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"It doesn't even feel like I'm wearing a pack!"
Walking the length of New Zealand on the Te Araroa trail was a dream come true for Mickey and Michelle of Australia. However, it didn't go as planned... but in the words of Mickey, 'That is where the magic happened!'
Starting Southbound in September 2019, they got hit by a broken toe, and a pandemic, while also performing a series of concerts along the trail (did we mention they are professional musicians?). They finished Te Araoa in Bluff in January 2024 and have some mighty stories to share.
They were both using their old trusty Aarn Packs on their thru-hike! They have now switched to a newer model: Featherlite Freedom PRO along with some Balance Pockets Sports.
Mickey: We'd spent most of lockdown making music and were feeling a little out of shape for our second NZ trip when compared to the rigorous training of the first leg. We also began thinking we were coming back to "tick off" the last few kilometres, having already completed the majority of the hike, including the more mountainous areas. However, we were both surprised by how emotionally moved we were to be back on trail. It was like we never left it. Seeing the ocean for the first time after beginning our hike 4 years beforehand was simply breathtaking.
Michelle: We didn't know what it was going to feel like returning – would it feel like the original journey? Or more like a smaller hike and not connected? We were pleasantly surprised that it did feel like a continuation. Once we started it was like being transported back to our 2020 selves and off we went. The only difference was that we were not nearly as fit!
Mickey: My first thru-hike was joining Michelle on the Australian Alps Walking Track (AAWT). It was also my very first overnight hike. Quite a wild way to begin the vocation, but now the idea of an overnighter just seems a bit too short.
Michelle: No, the Australian Alps Walking Track was my first thru-hike. 680km hike from Victoria to Canberra across our Alps. This hike is very special to me, as when I was 23, I hiked a few days of it, and that was the spark! I completely fell in love with hiking and those Alps.
Mickey: After finishing a 680km hike, you look for the next bigger and better thing. We'd heard about New Zealand, and it made a lot of sense. Additionally, we wanted to embark on a music tour as a duo simultaneously, so we searched for gigs along the trail, which made for a unique hiking experience.
Michelle: Because I love hiking and I wanted to be immersed in it for as long as possible. I became aware of TA not long after I completed the AAWT. I was looking for another challenge and something longer than 6 weeks. I was very excited about the NZ wilderness as I love mountains. Also, it is very accessible to Australians.
Mickey: It's hard to look past the Nelson Lakes National Park. I still think about how blue that water was. The mountain ranges are absolutely stunning, and it never feels too hard because you're comparing them to the Richmond Ranges from the previous week.
Michelle: It's a close call between the Richmond Ranges and Nelson Lakes. These two sections are so stunning and a great challenge. Love a technical trail.
Michelle: I think our base weight was around 11kg the first time, and 9kg the second. We had a 3-person tent the first time and swapped that out for a 2-person the second. I'm happy with all our gear, but some of it is getting old, so we've been slowly replacing it with lighter versions as things wear out – technology changes every 10 years! The main thing I'd do differently is change our water system to a smaller version as it turns out we don't need to carry as much water in NZ as in Australia!
Mickey: We're preparing for the Haute Route in the Pyrenees and we're going to carry a little less weight and push ourselves to walk a little further than normal. I think we're guilty of carrying too many pairs of undies. This time we'll be a bit more spartan.
Mickey: My silly thing is that I was carrying a carving knife, thinking I would have so much time to practice carving a stick into a spoon. I used it once!
Michelle: We downloaded cards of our album so that we could give them to Trail Angels as thanks.
Mickey: Mine was actually before the trail…I broke my toe 4 weeks before we began (don't play chasings in the house kids…) and I had to sit out the first two weeks. But on the trail, our blow-up mattress was deflating. We ordered a new one from Germany with the tiniest speck of reception on top of the Richmond Ranges, but it still took a month to arrive (should have supported a local store.. will do next time!)
Michelle: Obviously the pandemic! That's more of a colossal hiccup. Other than that it was all pretty smooth while on the trail. Except for the start as Mickey had broken his toe. Not just a crack but he'd chipped a chunk clean off! So we came up with plan B – I hike the first 2 weeks by myself and Mickey would join me in week 3. It was all very stressful at the time and not ideal. But it worked. I carried the flame and when Mickey joined he walked 27km on his first day! Apparently, everything hurt but his toe!
