Beyond just walking, my feet also covered 86.7 kilometers of New Zealand’s 3,000-kilometer Te Araroa Trail in a different way.
This stretch of the South Island was beautiful, but it was all gravel and asphalt roads. The first 40-odd kilometers didn’t even have designated camping spots, so mountain biking was the recommended method according to the official Te Araroa Trail guide.
And that’s how I had my first mountain biking experience!
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Staying immersed in walking felt wonderful, but experiencing the journey from different angles with different body sensations—getting to know myself and the environment—was equally essential. Each shift was like recharging and a way to mix things up.
After those two days of riding, the takeaway was clear: despite covering the distance faster, my rear end was so sore from just 86.7 kilometers that my brain kept screaming, ‘Walking is better,’ and I’m sticking with it—no more looking at what else is out there.
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Why the sore backside? Because many sections were on these massive rocky tracks made for four-wheel drives, and the vibrations were so intense I could barely hold the handlebars. I had to dismount and walk the bike several times. The footage you see is from the paradise sections—only the smooth bits are actually filmable!
(Reflections from diary, 2017/4/25)
*Thanks to my travel buddy for filming
📍 Te Araroa Trail | New Zealand’s 3,000-Kilometer Hiking Diary| Back to the full series
