Time Keeps on Ticking

Don't die like an octopus. Die like a hammerhead shark.

~ Maori Proverb

DAY #6 . REST DAY #2 . Song = NONE . Weather = MIX OF RAIN AND SUN

Today is our second day in Ahipara and I'm finding it hard. Alex and I are trying to keep in good spirits, but the reality of the situation is that we are both bummed out. And there's not much we can do about it.

Yesterday Alex and I went to the hospital to get her foot checked out. By the end of our walking on Day #4 her left foot had ballooned out around the achilles area, causing some concern. If her achilles was injured in any way, shape or form, there'd be a really good chance that Alex would be ordered to rest for a long time and the possibility of not even being able to continue trekking at all loomed in the air.

But there was no way we could pretend some sort of injury wasn't there. And there was no way we wanted to continue with the possibility of it being injured further. So - to the hospital we went.

This involved us getting up at 6:30 a.m. to catch the one bus into Kaitaia at 7:30 a.m. It never came. And so we hitched - catching a ride with a local who chatted us up, showing us all the sights (mostly his friends' farm property) along the way. And then we arrived at the hospital.

Once there and Alex filled out a few pages of paperwork, the doctors checked her out and then sent her to go see a general practitioner. And so we walked there and then waited in the waiting room until her name was called. Eventually that happened and by 10:30 a.m. we left there with news that most likely some artery in her foot was damaged, causing some internal bleeding. But they suggested Alex see a physiotherapist to get confirmation and a more specific diagnosis. So over a cup of coffee at the nearest cafe, Alex phoned the physio's office back in Ahipara for an appointment. She could be seen at 1:45 p.m. Perfect.

And the day went on. We bought groceries for the next few days and all the food we'd need once we started trekking onwards to Kerikeri. I went back to the campground and Alex went to her appointment. When she got back it was time for the moment of truth.

It turns out that Alex's swollen ankle was caused from an artery being damaged due to extensive friction in the area, therefore causing internal bleeding. If she refused to let it heal, it could worsen to the point of preventing her achilles to work. Plus, because of all of this, it was making Alex walk differently, adding strain to her knee which would be damaged over time if her foot was not let to heal.

And so rest it was. The physio told her a week, but to come back and get it checked out Thursday (tomorrow).

But today's only Wednesday and it's our second day of rest here in Ahipara and it's hard. Not because there's nothing to do here or that it's not beautiful, as that's simply not true. It's because we're stuck - or at least I feel stuck. Waiting. Waiting so we can continue our adventure. Waiting for word of when we can go. Or not.

And that's my major fear. That Alex will be told on Thursday that she has to wait even longer and then we're forced with the decision of if we should wait together or if I should continue on my own. And I simply do not want to be faced with that choice. Particularly since it's only Day #6 of our journey. But hey - isn't it said that time heals all things? I only wish we knew how much time...

Let the Injuries Begin (2 of 2)

October 17/10

DAY #3 . 34 km . Song = "I WOULD WALK 500 MILES" . Weather = RAIN, RAIN, RAIN & then SUN!

We've finished only our third day of trekking and already I feel as though my body's been beaten to a pulp and then run over a few times on the 90 Mile Beach highway. But hey - I'm still loving it.



Me taking in the view on one of our breaks

 The three of us (still Dirk, Alex and me) managed to find a peaceful oasis in amongst some trees off the coastline of 90 Mile Beach. But that all didn't happen until we spent the day walking along a beach that seems never to end. And in the rain, no less. Our only saving grace was that the wind happened to be behind us. 

We started out alright, choosing to mix it up today by doing 5 min breaks every 45 min for the morning and then every 30 min after lunch, as opposed to the normal 10 min breaks every hour Alex and I have been doing until this point in time. It went pretty good for the first couple of hours, but then the rain started to pelt down and things began to look quite hopeless.

The hard part was that we could look as far ahead as we could see and all that would be there is beach. And even then, we knew that we had to go further and that alone wasn't enough to reach our ultimate destination of Ahipara. It felt as though I was in some warped dream of which I kept trying to move forward, but nothing ever happened. So - as it were - we fought the rain and walked, attempting anything to keep our minds from the growing pain in our feet and increasing boredom of seeing the same scenery for a second day in a row. We sang songs. We made mini goals to reach such as a certain shell to pass. And break times. We lived for those breaks if only to be comforted by the thought that we were slightly further along the beach.


And that was just it. We were never really certain of how far we were on the beach at any point in time. There were no landmarks. No specific distinctions between one sand dune to the next. We could only guess at how fast we were even walking.


Fortunately we did have the entertainment value of passing vehicles on the beach. Or - as it were - they were passing us. The best were the tour buses full of middle aged people zooming past us and honking - the drivers waving to us - as all the passengers pressed their faces to the windows in order to gawk at us walking in the rain. Apparently these people were not ones for long walks on the beach.


The drivers understood us though - if only to encourage us with a smile and a wave. But there was one driver in particular that pulled over to give us a bottle of water and then did the same on the way back for which we were really grateful for as the water sources along the way were scarce. 


Eventually we stopped to ask a family how far along the beach we were and were happy to find out we were only about a kilometer away from our goal stopping point. We were so happy, in fact, that we decided to keep going for another hour in hopes to make it to a rare stream. But not before we had a relaxing break.


It was then that the sun finally decided to come out and life was good. We even got to watch a couple of sea lions laze on the shoreline. Once we got up to go for our last stretch our bodies started to slowly stop working. EVERYTHING hurt.


Eventually we made it to a stream where we thought we would set up camp. We were stoked at the idea of being able to have access to fresh water for the night as it would mean we could freely drink without fear of running out and not having enough to get started for tomorrow morning. The only thing was, when we got round the dunes to where we figured we'd be sheltered by the wind, we found the stream oasis to be polluted by everything imaginable. Empty bottles. Pieces of rope. Old shoes. Everything and anything had been dumped in and around the stream. Weather it had washed down the stream, been tossed there by passerbys or come in with the tide - we do not know. But it is things like this that makes me wonder what is wrong with people in the world of today. And the worst part is that there is no way that we can even begin to help clean up that area as we have to carry everything on our backs. I only hope that someone soon will come by to clean up the rubbish as it is things like that that hurt our environment in the long run - and it's something that is completely preventable. 


Regardless, we managed to find a good camping spot in the trees behind the dunes and we've set up for the night, careful to organize enough water that would get us through as much as tomorrow as possible. Not an easy task.


But now that we're here life is good. Particularly in the horizontal position.




