Te Araroa Trail, Southern Island of New Zealand

General Information:

As of 5/07 the Te Araroa Trail has not been built yet and there is only one sign on the South Island acknowledging its existence.  This guide will hopefully help to give you an idea of the route that we followed and some alternates.  It should also help to make you a little more comfortable going overseas and hiking in a different country.  The main route described is around 850 miles long extending from Bluff (southern terminus) to Ship Cove (northern terminus).  Also, be aware that this route is described northbound and that we were hiking in April and May, which is heading into there winter (sort of like being in Montana in November), so there are some routes that we would recommend in the summer, weather permitting, which we did not do because of the potential of winter weather.  In addition the guide below will try to remain as objective a possible.  In some cases we may say our daily distance or speed from point A to point B, but this is merely used as a reference so that you will be able to gauge how fast that you go compared to us and work off that number.  It is to show how the trail conditions are so you can be prepared by buying the right amount of food and estimating correctly until your next resupply.  Hard numbers are always more meaningful than a relative words like “good trail” or” “decent trail but a bit slow”.  By no means is it intended to show off or change your hike in any way. 

  

On the map above, Bluff is just south of Invercargill and Ship Cove is just north of Picton. 

DOC: Permits/Hut Passes/Maps:

There are no permits needed to hike on any part of the South Island if you follow the route that we took.  If you decide to take the Routeburn Track or any of the other Great Walks it would be a good idea to make reservations in advance.  This can be done at any DOC, Department of Conservation office.  The DOC offices are in just about every town along the trail and they are the roughly the equivalent of US Forest Service offices.  You will be able to buy a hut pass or hut tickets and maps there.  The hut pass will allow you one year of unlimited use of the DOC huts.  There is a very good system of huts, so most days you will probably pass at least 1 a day, sometimes more depending on the section you are hiking in.  As of 4/07 the annual hut pass was $90NZ.  Another option would be to buy some hut tickets at the DOC office.  They are $5NZ or $10NZ  a piece and each hut has a tier rating 1, 2, or 3 (3 having the most amenities and being the most expensive).  The tier rating corresponds with how many tickets that you would have to deposit in the drop box in order to stay the night.  During prime season many of the busier huts are staffed with a warden.  In addition, the warden will have a radio in case of emergency and receives daily weather reports to post in the hut.  However, the hut pass is not valid for NZAC huts.  There is one NZAC hut that we passed on our route, the Mt. Aspiring Hut.  Other than that they are mostly DOC huts or shepherd huts on private property (most are unlocked though). 

Here's a good break down on the hut tier system:

Great Walk huts- These have bunks or sleeping platforms with mattresses, water supply, hand washing facilities and heating facilities with fuel available. They usually have cooking facilities, fuel and a warden. Serviced huts- These have bunks or sleeping platforms with mattresses, water supply, toilet and hand washing facilities. They may have cooking and heating facilities and often a warden. Standard huts- These have bunks or sleeping platforms, toilet and water supply. Basic huts. These are shelters and bivouacs, i.e. huts with limited facilities which do not meet the standard hut criteria

Maybe mention too that we felt the $90 was well worth the comfort of knowing we had a place to crash in bad weather.

Private Property:

Crossing private property can be an issue in a few places, mainly in the bottom of the river valleys where grazing is ideal.  We found that the best way to deal with this was to knock on the door of the main house as we were walking past it and ask for permission from the landowner.  Once we did this everybody was generally very nice and had no problem with us walking across their property.  One time we were even offered a place to stay for the night.  Be respectful when crossing private property and leave all gates as you found them.  Another option is to go to the DOC beforehand and show them the route.  They will give you all the phone numbers for the ranches that you will be crossing and you can then call them before you get there.  

Transport To/From Trail:

Transportation to/from Bluff, the southern terminus, is available by car, bus, or air.  Invercargill is the major city along the south coast and the airport is about 2km outside of downtown.  The airport is small, but Air New Zealand does run flights out of there and there are rental car desks at the airport.  A one-way rental would probably be possible to access Invercargill.  Bus service is also an option to Invercargill.  From Christchurch the bus takes about 8 hours and costs around $70NZ.  From Invercargill there is public transportation that runs to Bluff for around $17NZ.  I think the shuttle to Bluff picks up at the visitor’s centre, the Tuatara hostel in the city square, or you can arrange for them to pick you up at a place of your choice.   

