5 Mistakes I Made on Te Araroa

[@paulnowak8143]

Im planning to hopefully hike the TA in 25/26, and i was expecting to completely wreck my gear on the trail. Not hoping, of course, but watching your video, hearing about your food bag fix holding up that long, your tent getting wet so often and still sheltering u in safe at night and so on, really took away some of my anxiety. Because i know this is the kind of stuff that will happen to me too :D thanks for your positivity and solutions!

[@LongWhiteGypsy]

Don't get me wrong, your gear can definitely get wrecked out there. But honestly I think if you invest in quality gear (which has been tried & tested & well reviewed by plenty of other thru hikers) and you look after your stuff as you go, you shouldn't have many problems. Of course, sometimes bad luck strikes (and you just have to deal with it). But it's all part of the journey. Look forward to hearing how the rest of your preparation goes!

[@koogmo]

You are an inspiration! I've only watched a few of your hiking videos so far. Was surprised to learn that you suffer from anxiety. Just from watching a few videos of yours, I'm thinking: this person is living her best life. I suspect you are a lot stronger than you give yourself credit for. Onward!

[@LongWhiteGypsy]

Thank you so much for your comment. It kind of took me aback a little bit, but was exactly what I needed to hear this week. I often forget that I am so much closer to that life I've always dreamed of today than I was this time last year... and I have the trail (and of course all my supporters and subscribers) to thank for that. Thank you, and take care :)

[@Rachel-h3n]

Thankyou ❤

[@tracyjones1923]

Great advice 😃 I will come back to this once again someday when I do my TA thank you

[@LongWhiteGypsy]

You're welcome, glad you found it helpful :)

[@djsomers100]

Your videos are great. Thank you for sharing. Great advice. The advice I have heard that rings true is "hike your own hike". You need to be not be pressured to do something, but do it because you want to. The only things holding us back is our own fears.

[@LongWhiteGypsy]

HYOH is such an overused and cliched phrase these days, but I tell you what... it really hits the nail on the head for SO MANY different things. Couldn't agree with you more. Thanks for watching Dave.

[@darrenwilson7205]

Got my shoe and putting in the beach miles now in the hope it will help with some of the beach walking. great advice on the tent . working out the resupply is going to interesting considering the current situation My start is 1 oct so fingers crossed

[@LongWhiteGypsy]

Beach walking is one of the worst surfaces on the entire trail. Thankfully, you're over most of it by the time you hit Auckland. Just keep that in mind when you're walking, and try not to hit high tide!

[@nicholaspullen6608]

You can always pop out and do the Tararuas section anytime you like

[@TravelTourTaste]

Hey Michelle hope you are well and having a great day so. Just thought we would pop over again and see what you have been up to lately. Thanks for sharing your experience including the mistakes lol, very honest indeed. It does look amazing there x oppps went tent lol. Easy mistake. Anyway thanks again hun, Stay safe and catch up again real soon God bless you 🙏❤️👍

[@LongWhiteGypsy]

Thanks so much for checking in, hope things are well with you. Just busily preparing for the South Island leg next year. All the best to you as well :)

[@johndivita4842]

Good job, Michelle. It takes courage to admit your mistakes. I think your willingness to expose your bumbles will help many others in the future.

[@LongWhiteGypsy]

Thank you John, I appreciate the comment. And I certainly hope that's the case!

[@CarlosWilkie]

14:19 Aww im from that area. Pitty you would have loved it! x

[@LongWhiteGypsy]

Don't worry, I'll get there one day!

[@CarlosWilkie]

@@LongWhiteGypsy hows ur anxiety and tilly this week? :)

[@parisrose8173]

Thanks for another great video. Nice to see Mayan and Rhys in the middle there. HESR.

[@LongWhiteGypsy]

😄 It's always neat to see other hikers we've met on trail in videos here on YT!

[@danglispey6181]

Another great video, we learn and carry on. 👍👍👍👍👍

[@LongWhiteGypsy]

We do at that! Every failure is one step towards success :)

[@ianmaxwell471]

Good on you - great story

[@LongWhiteGypsy]

Thanks Ian. Hoping I can help others out there have a better experience on trail by learning from their mistakes!

[@Neylena]

When did you start your Te Araroa hike! (what month) x

[@Monica-jq4gy]

Hey Great Video !!! Really enjoy your content 😁🥳🏕🐬🌴🌸

[@LongWhiteGypsy]

Thank you so much Monica 😊 It's great to have you along!

[@BCHiker]

Great video Michelle. Do you plan to finish off the TA? I think you were a couple of days behind me on the Richmond ranges.

[@LongWhiteGypsy]

My hope is to return to the TA in the future, yes. Unfortunately the last 18 months have been really difficult for me and I've struggled to save any money to head back out there for another 3-4 months so it has put me back probably another year. I was really hoping to get back on to the trail this upcoming season, but it's looking less likely. When were you heading through the Richmonds?

