Gear, Food, Preparations and We’re Ready to Stroll.

With 5 days till we head up north and 7 till we set off. Here’s our gear and food list with weights and sources along with a few more thoughts.

Gear

After reading just about every recommendation and review there is to read. We started our acquisition of gear prior to Christmas and purchased what we could fit into our suitcases in the UK, then dragged it across India, Thailand and Australia before landing in New Zealand. A laborious task it was but it saved us a load of money. Especially on the tent.

Then the 5 months we were in India, we continuously trawled the New Zealand internet retailers for discounted gear on our list, picking up packs and sleeping bags at half price. Then once in New Zealand went in to our chosen retailers with our lists and cheekily asked for discount, which we received fairly generously. So if you’re not time limited, compile your list, take your time and bulk buy items you need more than one of and you should get most your equipment for half what you’d expect to pay. For example: New Zealand is renowned for extremely overcharging on items like tents, boots, stoves, etc. So we purchased 3 pairs of boots at once in and got a big enough discount that the price was comparable to Europe or the US. And if your gear is not available in New Zealand, as is often the case. Then order it in from abroad. We pretty much received everything within a week from the UK and US and in some cases even got free delivery. Helps if you’ve got someone to receive all this stuff though. Thanks again Mum!

Now looking at the gear list, I’ve thrown in quite a few luxury items like ‘the kitchen sink’. Ridicule me if you will but while doing our best to keep weight to a minimum, we’ve also tried to find gear that will add to comfort, convenience and save us time and money in the long run and reduce our dependence on the mods and cons you get in town (at over inflated prices). So ‘the kitchen sink’ will double as a wash basin and a laundry basin and while keeping the funk at bay we also hope we won’t have to put half our pension into the slot machines at the Laundromats along the way. And if any of these extras aren’t really up to the task then we’ll just lose them on the way.

One gear let down, which I consider to be fairly major happened just yesterday. After downloading the up to date maps, notes, kmz and gpx files from the Te Araroa website. I found the gpx file has not been updated yet. So proceeding to convert the kmz to gpx, I added it to Garmin Basemap and was attempting to load on to the Etrex 20. Now the device just wasn’t operating correctly so I installed the Garmin recommended software update and boom. 1 dead device. Basically, it won’t boot as the system software in missing, it won’t boot in mass storage mode despite Garmin ensuring it will and it won’t update via Garmin Web Updater, which Garmin say it will. Being the weekend, the support office is closed and after emailing precise details of the fault and requesting a software fix, I’m met with a message saying I should expect a response within 72 hours from opening time on Monday morning (and may actually have to send the device in). Which means Wednesday. Now considering we leave Friday morning, this is not what we need. So long story short. The Garmin has been abandoned in favour of the iPhone 5 with NZ Topo50 apps and an uploaded kml file to use in conjunction with the maps and notes. And as it stands, I will probably do my damnedest to avoid Garmin products from here on in. All in all, I spent about 6 hours of my Saturday attempting to fix this flaw and found thousands of similar incidents on the various forums on the net. Not really acceptable for a company of this magnitude.

Best buy was our ‘Black Diamond Trail’ poles at: $67NZ per pair (Retail $149)

Food

Being vegan will probably be the most difficult part of doing this trail. We’ve actually had trouble finding what we deem acceptable food in Countdown and New World in Tauranga. Seems New Zealand has an obsession with adding cows milk to anything they can. Including potato chips and dried coconut milk. So finding edibles in a small town 4 Square won’t be easy either.

I started off with an idea of using a pressure cooker on the trail as a means to quickly cook dried beans and pulses on the trail but quickly abandoned this idea as there isn’t a cooker on the market that is lightweight and suitable enough to carry. I just like the idea of thinking outside the box and instead of focusing on the nutritionally limited, bland and overpriced ready meals, shift the focus to light weight effective gear that can cook pretty much everything that is already available. I’m tempted to get a prototype made next time I’m in India, otherwise if there are any hiking and camping entrepreneurs out there, feel free to develop something. It will revolutionise trail cooking and nutrition.

