- Pairs of shoes: 3 New Balance Trail shoes (last pair still in good condition)
- Pairs of inner socks: 4 ( 2 x Ninjinji toes socks and 2 cheaper versions)
- Pairs of outer sock: 3 Icebreaker
- Other Gear items replaced: Air mattress, spork, 1 pair of gloves, sunhat, innersoles
- Times I lost my PeeRag: 2
- Times I found my PeeRag: 2
- Pairs of gloves lost: 2
- Other lost items: Morsel spork at John Coult Hut and sun flaps for sunhat, one walking pole left behind at second helicopter rescue
- Gear repairs: strap on pack sewn up in Te Kuiti by Trail Angel, phone case replaced in Christchurch as camera lens scratched
- Food carried for the longest: Sachet of Tuna from start to finish (I finally gave it away on my last day )
- Average daily trail food cost: $12 a day
- Total amount spent on trail: $12,400. This includes the gear that was replaced on the trail and my phone plan cost.
- Trail food dinners: 50% (usually Backcountry meals) for half of the days.
- Helicopter rescues: 2 Day 94 heart issue in Richmond Ranges and Day 146 lost in the Longwood Forest Conservation Area.
Walking Statistics
- Days walked: 111
- Zero days: 26
- Days off trail: 13 (Christmas, Heart issue, Christchurch waiting on weather)
- Total days: 149
- Average distance walked (including zeros): 16 km / day
- Average distance walked (only walking days): 22 km / day
- Longest day (distance): 39.5 km, Greenstone Hut to Mavora Lakes Campsite
- Longest day (time): 12.5 hours for 39.5 km, Greenstone Hut to Mavora Lakes Campsite
- Top speed: 5.4 km / hr, Twizel to Lake Ohau Lodge, road and cycle trail
- Slowest speed: 1.0 km / hr, Te Matawai Hut to Nichols Hut in Tararua Ranges (Excludes the day when my heart was playing up)
Accommodation Statistics
Overall I slept in beds for 50% of the nights on trail. Some of the beds were not the best but paying a little extra for a cabin or backpackers gave other advantages, such as chairs and tables and other common areas to socialise and sort out gear etc. My tent was used more in the North Island but I stayed in more huts in the South Island. I usually chose to pay a bit more for accommodation where I could so that I didn’t have to put my tent up. Most of the young ones on the trail generally had smaller budgets than me, so would have spent a lot more nights in their tents.
- Number nights in a tent: 48, 32% (29 in Nth. Island and 19 in Sth. Island)
- Number of nights in a hut: 25, 17% (8 in Nth. Island and 17 in Sth. Island)
- Number of nights in a bed (on trail): 74, 50% (backpackers hostel, motel, holiday parks, and trail angels)
Weather Statistics
Overall I had very good weather on the trail. (Thanks Garry for buying the Weather Gods drinks and organising this for me). Even when it did rain it was mostly just light rain and I did not get any of the gale force winds and rain that New Zealand is capable of dishing up. I waited in Christchurch for 4 days to allow a huge storm, that hit the lower South island, to pass. We were basking in 30 degree days away from it.
- Number of days with rain some of the day: 21, 14%
- Number of days with wet feet: 61, 41% Mud, marsh, river crossings
- Number of times I put tent up in the rain: 1, First night on the trail at Twilight Beach
- Number of times I took tent down in the rain: 2, Twilight Beach on the 2nd day and Macetown on Day 133
- Wild camped: 8 times
Wellbeing
Each day I scored my mind and body out of 10.
Body: In scoring my body a 10 would be human perfection and a zero would mean I was dead. I didn’t manage any 10’s as my body was well used before I started and, fortunately, I didn’t end up dead so no zero scores either. On the vast majority of the days I managed a 9 with the average being 9.4 and the lowest score was 2. This was Day 94 when I had heart issues and was rescued by helicopter from the Richmond Ranges.
Mind: I was in high spirits for most of the time on Te Araroa so most days I scored a 10. The trail was just what I wanted, I was happy to be there and never once considered giving up. The lowest day was again Day 94 when I was afraid that I would not be able to continue so I scored a 4. This brought the average down to 9.4.
Looking back at my scores I have noticed that I was still feeling good in myself even when the days were hard and challenging. I am sure that the right attitude and state of mind is what keeps the body going when things get tough, and there was a lot of really tough sections. Some of the toughest sections received 10 out of 10 for the mind score as I was usually very pleased with my achievements for the day.