October 18/10

DAY #4 . 27 km . Song = "GOOD MORNING" (Viagra commercial song) . Weather = FREEZING COLD WIND AND RAIN FOLLOWED BY SUN AND MORE WIND

Turns out we scream like girls. And whine like girls. Winge, complain and groan like girls. It sure is good to know we ARE girls. 

We have made it to Ahipara and have barely been able to set up tent, eat dinner and shower before crashing in a horizontal position within our tent and groaning with pain as every movement hurts. Granted, a majority of this may be caused from simply being dehydrated and, as a result, our lactic acid content in our bodies is at a major high. Whatever it is - it hurts. 

At the very least - we have made it. We are stoked to have made it and tomorrow is our rest day. Today was a day that never ends. It was as though we fell down the rabbit hole in Alice in Wonderland, only instead of falling we had to walk. And walk. And walk. Right from the get go we could see Ahipara in the distance as it was tucked in the hills in the distance. But it never seemed to get closer. Even as the day went on and we spotted things like people on kite carts, a man golfing in the middle of the beach and then running to catch his ball and another endless stream of tour buses - it just wasn't enough. We just wanted to get there. To the destination. We were done with the beach. 



The end of the beach that took us 3 days to walk.

 As the hours droned on we eventually made it. Alex and I said goodbye to Dirk as he was set to stay at a hostel and Alex and I planned to camp for the night and then we sat at a cafe and had something to munch on before we went to set up camp. And so here we are. Dead tired and completely stoked to have tomorrow as a rest day. Our major hope is that we can sort out Alex's injuries as her ankle has swollen incredibly big - to the point that we now refer to it as a "Fankle" - we plan to set out tomorrow for the doctors. Fingers and toes are crossed. Okay - maybe just fingers. The toes carry too many blisters at this point in time.

Let the Injuries Begin (1 of 2)

The more you ask how much longer it will take, the longer the journey seems. 

~ Maori Proverb ~

So - it's been a while - and, yes, we have started our journey. Since Auckland we spent a bit of time up in Paihia, a quaint little tourist beach town in the famous Bay of Islands. Kirstin, Alex and I spent some time on the beach, had a day over in Russell (most of it inside a cafe as it was bloody cold and rainy outside) and primarily hung around our new found temporary home of Omri's. It was nice to have a little break before Alex and I said our goodbyes to Kirstin at Cape Reinga and set off on the journey that will surely change our life forever.

October 15/01

DAY #1 . 26 km . Song = "YMCA" . Weather = CLOUDY, WINDY & DRIZZLE

It's our first offiicial day and it feels brilliant. Starting at 7 a.m. Alex and I got ready at the campsite slightly south of Cape Reinga and set out with Chen (Israel) who decided to join us for the day. As I said, it was brilliant. Absolutely surreal to be out there and doing what we said we'd do for the past however many months. And Day #1 is done. Only an expected 149 to go. 

As it were, today we started by just STARTING to trek to our starting point. Two hours later we made it there - to the lighthouse - after a grueling wake up call of sweating our way up and down the many hills to get to Cape Reinga. And then Alex had us go right down to the lighthouse so we could say that we actually started at the very northern tip of New Zealand. It was worth it.



At least one starts to catch on to the new sport



All of that could have never even been possible without the people we met at Omri's house yesterday. Three Israeli and two Czech guys had come to stay the night before and happened to have plans to head towards Cape Reinga yesterday after checking out the waterfalls just outside of Paihia. Fortunately for us they were able and willing to take the three of us girls (myself, Alex and Kirstin) as well as Chen up North.

Yesterday morning we all piled into the guys' vans after packing up our things and having a few last minutes of luxury in front of the TV. From there we headed in the direction of Kerikeri, stopping at the supposedly amazing waterfalls on the way. When we got there we didn't so much as even stop to look at them as we did simply glance at the minuscule falls through the windows of the van and drive on by. We figured there was bigger and better things to be spending our time looking at in New Zealand.

From there we made it to Kerikeri and our posse of nine found our way to an Israel restaurant. Definitely delicious and I left with dreams of wanting to travel there in the future.

Eventually we made it to Cape Reinga, but not before the boys did a slight detour to 90 Mile Beach. They wanted to see if they could drive the van on the shoreline while towing someone behind riding a skateboard with no wheels. It was only slightly successful, but we all left after having a good laugh.


By the time we arrived at the campground (after taking a peak at the lighthouse at Cape Reinga during sunset) it was dark and we all were tired and hungry. I couldn't wait any longer so after we set up camp I ate a muesli bar and went to bed where I drifted in and out of a restless sleep.


And so there's today. Once we eventually reached our starting point, the three of us set out to make our first steps along Te Araroa Trail (Chen had decided to join us for the next day or two). We went up and down as we stuck to the coastline hoping for a glimpse of 90 Mile Beach. It eventually happened at 2:30 p.m. We had made it to the beach that would take us three days to complete. 

As we got all settled at our campsite near the beach, another trekker came down the set of stairs we had just descended and joined us. He then introduced himself as Dirk from Netherlands and proceeded to inform us that he, too, was trekking Te Araroa Trail. We had found our first trail friend. 


After much discussion over comparing each others preparations, equipment choices and hopes in trekking the trail, we decided that the four of us would set out in the morning to continue start our journey along 90 Mile Beach together. At 7 p.m. here I am now ready to get some sleep and set out early to continue the adventure.

Life is good.


Day #1 - complete.


October 16/10

DAY #2 . 23 km . Song = "SAMSUNG RINGTONE" . Weather = CLOUDY then SUNNY 


Alex and I were off with a start today. Kind of. Our posse of three had added one more contender yesterday, Dirk (Netherlands), who happened to declare that he, too, is doing Te Araroa Trail. Go team. Unfortunately, he ran a little late this morning as Dirk hadn't woken up on time for us all to leave at 7 a.m. so we left at 7:30 a.m. It's not like it's a race.

Chen, Dirk, Alex and I set off along the beach like four musketeers - it was our first of three days of beach walking and we had a small hope that we might be able to complete it in two. 84 km that is. But first we had to get water. Our campsite last night was by the ocean, but with no fresh water source accessible we had to ration what we had left until we passed the next stream. And sure enough, we managed to find the first river shortly into our journey. It was time to fill up.

The toughest part of 90 Mile Beach is not that it's 90 Miles (in fact - it's only about 60 miles) or that it's long at all. The toughest part is that there's no guarantee of  of where one can find water. So at our first river we topped up all our bottles of water - Alex and me loading up at 6 litres each (each litre of water weighs about 1kg). It was here that we said our goodbyes to Chen as he was going a different route and then the three of us remaining set off on our extended beach walk.


