2019-05-01 Wilderness

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