Te Araroa Trail Gear List

Here is what we took with us and what we wore and the weight in grams.

PACK GEAR	Rob  Deb
Sleeping bag	845	845	Can be zipped together into a shared double bag for warmth
Silk liner	110	110	Important for sleeping bag hygiene and warmth
Sleeping bag dry bag	35	35	Replaces stuff bag and plastic bag. UltraSil
Sleeping mat	320	320	Could be replaced with foam mat to reduce weight
Plastic bags	20	20	For food, etc
Pack	1265	1200	Osprey Exos 58
Pack liner dry bag	110	110	UltraSil
Lid pocket dry bag	35	35	UltraSil
Tent	1170		Tarptent: Cloudburst 2
Billy	210	160	Two billies
Tea towel	30		2 thick Chux cloths
Scrub pad	5
Stove	90		MSR titanium
Gas cylinder	370	370	We get up to 40 boils from each. Weight empty = 130gm
Wind shield	25		Aluminium foil
Emergency/first aid kit	165	210
Sunscreen, dimp	70	150
Matches, candle	15		For emergency firelighting
Plates x2		120	Aluminium
Spoons x2		20	Plastic: (plastic "Sporks" both broke)
Mugs x2	95		Plastic
Leatherman mini	55		Incl pliers, blade, screwdrivers, tin opener
Knife		15
Clothes dry bag	40	40	UltraSil
Towel	90	90	Polyprop
Parka	695	660	Oringi Milford (un-needed material cut off; heavy but effective   for NZ conditions)
Overtrousers	215	180
Balaclava	50	50	Polyprop
Long johns	135	110
Fleece jacket	475	450
Fleece long-sleeved top	280	275
Tights		100	Lycra
Polyprop skivvy/vest	165	110
T shirt	150	110	Merino - Mainly In bed (unless cold when used as extra layer)
Silk vest		90	In bed
Socks hut	50	30	Merino
Spare walking socks	50	40
Gloves	35	30
Underpants	50	30	One spare each
Bra		50	Spare
Handkerchief	15	15
Hut shoes	480	445	Rob- Crocs; Debby- sandals
Toilet paper	80	80
Torch	135		Debby uses solar cap with LED light
Cord and clothes pegs		30
Camera drybag		35	UltraSil
Cellphone		100
Charger		55
Radio	110
PLB		175
GPS	210
Batteries (AA x 4)	95
Compass	25
Maps	30
Track papers		100
Camera		230
Charger		90
Notebook & pen		75
Bank security key	15
Money cards/money	30	30
Hut/YHA passes	20	20
Book	225	230
Spectacles		85	(incl case 45g) Prescription lenses -double as sunglases
Reading glasses	20	30
Toothbrush, soap etc	70	85
Water bottles	95	95	2 each; one empty unless needed
Lip salve	5	5
Leki pole	315	250	Not needed in North Island; essential South Island
TOTAL	9495	8425
Food Rob	4600	3000	For about 6 days
Water	1000	1000
Total	5600	4000
GRAND TOTAL	15095	12425
GEAR WORN
Shoes - Salomans	730	540	Techamphibians, light and dry out quickly.
Socks medium	55	40
Zip-offs pants	275	255	Used as shorts unless in town
Underpants	50	30
Bra		50
Sun hat	70
Solar cap		135	"2C Solar Light CapSun" sun hat with solar panel and 2 LEDs
Long-sleeved shirt	230	215	Polyester
Handkerchief	15	15
Bandana		30	For round neck or as neck shade tucked under hat.
TOTAL	1425	1310

Some Tips for Trail Walkers

A book has recently been published called "A walking guide to New Zealand's long trail Te Araroa" by Geoff Chapple. If you can get hold of a copy you would find it useful for background reading - it's a bit heavy for actually carrying on the trail though. It has plenty of detail on most of the tracks, photos, maps etc. I compiled notes from the Te Araroa website, but there is work being done now on trail guides which will contain all the information you need.

 Our philosophy is to travel as lightweight as possible without compromising safety. In NZ weather is always unpredictable and you must be prepared for cold and wet conditions, as well as very hot and dry.

 We have a very lightweight tarptent, lightweight packs and sleeping bags, and carry minimal clothing - but excellent waterproof jackets and fleece gear including balaclavas and gloves. We also carry cellphone, gps and personal locator beacon, compass, maps and first aid kit including gel blister plasters. We carry a tiny little fold-up burner and use gas canisters and yes, you will need to have some means of cooking as there are often no facilities whatsoever along the way. DOC huts mostly do not supply gas, some have wood-burners. (See our detailed gear list).

 In most places you can find somewhere to put up a tent, but always ask if it is on private property. Bear in mind your safety too - we don't have harmful creatures but we do have some unsavoury characters out there.

We dehydrate most of our meals and send food parcels to various points along the way – many youth hostels and motor camps are happy to hold parcels. Other trail users have managed without using food parcels and found it reasonably easy to resupply along the way. Usually, you need to carry 5-7 days of food with 1 section in the South Island where you need to carry 9 days (The Richmond Alpine Route). The trail tends to go to a resupply point every 5 days or so - some of these are small towns with a lack of variety!

Our advice is to do some long distance walks to get in training - about 20-25km. This is just to get your feet used to doing long distances day after day - they really suffer. We wear lightweight running shoes but that is a personal choice - some tracks are very rough and many are muddy, but on the roads heavy boots are a killer.

I am 59 and Rob is 69. We have both done a reasonable amount of tramping here and overseas; Rob has tramped quite extensively in New Zealand. We found the trail challenging in parts, especially sections of the South Island. There are some huge climbs and descents, some quite demanding tracks, and many river crossings.

Many other people will be happy to give you help/advice - the Te Araroa website is wonderful, there is a Te Araroa Facebook group and a Te Araroa Google group which are both useful ways to get in touch, as well as many trail stories and blogs.

 We hope this is a little help with your planning – walking the Te Araroa Trail is a totally amazing and rewarding experience - best of luck!!