And so we walked. As the day grew on, I began to realize that what we were doing gave a whole new meaning to enjoying "long walks on the beach." This was by far the longest walk I have ever done on a beach and I still have two more days of it to look forward to. Joy.




Me, Alex and Chen setting off on Day #1

 As Dirk, Alex and I walked the long stretch of sand we found much time to contemplate life and get to know each other better. After all, the three of us will probably be stumbling over each other on a consistent basis in the next five months as we walk the length of New Zealand.


Which brought me to the though of what we are actually doing. 3000 km. Across New Zealand. When we were at the lighthouse at Cape Reinga there was the famous directional/distance pole that informed us Bluff was a mear 1452 km aay. In otherwords, if a string was stretched from one end to the other of New Zealand, this is the length it would be. That also means that though we are walking from one end to the other of New Zealand, the trail will actually take us on a journey over twice the distance. 


It is with these thoughts that makes me wonder how we will fare in the long run on this journey. It is only Day #2 and already the blisters are starting to show. On Alex's feet at any rate. I have been fortunate enough not to get them yet, but I am sure I will soon enough. Three solid days of repetitive motion with the feet while carrying a heavy pack can do wonders when it comes to the idea of a small blister. Alex is a prime example as her count is up over 10 already. Ouch.


The beach isn't all that bad though. It IS pretty - though there are few landmarks along the way to let us know how far we've gone. We can only guess - such as what will make tomorrow particularly tough as we are doing the middle section of the beach. We will neither be able to distinguish a starting or ending point as we go. Should be fun. At the very least we have numerous amounts of tour buses entertaining us as they zip past us. Or should I say - we entertain them. I am sure that with the 20 minutes it probably takes them to drive the beach that takes us three days to walk we are the most entertaining species to look at. There isn't much else. 


At the very least, we have made it to a gorgeous campsite here by the beach and the sun has decided to come out and dry off all our clothes that were made wet earlier on by the rain. I even had the chance to wash a few pieces in a vain attempt to minimize the already growing stench that's worked into the fabric. My only hope for tomorrow is that maybe - just maybe - the sun will stay out all day. Fingers are crossed.

Light as a Feather

Recently Alex and I have been busy completing an article for the magazine Backpacking Light. We were excited to have this opportunity until, upon review of what we had written, we were informed that our hopes of carrying a pack with the baseweight of 15kg (this doesn't include food or water) was just simply too heavy to be considered in attracking readers for the magazine. Understandable. The tough part is that Alex and I have paired down our gear as much as we can, to as little as we think reasonably possible, considering we are going for 5 months and will be facing a variety of terrain and weather conditions.

And so - though we were not able to publish our article in the magazine - we happily share our journey of trying to find gear that is both easy on the back and budget with those who have been following our adventure via blogs. Enjoy!


Though the idea of setting off into the wild can be an extremely exhilarating thought – the process of trying to find adequate gear to fit the style of your journey and budget of your pocket can become incredibly overwhelming. With so many different types, prices and weight of gear available to the average trekker worldwide, it is often hard to know where to begin.


For ourselves – Alex Ward (England) and Shalane Hopkins (Canada) – we have had numerous experiences of day, overnight and long distance trekking worldwide. And we have done it all within a limited budget. At this point in time we are planning and preparing for our greatest trek to date. At an estimated length of 3000km, Te Araroa Trail stretches from Cape Reinga to Bluff, taking adventurers the entire length of New Zealand.

When the idea first formed, we agreed immediately that we would need to invest in gear that would last us the distance as the trek itself will take us five months to complete. Up until this point both of us have made do with what we had at hand. Instead of proper trekking boots, we’ve used trail runner shoes. Instead of quick-dry trekking pants, we’ve used cargo pants and leggings. We didn’t even know what merino was. We decided this journey would be different. This time we would make an effort to get as much “proper” gear as possible for our adventure. Essentially, we would be starting from square one.

That being said, there was no way that we would be able to buy everything we needed and still have money left over for things such as food and other such necessities on our multi-month trek. So we put our heads together and decided that since we are doing the trek to raise money for Indigo Foundation, it would only make sense to try and get some outdoor gear companies on board through sponsorship. And that we have done.

And as such, we have come down to our last few weeks of preparation and we have managed to obtain all the gear needed for our trek. Some was through sponsorship. Some was purchased brand new and some we even were able to use again from our past endeavors. Regardless, through our preparation journey we have learned a thing or two about the importance of choosing gear suited to its purpose, while still being lightweight and within our budget. Easier said than done.

So in trying to maintain this delicate balance when making our gear choices, we had a few simple things to keep in mind when planning our adventure. First off, there are things that we simply cannot do without because of health and safety reasons. Then, we have prioritized our gear into whether it meets the necessary basic requirements of comfort, fit and purpose. Weight and price were a toss-up, varying simply on which piece of equipment we are referring to. Finally, we have assessed our gear based on how durable the product will be in the long run.

With regards to the “must haves,” we’ve classified these as the items related to hygiene and first aid. But how does one begin to decide? Band-Aids and toothpaste tubes are one thing, but there is a multitude of other options available for use in the great outdoors. Fortunately, we were able to get sponsorship from First Training, a first aid training company in New Zealand that provided us with two days of training for outdoor first aid. After completing that course we were able to better assess what we figured we needed to take on our trek. Shampoo was replaced with multipurpose biodegradable soap. Beach towels were replaced with quick-drying/absorbing trekking towels. Our collapsible scissors were removed. A Swiss Army knife could do the same job. We added an emergency blanket, waterproof matches and magnesium stick. We also made sure the basics such as blister packs were accounted for.

New Zealand’s alpine conditions can be quite cold and the weather unpredictable, even in the summer time. Most of the mountain ranges Te Araroa Trail explores are areas of which we’ve been warned can be difficult to navigate through. Sure, we have had plenty of combined experience trekking the great outdoors, but as our trek will take us across an entire country of which weather will vary greatly and our chances of getting lost and/or injured could be expected to be higher, we figured it is more important for us to suck up the weight of these items than sacrifice ourselves in a country unknown to the both of us.

Once the health and safety items were accounted for, the fun could begin. For us, there were certain items for which fit, comfort and weight took priority over the budget. These things include trekking boots, socks, tent and backpack. Both of us have experience in purchasing things we figured would work for our previous journeys only to find all too often that our choice of siding with the cheaper option caused us much pain in the end.