Transportation to/from Ship Cove is slightly more complicated.  If you are trying to southbound the South Island then you will need to arrange transportation to Picton.  This is possible either via bus, ferry from Wellington, or air.  From Picton there are two “ferry” companies that offer services to the Queen Charlotte Track and they will ferry you out to Ship Cove.  They leave twice daily from Picton and arrive at Ship Cove at around 10am and 2pm.  The cost for this service is $45NZ per person.  These ferry companies will also slackpack you if you arrange it with them. 

Equipment and Extra Gear:

Outdoor gear is fairly expensive in New Zealand and some of the special lightweight gear just cannot be found.  The “ultralight movement” has not begun there yet, so I would recommend bringing over most equipment that you think you may need.  Also, trail runners and other gear are usually double the price than in the States.  So, you will save some money by doing so.

Also, we were told that our compasses wouldn’t work down there and we would need specific compasses for the area.  This is a myth.  Do not believe this if anyone tells you this.  The only thing you need to do is tilt the compass a little so that the needle doesn’t drag.   

Bounce Boxes/General Delivery:

The postal system is very different in New Zealand.  Some small towns don’t even have a post office and only in the largest towns do they actually have a post office, called a post shop or post store.  In the small towns it ranges from no post office to the post office being in a gas station convenience store or in a car mechanic’s shop.  As a result some small towns have every long post office hours and may even be open 7 days a week.  General Delivery is called Poste Restante in New Zealand and you would address your box like the example below:

Your Name

Poste Restante

Town Name

That’s it!  There are no zip codes or anything.  Postage rates are pretty standard too.  In order to re-mail your parcel anywhere on the same island it is $8NZ, unless the package is over 9kg.  To forward something without having opened it is called a redirect and it still costs somewhere between $7NZ and $8NZ.  I am not sure how much it costs to mail between islands, but you will still probably save money by bringing extra gear down there and mailing it to yourself once over there.  The mailing time anywhere on the same island is generally only 1-2 days.  The post office will usually hold something for 2 months and then it will be destroyed.    

Hitchhiking:

We went over with the impression that hitchhiking to/from towns would be very easy, even more so than in Canada.  This was definitely not the case.  We almost always had a very difficult time hitchhiking and more often than not when leaving town we ended up asking people for a ride at the gas station or hostel.  Also, because of this difficulty, when we could figure out a way to come out to the road at a place where people might stop and we could solicit a ride then we tried to do that as well.  We often changed the route on the fly so that we could avoid hitching as much as possible.   

Hostels/Backpackers/Motels:

New Zealand has a very good hostel system.  They are in just about every town throughout the country because tourism is the basis of the economy.  The hostels are called backpackers, referring to the people European style backpacking around the country.  They are usually your cheapest option of lodging.  The room options vary from dormitory style beds and a communal bathroom to private rooms depending on what you are willing to pay.  The motels are typically a bit more expensive, usually running at least $100NZ.  The hostels usually have full kitchen facilities, paid internet (typically about $1NZ for 10 minutes), TV room, and pay phone. 

The backpacker’s are typically joined with a group.  You can become a group member either BBH or YH and save a few dollars per stay at each of the backpackers. 

Here's some quick info I found on BBH cards: The BBH Club Card is not transferable. It costs NZ$40 and it comes complete with $20 worth of pre-paid phone calls useable from just about any touch-tone telephone in NZ. There's a handy voice-mail service available too. Phone calls can be made from many overseas countries too.  The phone card value alone is worth it. I called home a lot for that $20.

Internet:

Internet access is very common throughout the country.  It can be found in every backpacker, some cafes, and some other places.  It is always either coin operated or by purchasing a card with a PIN number.  The going rate is usually $1NZ for 10 minutes and goes in increments from there.  The public libraries do not have free internet. 

