"I love the smell of sulphur in the morning" | Te Araroa (Manawatū-Whanganui)

In the summer of 2023/24, I travelled to Aotearoa/New Zealand and walked the entire length of the country on Te Araroa, The Long Pathway. Although I had completed many multi-day trails in the past, I had never attempted something of this magnitude. Traversing the entire country over the course of 4.5 months and 3000 km, I experienced an adventure that blew away my expectations.
The story of my time through Manawatū could best be summarised as excitedly revisiting old experiences and getting rather nervous about new ones. With canoes hired, I set out east for the volcanic fields of Tongariro, one of my favourite places to visit in all of Aotearoa. Reuniting with some old friends afterwards, we headed back out west, each step taking us closer to the spectacular Whanganui River. A fleet of 8 canoes was launched into an epic 5 day journey following the river to the sea, navigating through dozens of rapids surrounded by tall, rainforest-covered cliffs.
My blog of my journey along Te Araroa: a-dangerous-bu...
Thumbnail and location artwork done by Eli Southward: eli-southward....
Drone footage taken by Matt Tomkins: / matt.tomkins
Music:
Christopher Galovan - Hold Me
Dear Gravity - Generations
Ben Winwood - Far from the World
Beneath The Mountain - Then There Was You
Alon Peretz - Turning Point
Kyle Preston - Growth