Because it is.
What they're looking for, without always knowing how to say it, is someone they can trust. Someone real. Someone they can actually talk to.
Bishnu Thama, Himalayan Recreation and Sharon Evans, Freewheeling Kiwi in Thamel, Kathmandu, Nepal
How It Actually Works When You Trek With Me
Here's what the journey looks like from your first enquiry to standing at Base Camp.
You Already Know Me
Most people who enquire about my treks have been following me on social media for months, sometimes years. They've watched me walk the full length of Te Araroa. They've seen me solo camp in places most people wouldn't go alone. They've followed along on my Himalayan expeditions and watched the real, unfiltered version of what a Himalayan trek actually looks like.
By the time they reach out, they already know my values, my voice, and how I handle hard days. The trust is already there. The enquiry is just the moment it becomes official.
Loading up on carbs in Namche Bazaar on the return from Everest Base Camp, Nepal
We Have a Real Conversation
There is no "add to cart" on my website. No instant booking, no automated confirmation email, no PDF itinerary fired into your inbox by a system that doesn't know your name.
Instead, you apply. And then we get on a Zoom call.
That call covers everything: your fitness level and whether it matches what the trek demands, your experience on the trail, your gear, the logistics of getting to Nepal, what to expect day by day, and whether this particular group is the right fit for you. Most importantly, it's a chance for you to ask every question that's been sitting in the back of your mind — the ones you'd never think to put in a contact form.
People get off that call feeling settled. The nerves are still there, because it's a big adventure and nerves are part of it. But the anxiety is gone, because they've talked to a real person who knows exactly what they're walking into and has their back.
Celebrating in Lukla after another successful trek to Everest Base Camp, Nepal
You Join the Group Before You Leave Home
Once you're confirmed on a trek, you're added to a WhatsApp group with the rest of the team. This is where the magic starts happening before anyone has set foot on a plane.
People introduce themselves. Questions get asked and answered. Someone recommends a piece of gear. Someone else shares a photo from a training hike. By the time the group lands in Kathmandu, they're not strangers nervously sizing each other up. They're already a team.
That matters more than most people realise. The people you trek with can make or break a Himalayan adventure. I make sure the group works before we ever leave Australasia.
A typical Tea House breakfast scene in Lobuche, Everest Base Camp trek, Nepal
I Am Available to You
Between booking and departure, I am genuinely available. Questions about gear, training, altitude medication, travel insurance, what to pack, what to leave behind — I answer them. Not a chatbot, not a FAQ page. Me.
I also offer Trek Prep, my 1:1 coaching package for people who want to go deeper on their physical and mental preparation. Three sessions where we work through exactly where you are, exactly what you need to do, and exactly what to expect. People who do Trek Prep arrive in Nepal with a completely different level of confidence.
Sharon Evans, Freewheeling Kiwi
I Meet You at the Airport
When you land in Kathmandu, I am there. In person. At the airport.
Not a transfer driver holding a sign. Not a local rep you've never spoken to. Me. The person you've been watching on social media, the person you had the Zoom call with, the person you've been messaging on WhatsApp for weeks.
That moment matters. Kathmandu is chaotic and loud and exhilarating and overwhelming all at once. Seeing a familiar face, someone who actually knows your name and is genuinely happy you made it, changes everything about how the adventure begins.
I Show You My Kathmandu
Before the formal trek begins, I take the group under my wing. We walk the local streets I know and love. I introduce you to my friends there. We check your gear together and make sure you're fully kitted out before you need it. If there's time and the group is keen, we might do a cooking class or a yoga session. None of this is on the official itinerary. It's just what I do.
For those arriving early or staying on after the trek, I make sure the extra nights are sorted and that you're looked after. You are never just left to figure it out. Not before the trek, not after it, not at any point in between.
I Lead You Every Step of the Way
On the trail, I am with you. Usually at the back, making sure the person who needs support the most has someone in their corner. Our expert guides lead from the front. I make sure nobody gets left behind.
My groups are small by design, because small groups work. Everyone gets attention, everyone gets looked after, and the pace is set for the group, not for a schedule.
And sometimes, the unexpected happens. One of my trekkers was celebrating his 50th birthday on the trail. The night before we reached Everest Base Camp, I quietly arranged for a birthday cake to be baked at our teahouse in Lobuche. The next day the group carried it to Base Camp. When we presented it to him, standing at 5,364 metres with Everest behind us, he said it was the best birthday of his life.
That is not something any overseas booking website could ever arrange. It happened because I knew him. Because I cared. Because that is just how I do things.
I have led multiple groups to Everest Base Camp with a 100% summit success rate. That does not happen by luck. It happens because the right people are on the trek, they have been properly prepared, and they are supported every single step of the way by someone who genuinely has their back.
Why This Matters for Australasian Trekkers Specifically
New Zealand and Australia produce extraordinary trekkers. We grow up in landscapes that demand physicality and respect for the outdoors. We are used to adventure. But we are also a long way from the Himalayas, and the distance creates a particular kind of anxiety about who to trust with a trip this significant.
Booking through an overseas website means handing your experience to people you will never meet, in a timezone you can't easily reach, with no real accountability if something doesn't go to plan.
Booking with me means working with someone in your corner of the world, who understands how Kiwis and Australians think, who is reachable when you have a question at 9pm on a Tuesday, and who has your back from the first conversation to the moment you're home.
I am New Zealand's small group Himalayan trekking specialist, trusted by trekkers across Australasia. And I am not saying that as a marketing line. I am saying it because the people who have trekked with me keep coming back, keep sending their friends, and keep stopping me on trails to say it was the best thing they've ever done.
If This Sounds Like What You've Been Looking For
Both my 2026 treks, Everest Base Camp in November and Annapurna Base Camp in October, have limited spots remaining.
The first step is simple. You apply, we have a chat, and we work out together whether this is the right adventure for you.
See the 2026 treks and apply here.
And if you're not quite ready to commit but you want to start preparing, Trek Prep is the place to begin.
Sharon Evans is an HRT Adventure Leader and New Zealand's small group Himalayan trekking specialist, trusted by trekkers across Australasia. With 93,000 social media followers and a 100% Himalayan summit success rate, she offers something no overseas booking site can — a real person, a real relationship, and an adventure you'll never forget. Follow along here.