Phone cards and making phone calls:

Pay phones are still very common throughout New Zealand.  However there are three types of pay phones; ones that only accept coins, ones that accept coins and calling cards, and ones that accept calling cards and credit cards.  Generally it is very expensive to make an international with a regular credit card (roughly $4 for the connection and $4 per minute thereafter).  I have heard that calling the U.S. is the cheapest by purchasing 2 calling cards; a local calling card to dial the local access number then a international one to use after dialing that access number.  If you need more info on this they should be able to help and sell you the necessary phone cards at the backpackers.  The BBH Club Card (see hostel info section) was also a good way to make phone calls.  The calling code to reach the United States is 001 and then the number you want to reach. 

Cooking Fuels:

Cooking fuels will generally be found in even the smallest of stores.  In the supermarket they will be located with the cleansers.  They will have different names from what you have seen in the States and be sold in about 32oz sizes.  Denatured alcohol, or fuel for an alcohol stove, will be a purple liquid called methylated spirits.  Calite is the Kiwi name for Coleman fuel/white gas.  Canisters are a bit harder to find.  Most outfitters had the canisters for stoves. They mostly carried MSR but there was also an off brand, maybe Brunton, and the fuel was half the price. Most sizes available, ranging from the small MSR (4oz?) to the massive (16oz?) one that looks like 2 regular MSR's stack on top of each other.

Animals/Plants:

New Zealand has a history of introducing a lot of animals, some accidently and some on purpose to try to get rid of other animals.  Historically, there were only two mammals in New Zealand, a type of seal and a type of bat.  Since, deer, boars, goats, possums, ferrets, and probably a few others that I can’t think of have been introduced.  The most annoying critter for hikers is the possum.  They are nocturnal, sort of fearless, good tree climbers and fairly widespread.  They make a harsh shrill noise that almost sounds like cats fighting.  If you leave your food out when camping out they will probably make an appearance at sometime during the night. 

The plant life is a bit different then most areas back in the States.  Typically, cross country travel can be very tedious and slow going through anything marked as forested on the maps.  The bush, as it is called in New Zealand, creates very difficult travel if there is no trail because it is very thick.  Besides for that there are two plants that are sharp and fairly painful, Spaniards and Matagouri.  They are typically found in some of the open grassy areas along creeks.  The Spaniards reminded me a bit of a Yucca plant because of the sharp needle-like leaves and the Matagouri were more of a brown bush with only thorns and no leaves. 

Weather/Seasons/Bugs:

New Zealand is in the Southern Hemisphere so the seasons are opposite from those in the States.  Their summer is during our winter and vice versa.  We started hiking from the south in the beginning of April and it was already chilly, probably mid 50’s during the day and 30’s at night on average most of the time.  It did snow too.  Be aware that if can snow even in the middle of summer.  We would read register entries that were talking about snow in mid-summer, but mostly in the higher elevation areas.  Generally when this happens the snow will melt out after the storm passes though.  New Zealand is also a very wet climate.  Most days we would have at least a few hours of scattered rain showers or drizzle.  The weather forecasts were typically fairly inaccurate, especially the extended forecasts.  One or two days out the forecasts were ok though.  At one point we were under two high pressure systems (usually meaning clear weather) and it was raining.  Things are quite unpredictable.  Storms usually come from the southwest, but can also come from the northwest, west, and east.  If you are into weather and weather maps remember that high pressure and low pressure systems rotate opposite from what they do in the northern hemisphere.  Weather also seems to move very fast down there, so be careful in the alpine areas because it can build very quickly. 

Also, with the wet, maritime climate black flies can be an issue year round in some areas.  They tend to be worse around the bush.  There are no other biting insects.

The South Island has a significant rain shadow area.  When you are on the east side of the divide there is far less rain, but if you are in the mountains you won’t notice a drastic difference because it still might rain a lot.  The area around Twizel and Lake Tekapo receives far less rain and you may notice this rain shadow because the landscape is more arid and the clouds seem to break up by the time they get there.        

Water Quality/Frequency:

Water is very common all throughout the New Zealand.  The only places that you may need to consider water options are on a ridge traverse or going up into the alpine areas.  Also, the water is usually of very good quality.  The only potential issues are the lower or main river valleys where there are a lot of farms with sheep or cattle grazing.  Giardea is not common in New Zealand, but has been found and is becoming more and more common now.   