So our solution is to send food parcels ahead to friends, family and hostels we intend on staying at with 10 days of rations and we’ll top up on what we can in between. Many of the items we have included have a cook time of 20 minutes so we will also be carrying extra fuel to allow for the extra cooking time.

The plan for nutrition is to carry 10 days worth of food at 3000kcal each per day and top that up to 4000kcal plus with pita, canned beans, canned pulses and coconut cream etc when we’re passing through town. And if push comes to shove we may have to load on the dirty carbs with chips and ketchup. Nearly 1500kcal will be coming from fruit and nuts that we’ll eat with 500kcal oats and coconut paste at breakfast and grazing through the day. And the dinner will be 1000kcal carb load of rice, pasta, lentil with sauce and dried vegetables etc.

Preparations

Body Weight - Since leaving Asia we’ve both gained some extra pounds in part to the colder climate, overeating and a few beers and wines too. Downside is the fitness suffers a little but the upside is we’re carrying a buffer we can afford to lose if we’re not getting enough calories. This has also increased our pack weights as we’re carrying up to 25% of our body weight. And if we do drop the pounds we’ll be fitter so it won’t matter so much.

Walks - We’ve been for a few walks but not a lot. Did a 16km trek at Karangahake and we’ve walked up and around Mauau at Mt Maunganui a couple of times. We feel pretty fit and don’t really suffer from stiffness due to the yoga we do. So figure we’ll pick up the extra fitness required for carrying our packs on the way.

Gear trials and tests – We’ve had a run through of unpacking, erecting, taking down and repacking the tent. Tested the sleeping mats and bags. We got 650 fill sleeping bags which are pretty light and small. They zip together so on colder nights we won’t go cold. Packed and unpacked the backpack and have a pretty good idea regarding position of the load. Cooked dinner with our cooker. And am pretty happy with the repeated pack, unpack, assemble, disassemble process for everything.

Trail notes – Sherren has been going through the trail notes and adding supplementary information from previous hikers trail notes that may be useful and we’ve been marking points on the map when we need to send a food parcel. We’ve also noted where we will need to resupply. Accommodation we’ll plan 1 to 2 days in advance as we’re travelling except when we plan to pick up a food parcel which we’ll try and give a weeks notice if possible to secure a booking.

And with all that. We’re ready to stroll!

The outlook for the weather doesn’t look good for Sunday but we’re going to have to get used to walking in the rain at some point and with high tide set for midday, at least the sand at the top of the beach will be a little firmer.

Green – What we got and packed

Grey – What we decided to leave out

Blue – What we’re still waiting on

You’ll see my pack will be a fairly constant weight and Sherren will be carrying the bulk of the food cutting down to a very light pack by day 5 after resupply.

Te Araroa Trail – The Long Pathway

For those of you who don’t know. Well here’s what Wikipedia says!

Te Araroa (The Long Pathway) is New Zealand’s newest long distance tramping route, from Cape Reinga to Bluff. The 3000 km route officially opened on December 3, 2011 after 10 years of work by hundreds of volunteers. Construction coordinated by the Te Araroa Trust is ongoing.

The trail has approximately 300 sections ranging from walks of 1–2 hours through to a 9-day route in the South Island where full equipment must be carried. Te Araroa joins a mixture of existing tracks and walkways, new tracks and link sections alongside roads. 40% of the trail crosses conservation land and the Government allocated $NZ3.8 million for development of new sections of the trail on conservation land in 2007.

For more information, visit: www.teararoa.org.nz

The straight line distance from Cape Reinga to Bluff is 1475 km, but the Te Araroa Trail covers a longer nominal distance of 3000 km and has since been adjusted with upgraded sections. Tramping the full length of the trail takes three to six months. The fastest effort was by British ultramarathon runner Jezz Bragg, who managed 53 days during the 2012-13 season, although he contracted giardia and was lucky to survive being swept away by a river in the Richmond Ranges.

