Billy "Wahoo" Meredith - Te Araroa - 2025-03-25

Athletes

Billy "Wahoo" Meredith

Route

Te Araroa

Route variation

Standard route

Multi-sport

Yes

Para athlete

No

Gender category

Male

Style

Self-supported

Start date

2025-02-03

Finish date

2025-03-25

Total time

52d 11h 57m 36s

Verification

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/profile/3abd5d08-2d64-4d6f-8da7-47d304b2a49d

https://www.instagram.com/billymeredith_/

Report

From Feb 3rd to March 25th I went self supported on the Te Araroa Trail to cap off my one year of living in New Zealand. This trail was much more difficult than I expected because often times it is more of a route than a trail. There are no specific Te Araroa trail markers which makes it easy to wander off track and do extra miles. Other times there are just orange markings far in the distance and no specific footpath to get there. In this regard it is similar to the CDT I found..but even less developed. There is also a TON of road walking on the north island which is not my cup of tea. In fact I'd say it's largely road walking with little bits of trail and beach connecting the roads. Where as in the USA it is the opposite. Mostly trail with bits of road connecting if necessary. Often times the GPS line on FarOut contradicted with where the actual trail and markings led in person which would present a challenge. And often times there was no trail at all, just bushwhacking. It is arguably steeper and more rugged than the AT when it is in fact a trail and there are no switchbacks at all, making this a challenging track. There are tons of river crossings along with dry river bed walking which was quite tough.

No one ran with me, and I really did not hike with anyone at all as I started months after the Southbounders began. I ressuplied mostly along the trail as you pass through towns far more than on any of the triple crown trails. I shipped a few resupply boxes to myself on the south island (6 I believe) in more remote areas, and only two for the north. Water was filtered along the trail and I never had any issue finding a water source hardly though I did run out of food twice which was not fun.

There were also many logistical challenges along the way such as tide crossings, kayak rentals. detours around rivers, ferry rides, etc. Your continous footpath is broken numerous times in order to complete the trek and that is very unique to the TA. I also lost a lot of time on days where my mileage would revolve around someone else's schedule that I was reliant on in order to get around a hazard or bay. I anticipated finishing March 20th but finished the 25th. Partly due to how tough this trail is, partly due to losing time to logistics that I did not originally consider, partly due to attempting to post a video recap on Instagram each day / carrying a camera with me as well, and partly due to getting trenchfoot and infections just 95 miles from the finish and losing two days.

I would certainly say this is an "expert level" trail not to be underestimated. What Karel did is absolutely mind blowing and incredible. I truly think it has to be the greatest self supported FKT effort to date, yet most people won't recognize that as most people are not familiar at all with this trail. While a bit disappointed with my time, I'm proud to have finished it off the way I did. Please reach out if you need any more info as I have thousands of videos and photos from along the way as I documented the heck out of this trip. Cheers!

Day 1:

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/18175322437

Day 2:

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/18205698693

Day 3:

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/18206749990

Day 4:

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/18206761256

Day 5:

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/18219393223

Day 6:

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/18219404557