Trail Types/Markers:

There are a few different trail types marked on the DOC maps.  These trail types usually pertain to the quality of the trail.  Anything marked as trail will have some sort of trail tread, but do not expect great PCT quality grading or trail tread.  It can range from near PCT quality to hardly a goat track.  We will try to rank the trail conditions for you based upon out mileage or km/hr that way you can have a good estimate based off of our speed to use to calculate you daily distance and use to figure out your resupply needs.  Anything marked as trail will have orange triangles marking the trail.  The orange triangles be nailed to trees and they will point in the direction that the trail turns or goes after that tree.  Trail is usually only built and marked in the bush.  Once in a broad river valley or in the alpine there is usually no trail.  The purpose of the trail is just to get you there, then you are on your own to follow the maps.  One step down from “trail” is marked on the DOC maps as a poled route.  A poled route can also vary in quality.  A poled route is usually in the alpine areas and it is as it sounds.  It is metal poles with orange caps on them.  Sometimes they are a bit spaced out, so if the weather is bad they can become hard to find.  Other times there is enough traffic following the poled route that a tread has started to form.  Sometimes the poled routes mark a route that is a bit dangerous and they have poled it because there might only be one way up or down (the way the poles go).  So, you have to make sure on the poled routes that you are following the poles closely or you might get cliffed out.  We found many of the poled routes that we took to be challenging and often have a bit of exposure.  If you are not comfortable with these conditions then we would highly recommend finding a detour for the poled route sections.  Another type of “trail” marked on the DOC maps is a route.  A route is something that people do and it may be marked with the orange triangles, but trail tread has never been built and it is not maintained.  A route is generally very slow going.  On some routes that we followed we could not travel at more than 1km/hr (.6mph) and we were pushing it as hard as we could.   

Road Types:

All of the roads to hitch on for resupplies are main thoroughfares from the east side of the south island to the west.  As you will see the issue with that is the exact opposite of hitching on a main thoroughfare in the States.  It is nothing like hitching on I-5 into Dunsmuir.  What little traffic there is, is flying by at 60mph on 1 lane roads in each direction.  Road walks can be a bit hazardous because there is no shoulder and the roads are windy and narrow.  Other roads we followed vary from jeep tracks, two tracks, and graded dirt roads.  The route is similar to a CDT experience in that respect.  

Great Walks Alternatives Permits/Regulations:

In New Zealand they have given eleven hiking tracks the designation of “Great Walks”.  They are the Lake Waikaremoana Great Walk, the Heaphy Track, the Routeburn Track, the Milford Track, the Hollyford Track, the Kepler Track, the Dusky Track, the Tangariro Circuit, the Abel Tasman Track, the Rakiura Track, and the Whanganui Journey.  It may be possible to work these into the route.  Just about all of these are on the South Island.  Our route did not incorporate any of these Great Walks because of logistics, but in the guide we will describe alternates that include the Great Walks and other alternates as well.  Some of the Great Walks are only accessible by ferry.  The hut system on the Great Walks is by a reservation basis, so if you know that you are going to be doing one of these alternates then try to book it as far in advance as possible, especially in high season.  Huts on the Great Walks can range from somewhere between $30NZ - $60NZ.  You may also need a permit to be hiking on some of the Great Walks on top of the hut reservations.  The reservations and permit info can all be obtained through DOC. 

Fords:

Some of the fords can be very difficult or impassable during and immediately after rainstorms.  The drainages are very large so the water flow increases rapidly, but also diminishes rapidly because everything rushes right out to the ocean.  Some of the fords, like the Rakaia and Wilberforce, can be impassable and the location of a bridge to cross on is very far downstream.  If there has been heavy rain expect to wait it out.  The main rivers do braid a lot because they are in wide glacial canyons, so once the rivers subside a bit that will help disperse the flow of the river.  The Kiwis kept telling us that the ofrds are the number one killer in the NZ mountains and the fords should not be taken lightly.  In addition most of them are glacial run-off, so it can be very difficult to gauge the depth of the river.         