Some bloggers report around 100 days, but many take their time to enjoy the whole season and spend around 150 days.

Route Subject to Change!

For more information visit:

www.teararoa.org.nz

https://www.facebook.com/groups/26638669574/

http://teararoatrail.freeforums.org/index.php

http://tawiki.org/wiki/Main_Page

Between these four sites, you’ll find all the information you’ll need to plan your trip. All these resources are compiled by the Te Araroa Trust, past, present and future hikers. A big thanks to all.

Who are we?

Glen – A Kiwi (Living in UK the last 15 years), former electrician and building services engineer and now a budding yoga teacher. I have historical experience with the New Zealand wilderness however after 20 years of being a ‘city slicker’, I harbour no illusion that this will be an easy feat.

Sherren – A British Police Officer, budding yoga teacher and adventurer.

Why are we walking it?

When we decided to come to Aotearoa, we agreed to buy a car and travel the length of the country to see as much as we could. After about a week Sherren said “can you cycle it?”

Well of course you can, so we started researching this option and happened across the Te Araroa and were sold. After all, why not walk?

After all this is about our experience in the now and not being one of those old farts sitting around saying “I wish I’d done that when I was younger!”

When are we walking it?

We are planning to set off from Cape Rienga on the 28^th September. This route is referred to as SOBO (south bound). Hoping to have completed the north island by Christmas when we will take a break to catch up with family and complete a 3 week yoga workshop before setting off from Picton on the 17^th/18^th January also SOBO

What challenges we expect?

1)We both have vegan diets, which is difficult at the best of times when undertaking a hike of this magnitude and New Zealand doesn’t make this any easier (for obvious agrarian economic reasons).

Therefore a lot of time and effort has gone into researching what we can eat and re-supply with along the way. Which will mean we will be sending more food parcels ahead and carrying more food than most folks when these parcels arrive. I don’t think we’ll be facing starvation at any point however we’d like to enjoy what we’re eating along the way as much as possible.

2)We both have a daily Ashtanga Yoga practice. For us it is not an option to put this on hold. Therefore we will be up before dawn each day to complete our practice before setting off. The practice is 90 minutes and usually consumes about 600kcals. Therefore we expect to walk less than the average walker each day and will plan on taking extra rest days to prevent exhaustion. The Ultimate challenge here will be finding groundspace flat and stable enough to practice on. It could end up getting a little mucky.

One product we did manage to find is http://www.yogapaws.com and here’s what they say.

“You can take YogaPaws Anywhere, meaning you can Do Yoga ANYWHERE!  Mountain Top, bike trail, airport, rest area, back porch, Water Fall, Central Park, in the Rain, in the Ocean.  No Matter how crazy or slippery from sweat or sea water, YogaPaws will keep you solid in each pose. The world is your studio with YogaPaws.

So wherever life takes you, take your practice with you!”

So we’ve decided to give them the Te Araroa Test and see how they hold up. And if you see us along the way don’t be shy, Join in. Your ceased joints and stiff muscles will thank you for it.

Why are we not walking to raise funds for a charity?

Two vegan yogi’s walking the length of New Zealand and not doing it for charity. Hard to believe isn’t it?

But with most western government regulation dictating that only a meagre 5% actually has to go to any given cause, I have a hard time watching the other 95% fill the coffers of these so called do gooders. If you feel charitable please donate your time and efforts to helping your preferred cause.

However if you are walking for charity and that’s something you believe in, don’t let us deter you.

Will it look good on your CV?

If you’re a graduate who speaks 4 languages, are on the equestrian, chess or fencing team, plays cello in quartet, with a keen interest in conquering any challenge that lay ahead and you’re walking for charity, etc. And you’re aiming for an internship with a multinational powerhouse, then probably. Otherwise it will look better than any other unexplained 6 month absence from education or work (I.e. Prison)

Equipment research and acquisition.

