Filmmaker and thru-hiker Elina Osborne is my guest today. If you’ve ever looked up trail vlogs on YouTube, chances are you’ve stumbled upon her cinematic stories of the PCT, Te Araroa, the Hayduke Trail, and the Michinoku Coastal Trail.
My guest today is Naomi Arnold – a New Zealand journalist and writer who not only hiked Te Araroa, the country’s long-distance trail, but also wrote a wonderful book about her journey: Northbound.
In this episode, we talk about what it means to walk the length of Aotearoa, how her hike stretched across nine months, and what it was like to experience Te Araroa mostly on her own. Naomi shares her reflections on the trail, the challenges she faced, and the deep connection she developed with the landscape and people along the way.
In dieser Episode spreche ich mit Paulina Zäck, die Anfang dieses Jahres Te Araroa in Neuseeland so schnell wie noch keine andere Frau zuvor gewandert ist. Die knapp über 3000 km von Bluff im Süden bis zum Cape Reinga im Norden hat sie in unglaublichen 54 Tagen, 9 Stunden und 48 Minuten absolviert.
Mittlerweile ist es Ende Dezember, 2024 ist beinah Geschichte und ich hab große Lust, einen kleinen Jahresrückblick aufzunehmen. Über 30 tolle Gäste habe ich 2024 online und teilweise auch persönlich getroffen, mich mit ihnen über ihre Erlebnisse auf ganz unterschiedlichen Fernwanderungen in Deutschland, Europa und rund um die Welt unterhalten.
Back in November, when I hiked through Northland while on Te Araroa, I had to skip the stretch between Ruakaka and Mangawhai. I attended a conference then and needed to return to Auckland for a few days. As we knew it would be much easier for me to return north and hike the section during a long weekend, my partner John continued hiking. Well, it took almost a year to go back and close the section, as it turned out a little harder to actually make the time to hike it.
Today’s guest, Tim Voors, I actually met very briefly when hiking New Zealands’ long distance trail, Te Araroa, in 2018. Back then, I only hiked the South Island and went northbound. Tim did the whole trail and went southbound. We had a brief conversation standing in a creek while passing each other. We never lost contact ever since and I am very happy to have Tim on today’s show.
The flight into Christchurch from New Plymouth was uneventful. After landing, I made a beeline towards the exit and took a taxi through the cold and dreary city to the Intercity bus terminal in the city center. As the bus was a little late, I enjoyed a coffee at a coffee shop opposite the bus stop. I expected to experience some of Canterbury’s and Otago’s scenery along the coast. However, after boarding the bus, the ride went through endless fruit plantations, flat farmland, and rather dull countryside towards the south.
Es ist immer ein Highlight, wenn ich mich mit einem Gast aufgrund der Entfernung nicht per Zoom verabreden muss, um ein Gespräch aufzunehmen, sondern wir uns persönlich treffen können. Jan war nämlich zum Zeitpunkt der Aufnahme in Auckland! Also haben wir uns einen Kaffee geholt, uns einen Platz im Grünen mitten in der Stadt gesucht, ich hatte mein Aufnahmegerät und meine Notizen dabei und Jan hatte eine Menge zu erzählen.
Jan ist leidenschaftlicher Wanderer und Bergsteiger.
The last day on Te Araroa!
A little overwhelmed by Wellington city life, I was looking forward to leaving the hustle behind and walking towards Island Bay, which is south of the city and not far from the airport.
After spending time at home in Auckland to nurture my feet, I boarded the „Northern Explorer „train. I might as well make it enjoyable and exciting to return to the trail (I love traveling by train). My right foot was almost pain-free, and my new pair of Altra Lone Peaks should do the trick for the remaining kilometers to the terminus of TA on the North Island.