Prior to preparing for Te Araroa in New Zealand, Shalane had trekked the width of British Columbia in her home country, Canada. Doing a distance of about 1000km in none other than trail runners, she learned all too quickly the importance of making sure her feet were well supported for the journey at hand. Though during British Columbia Shalane had carried a heavier pack (estimated weight: 25-28kg), the thought of doing a trek three times the distance of her trek in British Columbia in something less than a well made hiking boot was out of the question. And that went for socks too. Good quality boots, socks and insoles chipped deeply into our budget, but we had no regrets.

Another important gear item we highly valued was our packs and ensuring they were adequate for our journey along Te Araroa. Fortunately we were able to save money and plan to use our packs from previous endeavors, but we still had to check out a few things. There are portions of Te Araroa of which it is warned there are limited fresh water sources for trekkers. As such, it is recommended to make sure that one has the ability to carry adequate amounts of water to travel onwards. We estimated that to be 6L of water –Each. Being budget-conscious trekkers, this is where we had to bite back the thought of how much this would weigh on our backs. Sure – we might have made the choice to invest in something like a water filter to allow us the ability to travel more lightly and still be able to get the required amount of daily water. Unfortunately something like that – even the most basic designs – generally start in the hundreds of dollars. Instead, we opted to carry our extra water and purify it through drops and tablets. Due to this choice we had to consider whether or packs could carry 6 liters of water.

Next up is the tent situation. At the beginning there wasn’t even a “situation” to be had. Shalane had shipped her tent from Canada that she used in British Columbia and it was perfect. At 2.3kg weight, the two-person, three-season structure was built to withstand New Zealand’s weather conditions. We knew full well that some days might be completely lived within the tent to wait out common and spontaneous storms in New Zealand’s wild.

But then the unfortunate happened. When we got it set up at the hostel we had been using as a home base in Auckland for preparations, we immediately discovered that the waterproof coating had worn off the tent. Not just the seams but the entire fly of the tent soaked in any rain that hit it. And then the floor of the tent did nothing to stop the water from seeping up from the ground. Not exactly what we wanted when facing a five month journey across a country known for its excessive wetness.

The budget fix-it solution was to phone up the company that made the tent and request a trade as it was still under warranty. This would have worked, but as we were in New Zealand and the tent was made in Canada, we did not have enough time to wait for it to be sent there, assessed and a new one sent back. At the time we were due to start trekking in a month. So Plan B was to check out temporary water proofers that one can spray or paint on the tent material to protect it from wet elements. But trying to find one that could guarantee us longtime wear out of its usage was like trying to find a unicorn. And so we reluctantly decided to go tent shopping. After many stores and many discussions with numerous store employees of what we had in mind for a tent to take us the distance, we found what we were looking for at one of our sponsors – Macpac. They happened to be having a massive tent sale and so we were able to snag one with all our requirements for half price. Turned out to be a bonus that it was even lighter than the one we had before. At 2.0kg, this two man tent was the answer to our problems.

After that, finding things such as a sleeping bag, pants, shorts, compression sacks and much more proved to be relatively easy in comparison. We still managed to maintain some sort of strategy to find the best price, weight and fit for the remaining items. Armed with our notebooks and pens we’d head out in the direction of Auckland’s Newmarket area and start at the beginning. From there it became a process of attempting to find everything on our list within that one store, try it on and then record the price and weight of the item in our notebooks. Anything we thought we might come back for we put on hold and then headed to the next store. By the time we finished our rounds, we were able to assess which items were the best buys at each store and then go back in for the purchase. These mammoth days proved to be exhausting and if it were not for all the helpful staff at each of these stores we wouldn’t have been able to do it.

Once our lists neared the end, all that was left was to pack it all up and go on a trial trek. We chose Hillary Trail in the Waitakere Ranges as it offered a variety of terrain and conditions that would maximize our ability to sort out which of our gear we’d keep and which we’d leave behind when we officially set out on Te Araroa.

Those six days became quite a learning experience, as we originally set out with packs at about 22kg, water, food and everything included. After days of beach walking, road trekking, mountain climbing, mud avoiding, sun baking and rain tramping we arrived back in Auckland more confident about what we needed for Te Araroa and what we didn’t. Out went the extra pair of pants. No more gloves – socks will do. No need for an extra long sleeved shirt when thermals will do the job. Packing hygiene items in zip-lock bags rather than a canvas case will help with weight. Not to mention our ability to organize our packs better to maximize our use of the space and compression sacks. We also came back with the mission to spray our packs down with water proofer as this will protect them better against the wet conditions. We came back with lighter packs – our goal is now 15kg packs (excluding water). We came back ready for the five months ahead of us.

Quite simply, when it comes to trying to backpack light and stay on a budget, it all comes down to getting creative. When money’s not an issue, you can just purchase whatever is on the rack that’s going to be the lightest in your bag. For the rest of us, preparing for a long distance journey can become something so intimidating we wonder why we didn’t take up a love in something like chess instead. So if you have the idea in mind, try to plan as far in advance as you can. Things such as seasonal sales can come in handy along with the many membership opportunities available at most large outdoor gear stores. Take the time to shop around. What seems like a good fit, weight and price at one store may not be the best find yet. Try to aim somewhere middle range to maximize your dollar and your back muscles. Also, sometimes it is simply better to spend the money in order to get something long lasting. It can mean the difference between having to spend a couple hundred or a couple thousand the next time you plan a long distance journey. At the very least, try to invest in items that will last the duration of your journey – or know that you may have to do a little mid-trip shopping along the way.

Backpacking light does not have to mean breaking the bank to get the top of the line gear. It does not have to mean sacrificing your comfort level to the point that you feel like a cave man (or woman). Backpacking light simply means cutting your gear of all the things you deem unnecessary. It means being able to still enjoy your journey and possibly have room in your pack to bring a camera to capture the moments along the way. Or not. Backpacking light can mean carrying a pack of 5kg and having little more than the clothes on your back and a tarp to sleep under or it might just mean that you chose to leave your mascara at home. Whatever it means to you, backpacking light is about challenging yourself to connect further with nature and less with the material possessions we deem necessary to survive it.

Check out our gear list for our five month trek below and feel free to follow us on our journey as we trek New Zealand’s newest long distance trail, Te Araroa in order to raise $10000AUD for Indigo Foundation and their Solomon Island project.