We decided to walk the trail about a year ago and began loosely researching and planning at the same time. Some of the best research you can find will be from previous and current walkers via the Te Araroa Facebook , Wiki, and forum pages. Once you get an idea for something you want or like, just hit the internet for reviews and comparisons (I.e. Outdoor Gear Lab is a fantastic site). It’s time consuming but it’s all part of the fun.

One difficulty we’ve had with the purchasing of our desired equipment is that we left the UK 7 months prior to our planned set off date, visiting India, Thailand and Australia on the way with a total of 8 flights prior to landing in New Zealand. Ideally, I wanted to purchase all our equipment in one go and ship it in but it was just too much to lug around for so long. If you are travelling from Europe or the Americas, I would recommend bringing everything you need including batteries as New Zealand can be notoriously expensive and under stocked. Therefore, we purchased and carried what we could and then shopped around once we got here.

However given the lack of stock in the country we have been completing our purchases online and have ordered in from the UK and USA. Delivery is actually extremely quick and we’ve not yet had to wait longer than a week.

That said, we have managed to get some good deals here too. It’s just been a matter of checking for online sales regularly or just asking for discount in store (which has proven effective on all occasions) and having somewhere to send the gear or knowing someone local who can pick it up is a huge help (thanks Mum). Of course this method also requires time.

Stores and online retailers we’ve used for gear and food are:

Trail Designs - USA

Yoga Paws - USA

Amazon - UK

Springfield - Camping UK

Chain Reaction - UK

Simply Cycle - UK

Banana Fingers - UK

Ellis Bingham - UK

Bivouac - Tauranga

Kathmandu - Tauranga

R&R Sport - Hamilton

Blademaster - Auckland

Hunting and Fishing - Tauranga

Kmart - Mount Maunganui

The Warehouse - Tauranga

Payless Plastics - Tauranga

The 123 Mart ($2 Shop) - Mount Maunganui

Rebel Sport - Tauranga

Countdown

New World

The Asian Supermarket - Tauranga

Bin Inn - Tauranga

Wild Earth Organics - Tauranga

Merchant Gourmet - Tauranga

I have this romantic notion, that if you’re from the USA you can just walk into REI and purchase every thing you need in one go, get a huge discount and walk out – Job done. However I stand to be corrected and as frustrating as it has been locating gear at a fair price, it has been fun searching.

We’ve just about completed our gear and food list and will publish along with weights when the last few items arrive.

Blog the Dog – Gone Astray-L’ya!

With blog irregularity ever increasing, I thought it best to get A into G and give a little update on the Dinosaur Jnr , Marvin Gaye and Guns and Roses. I.e. Where You Been, What’s Goin’ On Where Do We Go Now – Sing it Axl

It’s the tune we move to that matters, not the dance!

After the tropical treats of India and Thailand we touched down in Sydney without a hitch but damn was it cold. Acclimatisation will not be fun but for anyone out there travelling to Sydney international anytime soon, you’ll be pleased to know they’ve actually got those automatic customs lanes to work effectively and efficiently and getting in was a breeze (Heathrow take note!).

Heading straight down to the sunny but cold shores of the Illarwara Escarpment and staying with one of my closest and dearest’s of almost 30 years. We quickly settled into a balanced lifestyle of booze, food, vinyl records, birthday drinks, hangovers, kids school drops and pick-ups, yoga, guitars, world status debates and the occasional reminisce followed by the laughs of disbelief that we ever made it this far. 39 years young and not a day matured past 12 except for the single malt we’ve been drinking.

2 weeks later Matt and Hayley leant us their trusty Hyundai to head 900km up the coast and back, with the instruction that if it breaks down, just leave it where it lays but also with the assurance that this car is as reliable as the sun coming up in the morning and going down at night. Enough said!

On the day we set off. We did the usual checks. Oil, water, tyres, lights etc, only to find the oil was not even touching the dip stick. Quick trip to the local garage, we topped that up and we were off. 5 minutes later, heading up the escarpment toward the highway the engine light came on. Surely not this soon??? A gentle rub of the dash mixed with some kind words, that light went out to the tune of Freddy belting out “Don’t stop me now, I’m having such a good time, I’m having a ball”. Not really but as they say in ‘Strayl’ya. “She’ll be right!” Off again!

