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.
The straight line distance from Cape Reinga to Bluff is 1475 km, however 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 was lucky to survive.
Some bloggers report around 100 days, but many take their time to enjoy the whole season and spend around 150 days.
Famous quotes containing the word trail:
“You will trail across the rocks
and wash them with your salt,
you will curl between sand-hills
you will thunder along the cliff
break retreat get fresh strength
gather and pour weight upon the beach.”
—Hilda Doolittle (1886–1961)