Shalane Hopkins (http://www.onelifeadventures.com/)

Alex Ward (http://www.missionlivelife.com/)


And - as many have hinted at and even requested - the following is my gear list. I have quite simply stuck to what I am bringing in my own pack, so there will be some differences based on what I am planning to carry and what Alex is carrying. Feel free to check out her blog to see what her gear looks like (http://www.missionlivelife.com/). There have been a few things that were left out as we were not sure if we'd be taking them or not, so if you have any questions - feel free to ask. I will be doing a follow up of our gear at the end of our journey to reflect on what we actually did use, what we wish we had and what we could have done without. Please note that in this compiled list, there is only one of each item unless otherwise indicated.
 
Necessities

• Sleeping bag
• Sleep sheet
• Sleeping mat
• Headlamp
• Survival kit
• Trowel
• Toilet Paper
• Rope
• Water Bottles 1L (4)
• Camelback 2L
• Pot
• Bowl (2)
• Spork (2)
• Stove
• Gas canister
• Sunglasses
• Toothbrush/toothpaste

Clothes

• Trekking boots
• Water shoes
• Socks (3)
• Underwear (2)
• Bra
• Convertable trekking pants
• Shorts
• Thermals (1 set long sleeved)
• Camisole
• Singlet
• T-shirt
• Zip-up
• Fleece
• Rain jacket
• Rain pants
• Beanie

Extras

• Camera (small) - includes spare battery and memory cards
• Camera (large) - includes spare battery and memory cards
• Journal/pen
• Decks of cards

Food (we'll vary carrying anywhere from 4-10 days worth of food depending on where we are)

• Breakfast
• Oatmeal
• Dried fruit
• Dried milk
• Tea
• Lunch
• Muesli power bar
• Dried fruit/veggie fibre bar
• Snacks
• Trail mix
• Dinner
• Freeze dried meal

 
And that is all she wrote.... until next time.

Till Bluff Do Us Part

Till Bluff do us part.

Or at least that’s what I thought the other day. Sounded better than the idea of being committed till “death.” Regardless, the entire idea just makes it sound like Alex and I are married. And really – when one thinks of it with all those legal issues and controversies aside – we are. Or at least at this point I suppose you could consider us “common-law.”

Living in our pea pod of a tent for nearly a month now, things have come to a relative rhythm of life. Though Alex and I have only known each other since June and most of our friendship has been so focused on preparing for this trek that we didn’t even know how many siblings each other has until we were couple weeks in Auckland.

And looking ahead, we have five more months within our pea pod. Five months of being the primary person the other sees every day. Five months of sleeping so close that when sleep on our side we have the choice of having our face pressed against the side of the tent or against the other person’s feet. Five months of ups and downs where there is only each other to celebrate and mourn. Sure, there will be people we meet along the way and there is all the people who have supported us and will continue to support us as we go – but at the base of everything, there is simply us.

With our marriage of sorts there is the stress of the relationship ebbing and flowing, rising and falling. Communication will be a big part of that and has been up until this point. Alex and I are set and determined to be as open with each other as possible. To nip issues in the bud that is yet to be. And to date it seems to be okay. But to this day we have yet to actually start our journey across New Zealand.

What will be neither one of us can fathom in our heads. Trying to picture what life will be like for us for five months is like a newlywed couple trying to picture what life will be like celebrating a 25 year anniversary. So – to keep it simple – we have taken on a one day at a time philosophy. One day at a time, but our eye forever on the goal of making it to the other side.

We are committed. Committed to each other. Committed to these five months. We have voluntary chosen to put ourselves in a tight relationship without a clue of how the outcome will be. We have chosen our pea pod as a home. We have made it our home – already knowing which side of the tent the other sleeps on – regardless of where we pitch it. The commitment and understanding is there.

And the ironic part of it all is that through this friendship I have committed to something more long-term and intimate than any family, friend or boyfriend relationship that I have ever been in. Even to live in a small dorm room with another person, as I have done before, will not nearly be as intense as what Alex and I will have to go through. Alex and I have to rely on each other and trust each other essentially with our lives. It is a relationship made with “we” to the point that sometimes it feels as though we are not even individuals in our own right anymore.

But that is not even really a bad thing. Through being us – being friends – being teammates in this adventure of a life time – we have accomplished so much in so little time. We have gotten sponsorship. We have gotten the support of friends and family. We have built our websites and have uploaded photos and video. We have attended our first aid course and have continuously been chipping away at reaching our goal for Indigo Foundation. And the other day we even got word from Tourism New Zealand – otherwise known as 100% Pure New Zealand – of whom has offered to help us with the PR portion of our adventure. They have been following our preparation journey to date and think that what we are doing is worth passing the word along. Alex and I have always said we hoped to have someone like this come on board with us, but never really believed it could be. But it is. Check out the press release on their site that can be found at: 100% New Zealand

The interesting part? That is now. Heaven knows what we will be like five months from now when we are done. Because that is the finish line – that is as far as we have committed and then from then on, the door is wide open with possibilities of what could be. Until that comes, we are married to each other – till Bluff do us part.



You can now view our video from our first aid training below thanks to YouTube. Enjoy!

FIRST AID TRAINING

Into the Wild

We’re back. Back from the wilderness. Back from Waitakere Ranges. Back to Auckland. Back to the hostel. Back to life as normal as it can be when living out of a two-man tent in the front lawn. Alex and I have come back to reality after spending six days in New Zealand’s wilderness. We chose to do a trail, upon recommendation of a few locals, in the Waitakere Ranges just west of Auckland. We chose the Hillary Trail.

The Hillary Trail was developed between 2005 and 2009, inspired from Sir Edmund Hillary who came to the Waitakere Ranges to prepare for his expedition to climb Mount Everest. It is built to be a challenging wilderness adventure taking trampers 70 km along the wild coastline of Waitakere Ranges. The original design and layout is set for a four day/three night hike, starting at Arataki Visitor Centre and Ending at Muriwai Beach. Alex and I decided to change the trek into a five day/four night trek, ending diverting to Swanson for public transport purposes rather than Muriwai Beach (we rerouted from junction with Kuataika, Houghton, Wainamu Bush and Smyth Ridge Track).

And so the morning of September 26, we set off to complete this trail, grabbing a ride with Ray (a friend at the hostel) in order to make it to the Arataki Visitor Centre. Once there we booked our nights at the campgrounds and bought a map of the trail. The ladies at the desk informed us that this trail is said to be really difficult. We were okay with that. They informed us that it would be incredibly muddy due to the time of year. We were okay with that too. They also made comments that they were surprised we were carrying so much weight. We simply told them that this was only the beginning for us. This was the test run for all our gear needed to go along the Te Araroa Trail and we needed it to be as realistic as possible.