Instead of driving the whole 10 hours (and to be fair, Sherren was doing all the driving at this stage as I had a wee hangover) we stopped for the night at a place called Forster. The locals pronounce it Foster and no they do not sell that beer here. In fact they don’t seem to sell it anywhere in ‘Strayl’ya. It’s a sleepy little ocean side town designed with pensioners in mind and we were told not to expect to see anyone out about town after 8pm. So we sought out the local curry house, chowed down a bad boy vegan version and promptly turned in by 9.

Now with the steering wheel held firmly in my grip, blowing a few raspberries with the image of Toad of Toad Hall in mind (Boop boop, brmm) it was my turn to drive. Look out suckers!!!

For the most part driving these highways, even though they do pass through most the small settlements, can be a little boring and devoid of scenery. Except of course if you’re driving through a back burning forest fire with flames licking over the road and the hazed out red glow of the sun above. That I’d have to say is a first and is quite a sight. And with that being the highlight of the day along with over zealous truck drivers high on methamphetamine riding your back bumper we pulled into Maclean to the sight of Phil in all his glory, sporting his winter bushman’s beard.

Hugs, hellos, beer? Yes please. Welcome to Ilarwill.

Now this part of Skippy’s wonderland is lovely. It’s rural, not too far from civilisation, there’s a real community scene and spirit and a burgeoning artistic scene. The kind of place I we could see ourselves living if only it was a financially viable option. Either way, something to consider once the travel fund has run dry.

A couple of days of catch ups and again we hit the road for a yoga bound trip to Byron Bay. We stopped in at Dena Kinsburg’s studio. Unfortunately Dena and Jack were on tour however we did a couple of fantastic mysore classes with Christian. Definitely a place I’d like to practice again. And with a few nice adjustments under our belts we were back to the serenity of Ilarwill for a few more days. Practicing out in the sun on the deck with Penni and Phil turning up for a few classes.

Needless to say Blue Lightning (the little Hyundai) got us back  to ‘The Gong’ in one piece without any issues at all. A bit more vinyl & wine under the belt and we leave this ‘Land of Sunshine’ for Aotearoa aka Land of The Long White Cloud. And the obligatory family introductions for Sherren.

So where’s the asana practice at?

Since leaving India where we lived and breathed yoga. The diet has deteriorated a little. Combined with the re-introduction of booze, the waistline has taken a wee hit. This in turn has made Marichyasana D and Garbha Pindasana binding somewhat challenging. But aside from that my biggest concern was practicing in the cold weather as central heating does not exist in the temperate climate of New Zealand even though it’s only 5ºc when we wake. However much to my surprise, once the initial bout of stiffness passed I’ve found cold weather practice has opened me up even more. Every day I’m feeling more relaxed in the hips and flexibility in general seems to be improving all the time. I’m actually really looking forward to warm weather yoga again to experience the effect of an alternating climate practice.

Acceptance and where I’m at: When I started my ashtanga practice, I didn’t think I would ever feel comfortable practicing the full primary series. Now I do but further more I feel I’m in no rush to progress to the intermediate series, it will happen not only when I feel ready but when my teacher says I’m ready too. And if this never happens that’s fine too because I have so many unchartered corners of the primary series to keep me occupied for many moons to come. The biggest lesson has been, every time you progress in a pose you find there is always more to it. So what’s the rush.

I would second everything Glen says above, my practice is about my body and no one else’s and that moment I am moving it.  I have no desire to get anywhere, that doesn’t mean I’m lazy about it, I try just without an end in sight.

8 months in to this trip. The fun stuff is now over and it’s time for the adventure to really begin….. I beg to differ, the fun stuff is just around the corner!

Te Araroa Trail – Here we come!!! - Stay Tuned.................