AC Adapters/Plugs/Voltage:

The outlets are not the same as in the U.S or in Europe.  The voltage is 240 over there, although a couple of times we saw 110V outlets too.  The outlet kind of looks like an upside down V.  If you have anything that needs to be charged you will need to buy a converter. 

Locator Beacons/Maps:

The DOC and most trampers (what Kiwis call hikers) expect and almost push that people carry a Personal Locator Beacon, PLB, while hiking.  They do rent them at the DOC office.  We did not carry one and people seemed a bit shocked by that, but if you are alone I would probably recommend it because some of the terrain is rugged and dangerous.  Some of the DOC offices also rent maps.  They ask for a deposit, which will be returned when you give the map back.  This won’t work well for a thru-hiker though because you have to return the map to the same DOC office that you rented it from. 

Wire Bridges:

When a trail crosses a river, some of them are bridged by seasonal footbridges or wire bridges.  Some of these bridges may be taken down or removed in the off-season.  However, these river were fordable and buy no means usually even the hardest fords.  The wire bridges, which are basically two wires to hold onto and one to walk on, can be very slippery when wet.  All of the bridges sway as you walk across them. 

Sun/UV:

Remember there is a hole in the ozone layer somewhere around New Zealand and Antarctica.  The UV is very strong down there, especially at elevation.  The daylight in the summer will also be very long. 

Bogs:

There are a few places, like around the Rangitata River, where wet, uneven terrain can be slow going as well.  Luckily, these are usually for short distances so they are not too bad, but they are still annoying and hard to walk on. 

Trail Signs:

Some of the trails are signed at junctions.  Interestingly enough these signs always measure the distance in time, never in actual distance.  For example, it might say “such and such a place 4hrs”, but not “such and such a place 12km”.  You will figure out how your pace compares to the signs stated pace and then at least be able to gauge how long it should take you to cover that distance.

Conversions:

.62 miles=1 kilometer, 3 miles=5 kilometers, 5 miles=8 kilometers

1 cal = 4.184 KJ

1 oz = 28.3g

Exchange Rate:

At the time of our trip it was about $1NZ equals .80 U.S.

ATM’s: (eftpos, cash back, etc.)

ATM’s are few and far between in the resupply towns.  Only the larger towns and cities have ATM’s.  Banks are not in every town like in the U.S.  Only Invercargill, Te Anau, Wanaka, Twizel, Lake Tekapo, Havelock and Picton have ATM’s.  You will not be able to get cashback at a supermarket or store with a debit card.  They have a slightly different system where there debit cards are called EFTPOS and those are the only ones that can get cash back.  Almost all places do take visa and mastercard, and some accept AMEX.  Some places will overcharge your credit card and give you cash back if you ask.   

Pics/CD Burning:

Internet cafes will often have cd burning capabilities and card readers so you can burn your pictures onto a cd.  There are also machines for $10NZ where you put you memory card in and it will burn a cd for you.  One of these machines is available at the store at Arthur’s Pass. 

Te Araroa vs. our route:

Our route was somewhere within the Te Araroa corridor, but we were not sure where the trail was always intended to go.  There is actually no trail built specifically for the Te Araroa Trail yet.  We did see one sign that mentioned the trail’s existence and the sign was on a dirt road along a canal.  Other than that there was nothing about the trail.  So when looking at a route we knew the start and end points and tried to piece things together between them by being on trail as much as possible and road as little as possible.  Our route didn’t always intend to try to follow the Te Araroa route because we tried to make it as scenic as possible.  Also, it was very difficult getting information on the Te Araroa route because nobody would return our e-mails when we were trying to find out about the trail.

Didymo:

Didymo is an invasive algae that has made a presence in some New Zealand waterways.  They are very worried about it spreading and have tried o take drastic measures to keep it under control.  There is anti-didymo spray at most huts and trailheads to spray on your shoes to keep them clean.  In addition, customs is very cautious about people bringing hiking gear into the country because it can carry Didymo.  It will make it easier for you is things are new when you go through customs, rather than having used hiking boots/shoes.  They may open up your bags and check your camping items for Didymo though, so be prepared for that.