They finally let us go so we could get on tramping.

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DAY 1 (11 km) – September 26/10

Well – it’s been our first official trial trek day and it started off with a bang. First off – it turned out today began daylight savings here, but neither Alex nor I knew that. So we woke up later than what we wanted.

Regardless, we still managed to start out by 11am – thanks to a ride from Ray. We got dropped off at the Arataki Visitor’s Centre in Waitakere Ranges and headed off on the Hillary Trail after the visitor centre ladies questioned our choice of clothes and weight of packs (approximately 22kg each). We didn’t care that they told us the trail would be tough or that it was named after the first man to climb Everest. We were ready for anything.


Alex and I cozied up at the campsite


And so we went – chatting away along the trail until we got to the first bit of mud that would last us nearly today’s entire journey. Sinking up to the tops of our boots, we squished and squashed our way along – all the while contemplating a local employee’s advice from Bivouac that we should be investing in some gators. While trudging our way along the first bit of the Hillary Trail we also came to the realization of why New Zealanders call it “tramping” as opposed to “trekking.” There wasn’t anything delicate about the way we made our way up and over mountains and along ridges. We tramped in every sense of the word – working as hard as we could and yet still being continuously overcome by local trail runners with calves the size of my quads.

We weeded our way in and around, climbing up and over a variety of nature life – a few times getting stuck in the mud – occasionally being able to catch glimpses of the magnificent valleys and mountains surrounding us. Five hours from when we started, Alex and I managed to find our way to the first campground. Set aside a small river and amongst rolling hills, we set up tent, at dinner and cleaned some clothes. Though our day proved to be rather uneventful (aside from the copious amounts of mud), it was perfect. We now have a much better idea of what gear works (my new trekking boots are awesome!) and what doesn’t (my water bottle broke already) – tomorrow will hopefully prove to be just as good!

DAY 2 (10 km) – September 27/10

Day #2 started out with us waking long before the 6am alarm and then lazily getting ready – reorganizing packs and such – before we set off on the trail at 8am.


View from uptop our last mountain climb


Heading from our campsite at Karmatura, we made our way practically directly up a mountain. By this I do not mean the classic gentle slope that winds its way back and forth towards the peak of the giant form of rock. I mean – we literally climbed the mountain relatively straight up. Alex and I huffed and puffed as we put our muscles to good use. Each step was an effort and we were only grateful that there wasn’t any rain to be fighting off today as well.

The entire day was like being in one big sweat lodge as we would climb sharply up a mountain only to peak it and have to go just as steeply down. There were parts we had to literally scramble up the side of a rock face, forcing ourselves not to look down at the massive drop below as we heaved our bodies and packs just a little bit higher. And as hard as it was, it was well worth it. The views were spectacular and Alex and I made it to our destination – a local place called Whatipu Lodge – where we have been able to camp out on the front field. Gorgeous. Top off our day with freeze dried meals thanks to Back Country Cuisine (I had roast lamb with veggies) and life couldn’t be better!

DAY 3 (20 km) – September 28/10

Today started off with us cutting half an hour off our packing time and then us continuing on our journey from Whatipu Lodge where we were tenting. Alex and I chose to take the beach route from there as the workers at Arataki Visitor’s Centre warned us the regular Hillary Trail route was currently flooded. And so we trekked for a good two hours along the black glistening sand, taking in the roar of the waves and relishing in the fresh sea breeze that whispered against our faces.


The beach


By 9:30am we spotted a river exiting onto the shore of the beach. This was supposed to be our turnoff point to re-access the trail inland. Or so we hoped. There was no clear distinction of where we should head onwards to, aside from a piece of wood jutting from the sandy dunes that Alex had spotted. We shrugged off our packs, ate some trail mix and set out to explore the hopeful trail marker north of the river mouth. Five minutes down the trail, it still wasn’t entirely clear (no topographical map to do the comparison with) so we took a chance and decided to stick with it.

As it turned out, we were right and managed to reconnect with the Hillary Trail inland. And up the mountains we went, up along Zion Ridge Track and back down to the small town of Karekare. It was at this point, 6.5hrs into our journey that we realized we still had to get to the next town of Piha – a good 3hrs away – before we could set up camp.

Tired, thirsty, sore and hungry we trudged on, forever seeming to head up and up Waitakere’s many mountains. Eventually we made it to Piha and nearly squealed with joy to have found our destination. We secured a tent spot and went to the local store shortly before it closed to buy them out of their junk food. We were in heaven.

And so it’s been decided – we need one more day to enjoy Piha. One more day to rest ourselves. One more day to do nothing and prepare for the next part of our jouney.

DAY 4 (Rest Day) – September 29/10


Piha Beach


Alex and I have decided to make today a rest day – much deserved after our lengthy 10 hour (7:30am-5:30pm) journey through Waitakere Ranges yesterday. After a glorious night of sleep, Alex and I have done as little as possible today.

We managed to sleep in until about 8am, when we lazed around in our tent deciding what to do. Eventually we made our way to have breaky in the camp kitchen and then later moseyed on down to the local beach to do some photography. The afternoon was spent chilling on some couches as we rested our aching bodies and caught up on our reading and journal writing. And then we ended off today by going local to try out a fish and chips special. After a day of recuperating, resting and eating more than our fill of food – we’re set for whatever the trail brings our way tomorrow.

DAY 5 (17 km) – September 30/10

Today we attempted to wake up SUPER early in order to get a head start on what we anticipated to be our hardest day yet. We were awake at 5am, but the sun had decided not to appear from behind the mountains until much later. So we waited. And waited. And waited. Eventually we set out by 7am (which was still our earliest time yet) and started heading north out of Piha.

Heading off today it seemed as though our day of rest in Piha had paid off. Sure, our muscles were still slightly tired and our bags were still heavy, but we had a certain bounce in our step that hadn’t been before. Perhaps we’ve come to a point where we’re starting to get stronger. Perhaps, in some ways we’ve begun to get used to the rhythm of tramping. Or – perhaps our packs are slightly lighter than the last time we put them on due to all the food we’ve been eating.

Regardless, the trail today did appear to be slightly easier than the last few days. Instead of a trail that petered on the edge of self destruction, full of knee-deep mud and rocks threatening to send us tumbling to the depths below we simply had to walk on a trail.

