This is just a small post to close off the TA experience and bring it full close, what with me doing an FAQ beforehand! I won’t mention everything or all of my thoughts, but certainly some discussion points.
What did you learn?
- I learnt whole heaps of cultural and social stuff about New Zealand, stuff which we had not really known or taught about in the UK. Plus, all the Kiwi slang etc.
- Liquorice is delicious. But this is just confirming what I already knew really…
- I actually quite like Scotland and I took it for granted before.
- Life is uncomplicated. We just make it so.
- There is no age limit to be doing cool stuff. I met people from the ages of 18 – 75 doing the trail, and older people still doing other tramping around Kiwi-land.
I learnt tonnes but, well, it is so hard to vocalise and write down everything, you know? I will undoubtedly be thinking of so so many things that I have learnt from this experience!
Any resolutions to do anything from now on?
- Yeah, I want to make the most of every opportunity to be as adventurous as possible. Gotta see the world.
- Be open and charitable to everyone, regardless of background. I tried to be before but want to be more. Ties in with wanting to volunteer more.
- Learn to budget strictly if need be. This ties in with me wanting to improve self-discipline.
- Stay positive.
- Learn a bloody language please
- Dream-orientated mindset. I will achieve them.
What’re you most looking forward to in the real world again?
- Seeing friends and family again. Without a shadow of a doubt, that’s number one thing for me.
- Regular comforts such as a kettle (called a “jug” here!). Or a dishwasher. Or just, like, a seat. Or a shower and being clean rather than dirty and smelly.
- No dehydrated food but actual fresh, homemade food! Cooking. Baking. If I get handed a plate of couscous when I get home!… I may commit a crime.
- The multitude of future prospects and the excitement of where my life will be heading, because I have no idea!
What will you miss about trail life?
- The freedom. The absolute freedom.
- The companionship and absolute trash we talked with no judgement, especially with Rob and Reid. There’s a Maori saying that translates as “It’s the People”. It goes as such: “He tāngata. He tāngata. He tāngata”. The people around us and the community we built as we completed the TA is amongst the things that made the experience so so special.
- The joy of being outside at all times. It’s very calming, just hiking all days.
- The generosity of people. The trail culture is to just share with no expectations of receiving anything back in return. There’s no transactional relationships with people.
- The simplicity of waking up, walking, eating and sleeping.
Best pieces of gear?
- Tent. Thought my Hilleberg Akto was overkill but I wouldn’t have wished for any other tent when I think about it. You need to be secure in your shelter and not be up all night worrying about it. That is my principle at least
- Sponge. Absolute game changer.
- Spoon. Gotsta eat. As the saying goes, “Where’s my spoon there’s my spoon”
- Backpack. Osprey Atmos 65 AG, everything fits inside easily without any effort or stuffing. Nothing ever had to hang off my pack! Plus, it was super comfy, never had any aches or pains from my pack at all really!
- Cooker. It’s efficient and works a charm in all weather conditions!
What would you replace?
- Waterproof Jacket. Heavy and Gore-Tex stinks after a while.
- Backpack. 65L is too much. Get the Atmos 55 AG in the future. Red, of course.
- Sleeping bag. Overkill. Get a quilt and stick with that and sleeping bag liner combo.
- Water bottles. Nalgene are great, but can’t drink on the go and are heavy. Plus, can’t fit a filter to the top of them
- Drybags. All mine are now not waterproof, barring my Osprey ones.
- Consider a foam mat?
What would you bring next time?
- Waterproof case for phone, especially with how much I fall over in rivers.
- Bluetooth headphones. Much better than wired headphones and don’t take up that much battery.
- Maybe a filter instead of purification tablets?
- Instead of t-shirt, I would get button down hiking shirts. Häglofs? I just like button down shirts in general. A birthday present, maybe? Haha
- Get a cap with a sun cover thing down the back?
How’d you like the facial hair?
Eh, not for me. Never again.
Tips for anyone thinking of a thru-hike?
- Always pitch under trees if you can and if it’s judged to be safe enough. Less condensation in the morning that way!
- Stick to your style of hiking. Don’t get sucked into another way of thinking or hiking.
- Eat food that you’ll actually enjoy.
- Commit. Full send.
- Budget when in towns. It’s oh so very tempting to just splash out on food and stuff.
- Get flip flops.
- My personal tip is to get durable stuff that will last the trail and beyond, i.e. not ultralight. But each to their own.
- Take laundry sheets so you don’t have to pay for detergent wherever you go
- Do you really need waterproof trousers?
- Get a gas converter so you spend less money on gas. And a CrunchIt tool so you can recycle them safely
- Get ear plugs, some people snore loudly.
Expectation Vs. Reality
- Thought I’d be alone a lot more. Instead I spent the majority of time with people which was just wonderful.
- More road than I thought there would be. Sure, I had heard and read about how much road there was, especially on the north island, but it took me by surprise nonetheless.
- More rainforest than I expected. Silly, I know, but I really wasn’t expecting New Zealand to have any rainforest at all really… Oops!
- I expected to get more blisters than I did. Or just to have sorer feet than I had in general.
- The cities weren’t what I expected, nor the style of the houses and buildings.
- So many cows.
What’s Next?
- Apply for jobs in Edinburgh, London, Europe, UN, Sydney, NZ (specifically RocketLab).
- Apply for PhDs at Zürich ETH, EFL, Max Planck Institute. Take what comes first, job/PhD.
- Lots of hiking in Scotland. Affric-Kintail Way (Twig), East Highland Way (Jen Jen), Skye Trail (Flora and Aimee). Bike pack Hebridean Way (Cam) as an experiment too maybe.
- Run more.
- Planning on doing Jordan Trail in August/September 2024 or so.
- Want another Hilleberg. The Nammatj 2. Do I need it though, that is the question!…
Final Stats
- Total number of days: 129 (October 31/10/2022 – 08/03/2023).
- Walking days/zero days: 107 days walking, 22 zero days. Slackers
- Number of times I’ve pitched tent: 68 times
- Number of times I’ve slept on broken air mat: Approximately 80% of the time
- Weight gained/lost: 0kg. Started at 80kg. Finished at 80kg. Healthy.
- Trail angels: 11
- Number of hitches: 14
- Huts slept in: 18
- High points: Nelson Lakes, Wellington, Rcihmond Ranges, Routeburn and Kepler Tracks
- Broken/lost gear: Broke my sleeping mat, broke a pole, my water bladder had a hole in it…
Gump
Al