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wandern in Neuseeland

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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.

August in Neuseeland – einerseits Winter und nicht ans Wandern zu denken, andererseits öffnete aber am 01.08.2025 die Registrierung für einen Thru-Hike auf Te Araroa, dem 3000 km langen Weg durch Aotearoa Neuseeland. Neu in diesem Jahr ist, dass mit der nun verpflichtenden Registrierung ein Beitrag in Höhe von 1350 NZD von ausländischen Thru-Hike-Aspirantinnen und Aspiranten entrichtet werden muss. Dieser Betrag beinhaltet die Registrierungsgebühr und den sogenannten Trailpass, der es erlaubt, in den zahlreichen Hütten des DOC (Department of Conservation) und auf dessen Campsites entlang des Trails zu übernachten.

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.

John was making good progress towards the end of Te Araroa, and I planned on joining him in Invercargill to hike the last stretch with him to Bluff. As I had some flexible time workwise ahead of me, I wanted to take it a little slower and make it a worthwhile trip going south. As I have never been to New Plymouth but always marveled at Mt Taranaki when flying south from Auckland, it was time to visit this volcano. 

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.