Michelle: Promoting a music tour while we hiked! Because we're self-managed we needed to do admin along the way. Ideally, we'd do this when we stocked up on food in town, but there were times when we had radio interviews in the wilderness. We'd have to time it and make sure we were on a peak so we'd have reception!
Mickey: My advice would be to look after your brain as well as your body. We were really lucky to have our music, because we would take 4 days off to prepare for a concert. Once those 4 days were over we were itching to get back on the trail. It felt like some people got a bit tired of the trail and started doing massive km days in order to complete it.
Secondly, I think you have a moral responsibility to pay the TA trusts' suggested donation. They
do so much work maintaining the trail. It's a thankless task, and your money will help ensure the trail's survival.
But my real biggest tip is to eat as much Real Fruit Ice Cream as you possibly can. I don't know why we don't have it in Australia, we are clearly inferior to NZ in every possible way.
Michelle: For the first few months, it's physical injuries that'll stop your hike; after that, it's mental. Around month 3 we noticed some people were leaving because of mental health, whereas before that it was always injuries. The repetitiveness of the trail had gotten to them, or they no longer knew why they were there. There's nothing wrong with leaving for these reasons. However, we never had issues with this, and I wonder if that's because we had our other passion, music, to keep us sustained? I noticed some people who were documenting their journey by painting throughout, or some sort of creative writing. Maybe consider bringing another passion along that will nourish you, as you're going to be living this way for a while.
Mickey: As mentioned, I broke my toe before we started, so I decided to get a pair of insoles to give my foot some cushioning. Only I lost the right one pretty soon after I bought it (no worries, my left foot had the broken toe) so I bought another pair. After 2 weeks of really cramped and uncomfortable walking, I noticed I had blisters on my right foot but not the left. After a river crossing I took out my insoles to dry them and low and behold the right shoe had two of them! Mystery of the lost insole solved!
Michelle: Ah yes, there are many-a story. I'll tell you about one that happened on the Whanganui River. We did 7 days of canoeing as part of the trail. Neither of us had even canoed before but I can happily say that we're pros now! Slightly rookie start going backwards down our first rapid, we quickly figured out the steering and managed to not capsize.
A few days into this trip, when we were well into the wilderness and hadn't had reception for days, an exhausted couple walked up to us at the campsite. They had no gear, food or water and were asking if we could help them out with a place to stay. The story goes that the guy had bought them this beautiful canoeing trip for their anniversary: They'd paddle an hour down the river and someone would be waiting for them at the turn-off and they'd go have lunch. They didn't see the person, though, and with no reception, just kept paddling… and paddling… for hours! In fact, it turns out they'd done about 40km and it was now getting dark and they were dehydrated, sun-exposed and very hungry. Fortunately, they'd spied our group at a campsite near the river and pulled in before dark. We were rallying our resources figuring out food for them and where they were going to sleep, when a hiker piped up and said they had a satellite phone and therefore had reception to call a speed-boat to the rescue. Definitely an anniversary to remember!
Mickey: This August, we are headed to the Pyrenees High Route, the mountains between France and Spain. We're planning on completing the 800 km in 6 weeks, and if we're lucky, we'll be able to play some concerts along the way.
Michelle: Yes, we're doing the Haute Route Pyrenees (HRP) in August/September this year. This trail travels coast to coast from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean across the high route of the Pyrenees. I'm excited to live the hiking lifestyle for that long again. There might even be a cheeky concert along the way.
Mickey: It's okay not to plan everything out. You will meet so many other hikers, all with their own methods. You will slip in and out of 'trail families' and you'll have nothing but time to talk about the next section of the trail. It's okay if you don't have day 96 planned out before you begin.
Michelle: Hiking has taught me that the best-laid plans need to be flexible. A three-year hiatus in the middle of our TA journey is certainly not how we'd planned on doing this hike - but with the benefit of hindsight, I wouldn't have it any other way. Leaving the TA in 2020 was the obvious choice at the time, and coming back to finish it three years later was a privilege. It gave us the chance to return to the headspace and landscape where our musical duo first began - something we couldn't have scripted but ended up meaning so much.
If there's one thing long-distance hiking continues to teach us, it's that plans are just a starting point. Being flexible, open, and kind to yourself when things shift makes all the difference. In my experience, you never hike the trail the way you imagined - but sometimes, that's where the real magic is.
If you want to learn more about Mickey and Michelle and their music, check out their blog here.