Aotearoa New Zealand is an adventure playground which has been thrilling hikers for many years with its incredibly beautiful scenery, luxuriant rainforests, magnificent rivers, seemingly limitless mountain ranges, remarkable valleys and tranquil lowland plains.

In this article, I share with you my favourite New Zealand Hiking Essential Gear List, these are my go to items that I reach for when planning any hiking trip in our beautiful outdoors. 

Te Araroa is a dream hike for many outdoor enthusiasts and Aotearoa New Zealand is known to be a hiker’s paradise which internationally enjoy’s a reputation as a safe country to visit.  

As you traverse the 3,000 km Te Araroa route from Cape Reinga to Bluff there’s many exciting opportunities to immerse yourself amongst the diverse communities that you’ll wander by.

The chance meetings with locals were some of our best times on trail and these opportunities would have been completely missed if we’d skipped the roads.

I fielded many questions from curious family and onlookers when planning to walk New Zealand’s stunning 3,000km National Walking Trail, Te Araroa.

On hearing of my extraordinary plans to walk the entire length of the country, one concerned youngster asked "but will you have to carry all your own food?" It’s a valid question which can be answered succinctly with yes and no.

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. 

Walking New Zealand’s 3,000 kilometre Te Araroa was the first thru hike I’d ever undertaken and as a novice thru hiker, I made my share of mistakes plus possibly a few more.

As a beginner, there’s so much to think and plan for plus the countless variables you’ll hopefully anticipate ahead of time from the comfort of home, rather than from a mountain top in the middle of a blizzard.

Here I share my top five mistakes that I made when hiking Te Araroa including the context that surrounded my decisions to better help you avoid making my blunders. 

As the boat started to plane I settled comfortably onto the seat to take in my surroundings while the dog, with his superior balance and having completed the journey dozens of times perched casually on the boat’s stern alongside the powerful 200HP Yamaha engine.

Cloudy skies with but the tiniest glimpses of blue dulled the summer’s day and added mystery to the deep indigo waters below. A huge bluff towered menacingly above us, foreshadowing the effort that lay ahead. 

Committing to a thru hike is equal parts exciting yet at the same time, immensely daunting. Not only are you going to be away from your home, family, friends and work for an extended period of time, there’s also untold logistics to be taken into account.

Choosing to hike Te Araroa, Aotearoa New Zealand’s three thousand kilometre trail which traverses the length of the country from Cape Reinga in the Far North to Bluff in the Far South (or vice a versa) brings with it many of its own unique challenges.

Having just crested the Tongariro Alpine Crossing alongside the impressive Red Crater I gazed down the precipitous volcanic scree slope which sidled past the breathtaking Emerald Lakes. We’d planned to stop alongside the lakes and the only thing between me and my sandwich was this hair raising descent. 

I weighed up the options and was attracted most by the plan to skid down on my butt so that I’d not tumble head over heels off the narrow spur. At this height, this felt a very real possibility! 

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.

I could hear the waterfall’s roar long before I could see it, hardly surprising given the weather conditions. The heavy rain had soaked me to the skin and waterfalls, too many to count, leapt impatiently off the mountain face. I’d made my way safely past many but ahead was the highest and largest, the formidable Earland Falls.

I braced myself for the next gust, feet wide, knees bent, crouching over my hiking poles. I could see the track snaking along the ridge line with steep drop-offs on either side. We were well and truly above the tree line, if I went over, it was going to be a long way before I stopped falling.

There’d already been two hikers knocked off their feet by the wind, fortunately they’d not gone over the edge. Someone else’s pack cover took flight, a bright red sail disappearing into the grey fog.

Milford Track has been thrilling hikers for over 150 years with its indescribably beautiful scenery, verdant rainforests, countless waterfalls, pristine rivers, the McKinnon Alpine Pass and sheer valleys carved out by ancient glaciers.

It is the most famous of New Zealand’s ten Great Walks and understandably on many hikers bucket lists.

He took not the slightest notice of me as he continued on briskly down the path, completely intent on his own exploration of our surrounds. I noticed his big feet and short legs, seemingly out of proportion to his body, his whiskers and his small dark eyes peering shortsightedly into the ferns on either side of the trail. He was obviously looking for something and kept tap tap tapping from side to side.

We tore down to the beach, our new inflatable flutter boards bouncing cheerfully behind us. We had enough experience not to swim in the first part as the sand was mixed with small rocks and if you were rolled by the huge waves, you’d end up with gravel rash.

Onwards a little further and the sand was pristine with the waves rolling in predictable sets of seven. We ditched our towels above the tideline and raced each other into the surf, excited to be trying out our new boards.

Walking Te Araroa is the dream of many outdoor enthusiasts and since its inception in 2011, many thousands of people, including me, have achieved that dream.

The Freewheeling Kiwi Te Araroa A to Z Guide is written for hikers who dare to dream big and welcome the unknown. It is the most comprehensive Guide you’ll ever need containing a wealth of information, much of which you’ll not even have considered but all of which is vital for a successful Te Araroa walk. 

In this article I share with you the gear that we took when hiking the 3000km Te Araroa Trail along with the reasoning and context behind our decision making to better help you when making your own decisions while planning your walk of Te Araroa.

The article finishes with my reflections on what gear didn’t last the full distance, what was sent home, the substitutions and additions along the trail and what I’d change next time.