We eventually winded our way up a hill until we reached the top of the mountain and the view opened up to a local famer’s field – complete with cows. It was here that we got to experience some of New Zealand’s blustering winds to the point that when we went to put on our jumpers to shield us from the cold, Alex noticed that her rain cover for her pack had blown off. She debated whether to go back and look for it (keep in mind that we are at this point standing in the middle of a farmer’s field that is on top of a mountain – the pack cover could be absolutely anywhere) and I reminded her that though we’ve been lucky for weather so far, the next days are expecting to rain.


All geared up for the rain


And so we left our packs there in the middle of the cow-trodden field and made our way backwards to double check that the pack cover didn’t just get caught up in a bush. We had just reached the entrance gate to the field when Alex yelled out that she had found it – and she had. We had been lucky that it had just blown off to the side of the track and was sitting there in the bushes.

From then on, our trek remained to be fairly uneventful and we happily tramped along, chatting away, taking time to be with our own thoughts, pointing out things to each other and making up songs about random things that came to mind. Eventually we made our way down the last bit of trail to our campsite and we started contemplating who would get to use the long drop (outhouse) first at the campsite. We were so stoked to get there that we didn’t want to have a break, but when we rounded a corner and came face to face with a massive muddy hill, we reluctantly decided to stop to regroup.

It was then that we pulled out the map and realized that we had gone a bit too far and had somehow missed the turnoff for out campsite. Alex and I debated what we should do as neither one of us are fans of backtracking and there was always the option of simply camping on the side of the trail if we wanted to. But the knowledge that we had somehow passed a sign that could be so blatantly obvious for our campsite didn’t sit well for us. So we turned around and retraced our steps. But we couldn’t find it.

We cross-referenced the map numerous times, analyzing the corners, the streams, the bumps and ridges of what would have been there had the map been topographical. But it wasn’t topographical and we were tired of going around in circles trying to find something that apparently wasn’t there. And so we found a little grass patch next to the path near a stream crossing and pitched our tent.

And now the rain has begun to fall.

DAY 6 (10 km) – October 1/10

Alex and I woke to the rain that had been pounding down on our tent all night long. We knew that today was the day we were due to be back at the hostel, but I don’t think either one of us wished to get out of bed. That being said I really had to go to the bathroom – really bad. I had avoided getting out of the tent all night as that would mean trying to figure out how to get out of the sleeping bag, find my rain gear (all still in my pack), get it on, get out of the tent without letting water in and find a spot to go to the bathroom in the dark. Not my idea of a good time. So I held on till morning when I REALLY had to go.

As Alex and I were figuring out our strategy to pack up everything without getting wet, I thought that I should get on the whole bathroom situation. So I found my rain jacket and got it on, but when I went to unzip my tent, my headlamp shone outside where about a million mosquitoes were making the layer in between our tent and the tent fly their new home. And they were ready and eager for some morning breakfast – my skin.

And so we moved onto Plan B. Not getting out of the tent until as late as possible. We packed up our sleeping bags and mats as well as all our clothes. We made our oatmeal in the tent – against all warnings of the camp stove company (sorry guys) and even brushed our teeth within the cozy surroundings of our two-man tent. Eventually the time came where there was nothing we could possibly do to delay getting outside any longer and so we got on with it.

I got all geared up in my rain clothes – a heavy duty rain jacket from Swazi and my rain pants. I put my feet in my hiking boots to find them still soaked from yesterday’s two river crossings that I didn’t do so gracefully at, but synched up the laces anyway. Today I was going to be wet regardless of how I started out.

And then I went out to face the swarm of mosquitoes.

By the time we packed up all our gear and put on our packs, the rain had lessoned, but one look at the skies told us it would be back. And so we walked. And then it rained. And then we walked some more. Three times we crossed flooded rivers (a big no-no in the trekking book, I know) simply because today was our last day and we assessed the rivers to still be doable for us to give it a go. Fortunately today (unlike yesterday) we took the time to change into our water shoes made more for the slippery river rocks, thereby avoiding the unnecessary flooding of our hiking boots.

By 1pm we had made our way to Swanson where we were able to catch the train into Auckland. We smelled. We were muddy beyond belief. We were done.

And now, we’ve made it back to the hostel we started at and it feels weird. I feel as though I have changed in the last few days and yet everything is still the same. It feels as though our time in the Waitakere Ranges was all just a dream and yet at the same time I know it wasn’t.

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Now that we have been at the hostel for a few day, I have had some time to reflect on our journey along the Hillary Trail. Sure, it wasn’t even a fraction of the distance we will have to do during Te Araroa Trail, but I still think we got out everything from it that we wanted. We experienced the mud. The beach shores. The rocky ridges. The glorious mountain peaks. Farmer fields. Road walking. River crossings. Rain. And everything in between.


Alex scraping her boots


We also did our bit to help prevent the spread of Kauri Dieback disease in the forests. It’s currently spreading through spores and such on the ground, killing New Zealand’s treasured Kauri trees. Throughout our journey Alex and I had to continuously stop to brush off our boots and then spray them with disinfectant to prevent the disease from going further. As we trekked along the Hillary Trail, we were able to see parts that were more affected than others – the beautiful trees withering before our eyes. And so we did our part as best we could – not minding that this entailed us stumbling around on one foot as we tried to brush our boot off while we carried our packs still on our back.

Through all of this it just makes me more and more excited about Te Araroa Trail. In less than two weeks we hope to be heading out and I am completely stoked that it has come to this point. This week we only have a few more things to get before we’re ready to go. We only have a few more people to contact. A few more ways to promote our journey. And then we’re off. And I can’t wait!

For All the Blood, Sweat and Tears

Thanks to First Training, Alex and I have officially been certified for outdoor first aid. We received our certificates via mail yesterday, the day we arrived back from our trial trek (more to come on that later), and immediately began reminiscing about all the hard work that went into obtaining those slips of paper on September 23 &24.

It all started about a week ago when we set out across Auckland to make it to the first day’s location – a room within AUT’s Northshore campus. Waking up around 6am, we trudged along Auckland’s winding roads to catch the transport bus for AUT (Auckland University of Technology) from their city campus. It felt as though I had started university all over again. A busload of professors got off at the city campus and we traded them places, blending in with the students on board.

Before long we arrived at the Northshore campus and began to try to find our way to the proper room through all the campus buildings. We arrived to find that we were some of the last people and immediately noticed that nearly everyone attending the First Training Outdoor First Aid class already knew each other. They were part of the Outdoor Recreation program at AUT.

