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Road Trip: The Grand Canyon and Glen Canyon
This post is the first part of a two month road trip I took around The States. September 2017 I got the family discount, even though I wasn’t exactly family. Ross and I had known each other since we were ten, having moved to Big Bear the same year, and given each other shit for our entire acquaintance…so in a way we were absolutely family. I hadn’t been to the Grand Canyon since I was three and didn’t have the keenest memory of the experience. In fact, I remembered absolutely nothing other than a story mum told about how I nearly gave her a heart attack by climbing up the…
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Pompeii
This Throwback Thursday posts took place during one of my favorite trips. It was my first time in Europe and I was travelling with my best friend, who was the ideal travelling companion. This story takes place on the very first day in Italy. May 2015 It was our first day in Italy and with only a thirty-minute train ride between us and Pompeii, the ruins of a city once drowned in the ashes of the volcano Vesuvius, we knew exactly how we wanted to spend it. After a complimentary breakfast of Nutella croissants, espresso, and orange juice, we hopped (literary we were bouncing) onto a train south. Little to…
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Te Araroa: The Storm That Ends All
Te Araroa: The Storm That Ends All 22.03.2020 Day 146 (16km) Thank goodness it was a short day, because the wind was howling as we walked a pebbly beach towards coastal farmland. One of my gaiters came loose, allowing the tiny rocks to fling themselves into my shoe. With the temperamental weather, I wasn’t keen to stop and remove them. After our final climb of the TA, which was only a couple hundred meters up to a viewpoint, we descended into Riverton’s residential neighborhoods. Alex had booked us an AirBnb, which was so lovely that within a few minutes we decided to reserve it for another day. The weather was…
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Te Araroa: Final Forests
17.03.2020 Day 141 (32km) If my pace matched the time estimate in the trail notes, I would arrive at the hut at 9pm. There was nothing appealing about arriving that late. Not to mention the temperatures had been dropping over the last week or so and I was not keen to lose the use of my hands to the cold, which was a common occurrence on the TA. After leaving Te Anau I planned to push several big days in a row, cause to be honest I’m over tenting. It’s gotten colder and I don’t want to deal with a wet tent in the mornings anymore. However, in order to…
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Te Araroa: Queenstown
06.03.2020 Day 130 (25km) There are some days when the struggle is real. I didn’t have any reason to be upset today, but all I wanted to do was cry. It’s rare that I truly feel homesick, but today was one of those mornings. I tried calling my mum, but she didn’t answer. So then I plugged into my music and made a futile attempt to swallow the lump in my throat as tears slipped down my cheeks. My heart ached for the smell of fresh coffee; there is always a pot on. It longed for the hug of the couch as I leaned into the armrest, and the deep…
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Te Araroa: Nelson Lakes
31.01.2020 Day 95 (29km) Today was possibly one of my favorite days on the TA thus far. We strolled out of St Arnaud around 8:30 in the morning and followed the trail as it meandered past the lake and up the river. The path was never steep nor difficult, just a lovely walk in the forest. Initially, the tranquil waves of the lake provided the melody of motion. This was eventually replaced by the constant sigh of the river. We stopped on a grassy bank to sun ourselves as the wind kept most of the sandflies at bay. Then later we dropped our packs and took a short detour down…
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Te Araroa: North Island Home Stretch
02.01.2020 Day 74 (22km) I’m lying on an old cot in an empty church, as rain patters down on the roof. There are seven TA hikers using this place as a refuge tonight. Since the Christian School closed, the owners decided to start using the space as a shelter for hikers. After six days in the bush, mostly covered in mud, I can’t decide which was better: the hot scone with jam and cream at the cafe or the hot shower at the church. Compared to the Tararuas, today’s hike was a breeze: an 800m climb up a fairly well maintained forest track, then down root stairs and through forestry…
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Te Araroa: The Tararuas
30.12.2019 Day 71 (15km) I was soaking wet, tired, and hungry, but the second I smelled the fire coming from the hut, I pushed myself into overdrive. It was my first day in the Tararuas and they had met my expectations: difficult and muddy. Within the past two weeks two people I knew personally, had been seriously injured in the mountain range. So, I was absolutely content to take things slowly on the slippery, wet slopes. Rain was my constant companion as I navigated through roots, scampered up rock walls, and climbed up into a bursting green forest, shrouded in mist. Sweat dripped down my face in rivers, and despite…
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Te Araroa: Whoa, I’m Halfway There
28.12.2019 Day 69 (34km) I have officially hit the halfway point of the TA! Although, I’m about 70km short due to road skipping. I’m not concerned, cause there are plenty of side trips I plan to do to make up those kilometers. I will arrive in Bluff with 3,000km. The bulk of today was road walking, though there was a nice river section coming out of Palmy, and then we strolled through farm and timberland, where I only saw two or three cars. Carolyn and I hiked through the sun and shade, past rivers and along bike tracks. When we arrived at camp, a Maori hut in the middle of…
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Te Araroa: Tongariro Crossing
19.12.2019 Day 60 (33km) Although the majority of the day was along a road, it was definitely a very special and worthwhile strip of road. For starters, there was a dancing ostrich…I mean come on, who doesn’t like dancing animals? As soon as it saw us coming, it rushed to the fenceline, throwing its wings up in its wake. Trev, Robyn, and I snapped photos and videos while it continued to strut and toss its feathers up. Little did we know, our animal encounters had just begun. Farther along, where the sealed road turned to gravel, we got roped into assisting a farmer with herding his sheep 3km down the…
Insights and Stories Through the Eyes of a Wanderer
