2019-05-01 Wilderness

(Jacob Rumans) #1

16
MAY 2019


WILD PEOPLE


Faces of


thru-hiking


Dividedbyage,nationality,experience
andmotives,TeAraroaTrailwalkerscouldn’tbe
moredifferent.Wildernesstalkstoveteransof
thepastseasonanddiscoversit’sa sense
of accomplishmentthatunites them.
ByMatthew Cattin

WALKING3000KMmightnotappeal
tomanycouples,butfornewlyweds
JonathanBertholetandAngieTheys,
itwastheidealhoneymoon.
“Ihaddreamedofwalkinga long
distancetrailfora longtime,andmy
wifewantedtogotoNewZealand,so
itwasperfect– andwearestilltogether,”
Bertholetlaughs.
Attimesexhaustinganddemanding,
Bertholetsaysthetrailhasbroughtthem
closer,butadmitsit’sanintensetestfor
anycoupleso“maybedoitbeforethe
wedding”.
Moresothanthelandscapes,Bertholet
ratedthepeopletheymetontheirjourney
asthehighlight.
WheremanyTeAraroawalkershike
solo,orintwosorthrees,thecouplejoined
a bandofwalkersthatbecameknownon
thetrailas‘thebiggroupofseven’.
Bertholetsaysthetrailwouldhavebeen
a completelydifferentexperiencewithout
thediversemembers,whohailedfromthe
USA,Holland,SwitzerlandandGermany.
“Atfirstwewerea group,andfinallywe
werea realtrailfamily– wesupportedand
motivatedeachotherallalong,”hesays.
“Wehadsomeamazingmoments,but
alsosomedisagreements,andeventhen
westayedtogetherandlearneda lot
aboutourselves.”
A champagnefinishat Bluffwasan
emotionalmomentforthegroup,who
hadwalkednearly1400kmtogether.
“Insomewayswewantedit to finish,
butinotherswedidn’teverwantitto–
thatwouldmeanstarting on something
different,” he says.

WITH 60 onthehorizon,Owen
VaughandecidedtheTeAraroaTrail
wasnowornever.
“I'vebeentoquitea fewfunerals
inthelastfewyears,andallthese
peoplehadideasandhopes,andthey
nevergottoachievethem.Itwas
a caseofdoingitnowwhileI can,”
Vaughansays.
Hehadneverwalkedmorethan
fiveconsecutivekilometresbefore,
buthistrainingschedulequicklytook
careofthat,andbytheendofhis
firstweekon thetrailhe wasclocking
30kmdays– hisbodyallthewhile
adjustingtothenewroutine.
“MymetabolismchangedbyKerik-
eri,andI wasgettinghungrierallthe
time.BythetimeI gottoAuckland,I
hadlost9kg,”hesays.Bytrail’send,
Vaughanweighedwhathedidwhen
heleftschool.
Thesimpleactofwalkingevery
daytowardsa goalgavehima new
perspective.
“Walkingisnotlucrative,anddur-
ingtheprocessI decidedyoudon’t
needthings– allyouneedisshelter,
food, friends and family,” he says.

Name:OwenVaughan
Age: 58
Nationality:SouthAfrica
Basepackweight*:6.5kg
Weightlostontrail:18kg
Longestday:47km
Trailbreakfast:OneSquare
Mealormuesli
Favouritedinner:Spicedlentils,
BackCountryCuisinedehydrated
mealsorpastaandpotato mash
Luxury item:iPad

“Ididmisstheconsistencyof
eatingcookedfoodwithvegetables,
hotshowersandbeingwithfamily,
butyoudevelopa routineandwork
outwaystocommunicate– I ended
upgettingclosertomembersofmy
family.”
BythetimeVaughanreachedthe
SouthIsland,hisfitnesswasat an
all-timehigh.
“Iwashappytowalkatmyown
pace,andI wouldrarelygoabove
4kminanhour,butmypulsewas
alwaysdown,andthat’swhenI
realisedI wasdamnfit,”he says.
“Mylegsstillgetsore,butrecov-
erywasalmostinstant.It’sa great
feeling,andlongmayitlast.”
ArrivingatBluffwasanemo-
tionalmomentforVaughan, who
walkedthetrailforLeukaemia&
BloodCancerNewZealand.
“Iwentuptothecafe,anda
waitresswalkedoutandaskedif
I hadjustfinishedtheTe Araroa.
Thetearsstartedrollinganddidn’t
stopfora coupleofhours.Ap-
parently,a lotofTAguys blubber
when they finish.”

Name:JonathanBertholet and Angie Theys
Age: 27
Nationality:Belgium
Basepackweight:10kg
Weightlostontrail:5kg,8kg
Longestday:37km
Trailbreakfast:Mueslibars
Favouritedinner:Spiced red lentils
andcouscouswraps
Luxury item:A book

OwenVaughanwalkedtheTAbecausetoomany
of his friends had died before achieving their goals

Jonathanand
Angiecelebrate
completing the TA

* Before food and water
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