Hut/Doc resgisters:

All DOC huts and DOC offices have registers.  DOC offices will even take down your intended trip itinerary and if they don’t hear from you at the end of a section or your exit date they will start a search for you.  This is an option to use if you are hiking alone and are worried about something happening.

Food: (OSM, small bars, bad lids)

Food choices are very different from hiking in the States.  Most of the items sold in the stores are made in New Zealand and those made overseas will be quite expensive.  Muesli and apricot flavored things are huge over there.  There are bars to eat but many of them are small and not substantial.  One type of the Naked Brand bars are the size of my thumb.  Energy bars are few and far between.  There is one type of bar called the One Square Meal bar which is designed as a meal replacement bar.  It is fairly common to find.  Also, some items have bad lids and don’t seal very well.  These items may explode in your backpack.  We had this happen on more then one occasion.     

Resupply Info: (NEED TO ADD DISTANCES AND SOME MORE INFO TO THIS)

Bluff:  Convenience store

Invercargill:  2 supermarkets, full services, DOC office

Riverton:  Market

Te Anau:  Supermarket, full services, DOC office

Glenorchy:  Convenience store, possible maildrop, DOC office

Makarora:  Convenience store, possible maildrop to DOC office or store possible hitch to Wanaka with full services

Twizel:  not a necessary resupply with Lake Tekapo only 46km further, but has full services

Lake Tekapo:  Full services

Arthur’s Pass:  Convenience store, DOC office, train station connects to Christchurch

Boyle Village:  no services, possible maildrop to the outdoor centre

St. Arnaud:  market, no outgoing mail, but possible maildrop will be held at locked fire-station, DOC office

Havelock:  supermarket, full services

Picton:  supermarket, full services, Interislander ferry to/from Wellington on the north island

That’s it for the North Island.  I can give you one resupply tip or just general tourist tips in case you want to go check out Wellington.  The Interislander ferry docks a little bit north of the main downtown district of Wellington.  The Interislander runs a free shuttle to the bus/train station.  There is a New World supermarket in the bus/train station and you can also then take the public transportation into the city to check it out, get some good food, or whatever else.  There are also YH and Base Hostels on Cambridge Terrace (I think that is what it was called) and the bus line that you will take to those hostels will go right down the main shopping street with pretty much everything you will need on it.  If you are headed home from Wellington or heading to the south island to start southbound there is also public transportation from the airport to the bus/train station which goes down the main street and it is only about $10NZ (which is much cheaper than a taxi, but you will need cash for this service).  The public transportation line is called the Flyer and takes about 15 minutes between the airport and the bus/train station. 

How to use our topo maps:

I am currently trying to map out the route that we took on the South Island. 

Our topo map system for the south island of New Zealand is intended to be similar to the topo maps that Jonathan Ley has produced for the CDT, so they will be easy to read for other people.  If you are seriously interested in hiking NZ send me an e-mail and I may be done with mapping the route and I can send you a cd.   

DOC Topo Map Symbols/Traveling on different types of terrain:

The DOC maps have logos for the different types of terrain that you will encounter in New Zealand.  Our maps will have these logos too and you will learn that a lot of what you feel comfortable doing depends on the vegetation/terrain.  For example, in the alpine tussock areas there are a lot of rock ledges that cannot be depicted on the maps.  So it is very hard to guarantee or confidently go to these areas to do cross country travel because the tussock can be very slippery and it might just be a little too steep to get down with the ledges in some places.  However, when the map shows that the descent has scree, it is a lot easier to go down something very steep.  Scree running is actually quite popular in New Zealand.  On scree a 3,000 ft descent may only take 15 minutes, where as on a tussock slope it could take hours.  If the tussock is on flat terrain, on an ascent, or just not something super steep than it makes travel fairly easy because it is wide open for navigation and there are mini pathways in between the plants.  If ascending or descending cross country, we found that it is always easier to gain a ridge and follow that up or down because the tussock and other vegetation is much thinner.  

Also, depending on the route that you want to take, glacier travel could also be an option.  We had intended to do some glacial travel, but we learned that since we were there in the late fall the glaciers were a lot more creviced this time of year.  So we changed out route in a few places to avoid those dangers.