Even so, Alex and I fit in rather quickly and the class started with a ring of jokes and laughter as we got down to the business at hand – first aid. Much of what we learned that first day was what I remember learning at previous first aid courses years back – CPR, general first aid, what to do when someone is choking, etc. The only difference was that because Alex and I were in an outdoor first aid course, there was a twist. Near the end of the day our instructors (James and John) had us react to a scenario that they had created for us outside. Nothing like a bus crash to get the blood pumping.

And the blood was pumping. Alex and I, acting as first aiders, ran from the classroom to find some of our classmates spread out outside lying on the ground moaning, screaming and pumping fake blood from whatever limb was affected from the terrible incident. Yes, that’s right – fake blood. First Training definitely stepped to the top of my list with regards to that little feature in their class. It was as real life as one could get without actually injuring each other to act it out. Alex and I arrived back to the hostel that night pumped with the knowledge that the next day would have even more scenarios such as that.

The next morning we walked our way to a classmate’s house that happened to only be living a few blocks away from our hostel. From there Susan drove us to the second day location of our first aid course – the local Scouts headquarters. Tucked away in a wilderness wonderland, the setting was perfect for our planned day of doing more outdoor scenarios. Slowly, everyone else arrived wearing whatever outdoor clothing they had from their closet – sweatpants, gum boots and hoodies alike. Alex and I were wearing head-to-toe proper trekking gear. Reading for anything.

Once everyone got settled we refreshed from the day before and then started in learning more things. Things even more relevant to if you happened to need to do first aid in a more remote outdoor environment. Things such as making a stretcher out of some long, thick sticks and everyone’s hoodies. Things such as how to split a limb with what you have. Things that Alex and I needed to know as we were heading off into the bush.

After lunch we got down to the business of the scenarios. The day before we had split off the class into three groups and each group had to create their own horrific scenario that they would act out and the rest of the class would come in to perform first aid. My group chose to be the first ones to go for it. We chose to do a scenario in which the six of us had been friends camping. One person starts to have a heart attack and when three others go to help, a gas canister gets knocked in the fire, causing those three to develop serious burns. Not to mention one of those three also has asthma. In the meantime, the remaining two had been off gathering firewood, oblivious to the chaos back at the campsite, until one (myself) comes back alone to see what had happened and immediately goes into shock. The situation becomes even worse as I happen to be seven months pregnant and the shock begins to cause some premature labor pains. Through all what happened, it takes a while for the first aiders to find out that we still have a sixth person missing in the bush (the one who was getting firewood with me) – I had come back alone as the other guy had begun to feel the effects of his low blood sugar as he had diabetes.



Alex impaled from the bridge

 Anyway, there was lots of screaming, confusion and blood. But in the end, the rest of our class was able to figure out things and help us all out.

The second scenario proved to be quite different as the six people in that group decided that they were going to pretend to be part of a rafting group that went down a waterfall and landed up on some rocks along the shore. Now at this point, I should note that the location we were at was not as though we were working outside of someone’s backyard. For my group’s scenario, we actually were able to act it out around the local campfire, making the scenario as real as possible. This second group was able to get down to the shoreline where there actually were rocks along the water – and this was not exactly next door either. So when us first aiders got the call from emergency services (we were communicating via radios with our instructors who acted as emergency services), there was some difficulty figuring out how to get to the injured group as we hadn’t known previously exactly where they were.

That bit of the scenarios really proved to remind me of what it actually would be like in real life. If someone did have an incident in the bush, it is not as though one can be told to go down 2nd Street until you see McDonald’s, turn right and you’re there. In the bush, all trees begin to look the same. Trails can split off, but it can be difficult to determine which direction they’re actually going. Things could get ugly pretty fast if the first aiders are not fully prepared to navigate through the territory at hand.

As it were, we eventually made it to where the second group was, with help of one of the group members who was rather anxious about his friends that were hurt and running around trying to hurry us up. But, as we learned thanks to our instructors, the number one thing to do in a first aid situation is consider your own safety first and, as so, Stop, Think then Respond (STR). And that we did. We took a minute to assess what appeared to be a group of severely injured and dying rafters on the rocks and then intervened when we had a plan. My job was to go around and gather as much information as possible from the rafters and their conditions and then report back to the leader of the first aiders. It was tough going in that group as it brought to life the reality of what it would be like if that situation had occurred. It made seemingly small issues, such as getting warmth, a huge problem when lying on wet rocks with no shelter from the wind and no sun in sight. Hypothermia was a major play with this group, to the point where CPR had to be performed to revive a group member.

When we had miraculously healed everyone, James and John had us reflect on the scenarios – on what we could have done better and what we had learned through doing them. And then we set off to prepare for the last and final scenario – Alex’s group. Us first aiders trudged back to the Scout’s base building to wait for the call to come out. And soon after – it did.

As, again, we began walking towards where we thought the third group was, we began having difficulty figuring out which direction to go. It was when a shocked, dazed and confused group member slowly made his way passed us that we were able to get some information from him as to what had happened. A bridge had collapsed when his group of trekkers had attempted to pass it. Myself and Quin (another first aider) jumped in to help who became known to us as Tim as the rest of the first aid team made their way to the bridge location.

Tim, though needing an Epi-injection for a bee sting reaction, turned out to be in the best shape compared to the other group members. Further down the hill by the bridge location, chaos and tragedy was in the air. There was someone knocking at death’s door with a massive blood loss. There was someone having a possible spinal injury, but having a seizure shortly after being stabilized. There was blood and lots of it. And then there was Alex. Having fallen some ways when the bridge collapsed, she had landed on her back with none other than a plank of wood impaling her through her stomach to the ground. Screaming out in pain, there wasn’t much the first aiders could do as they were unsure as to how far in the piece of wood had gone through her body. Needless to say, that scenario ended our class with a bang – us theoretically only losing one person as he bled out from his massive injuries. Can’t save them all I suppose.



Alex and I with our awesome leaders John and James



That all said, First Training definitely proved themselves to have an excellent two-day first aid course for the outdoors set up. Alex and I finished the class feeling as though we could confidently and adequately go out into New Zealand’s wilderness and trust each other to be there in need. Or should anyone else we come across need support as well. And not only that, but the class was fun. The most exciting part of our class definitely wasn’t blowing air into dummies and watching their chest rise and fall – we had fake blood and the great outdoors at our finger tips. Who can beat that?

So I guess what I am saying is, much thanks to First Training for your support in mine and Alex’s journey across New Zealand. From the sponsorship through this course we feel better prepared to tackle our adventure along Te Araroa Trail this season. Above all that, I hope that we will never have to actually use the skills.

*** NOTE: a video of this experience will be coming soon! ***