[@BCHiker]

Beginning of January 2021. I thinking we started at Pelorus bridge on the 3rd of January. It was a tough section, considering I only section hiked it starting from the Queen Charlotte so didn’t get the advantage of building up fitness on the North island. Definitely well worth it though & made me fly through the Nelson lakes section with the fitness levels being built up.

[@GoodLifeDownUnder]

So funny... exactly the same thing happened with us at whananaki with resupply!!! Also our zpack tent has the same zip issues... and we had it in the pack. We wonder if it is the sea air at night? Also a group of us had to skip tararuas due to ongoing bad weather. The plan is to do it before the south and some head home overseas. So if you want a group to hike that part just get in touch. Not sure if I can do it and think thr plan is late Sept early Oct. See how this covid thing plays out. 🙃

[@LongWhiteGypsy]

You know it was just the other day I was wondering what your plans might be. I need to get off my butt and send you a message so we can have a proper catch up and talk strategy, because I would totally be into hiking some or all of these sections with you. In fact... i'll just do it now, before something else comes up 😉

[@somedavehikes]

love watching the progress of your vlogging skills too, just sayin'...

[@LongWhiteGypsy]

:D Thanks! Nice to see people are noticing some improvements!

[@alex2653]

Is it easy to buy Altras in NZ or would I need to bring them from the US?

[@LongWhiteGypsy]

I wouldn't say it's 'easy'. There are one or two retailers I know who can supply them, for example Further Faster in Christchurch and Trek N Travel in Hamilton. However, they don't keep huge levels of stock so I'm not sure how rapidly their stock gets depleted during thru hiking season. I'd recommend bringing them from the US if you've got the ability to do so... it will also be MUCH cheaper to do it that way.

[@walkingisthebestmedicine]

Thanx 😀

[@LongWhiteGypsy]

Welcome 😊

[@geoffreystewart2620]

Came to this vid cos of the thumbnail- lying in a motel, got to levin tonight after 3 days hiking and feet keep cramping, freezing my water bottle tonight so I can roll them out tomorrow, any other tips while I'm out and about re: foot maintenance?

[@LongWhiteGypsy]

Sorry to hear about the cramping Geoffrey! Have you seen my video about foot care on the trail: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jH7cqoChrJ6UpLc Check it out... you might find some tips there! Also, if you have the wrong shoes, this could be contributing to the problem. Check out this video I made on how to choose hiking footwear: kzbin.info/www/bejne/ine1Yol-g551gJo I was (fortunately) very lucky with my feet while I was hiking. So I've shared my foot care system with others as it seems I was doing something right!

[@geoffreystewart2620]

@@LongWhiteGypsy will have a watch tonight :) just got out of the tararua's- palmy-wellington section DONE 😁😁 What a humbling experience those ranges were, treated myself to some subway as soon as I got into town

[@DamanKingBear]

How long did it take you to walk?

[@LongWhiteGypsy]

In total I was out for a leisurely 80 days. This included a 4 day stretch on the Queen Charlotte Track (which makes up for the Tararua Section I skipped) and most often double zero days as I often had to organise editing and uploading videos. I also skipped through the Northland Forest section, another 4-5 day stretch. At a guess, I'd say you could thru hike every km on the North Island in 70 days at a relatively easy pace and only taking single zero days every week or so.

[@johndivita4842]

By the way, I always do a double take when I hear you pronounce the trail name, Te Araroa. I can't picture how you are forming the sounds you create to say the name. As an aside on one of your upcoming videos, could you make a slow motion explanation of how you form the sounds. Some way you're rolling the r sound is stupifying to me. Native NZ phonetics is fascinating. You seem to be quite skilled at it. Thank you!

[@LongWhiteGypsy]

I wasn't completely born and bred in NZ so I feel I have to make more of an effort o get my pronunciation right, but I still trip over my tongue a lot! I will try to incorporate it somehow... I'm thinking of making a '5 Things You Should Know About Te Araroa' (or similar) video in the future, so perhaps that would be a good opportunity :)

[@GypsyGirl317]

John, I am a born and bred Kiwi. 😊 To roll our Rs we pop the tip of our tongue against the roof of the mouth just behind our front teeth and make the sound by vibrating the tongue against the top palate. Try it out and see how you go. 😊 Make a noise like a cat purring or a little motor running initially. 👍🏿

[@deanherring8623]

If one skips sections then how can one say you have done the trail. Surely you have only done parts of the trail

[@LongWhiteGypsy]

That’s a matter of personal preference… purist thru hikers would say you haven’t done the trail unless you’ve walked every kilometre. But the vast majority of thru hikers (especially on the TA) skip large sections, mostly because there is a lot of road walking on this trail, which many people don’t enjoy.