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Te Araroa (The Long Pathway) is New Zealand's long distance tramping route, stretching circa along the length of the country's two main islands from Cape Reinga to Bluff. Officially opened in 2011, it is made up of a mixture of previously made tracks and walkways, new tracks, and link sections alongside roads. Tramping the full length of the trail generally takes three to six months.
Since opening, new tracks have been created to alter the route, particularly to avoid road walking. These include the 10 km Escarpment Track, which opened in 2016, and a sealed track from Invercargill to Bluff is under construction. In its 2019 Strategic Plan, Te Araroa Trust said it intended to reduce the amount of road walking to 10% of the trail by 2022 and set a long-term goal to reduce it to under 5%. Parts have also been closed with detours set up, such as a section in the Bay of Islands which was closed due to erosion in 2019.
The trail is a mix of tracks, including wilderness tracks, paths through paddocks, beaches, roads, and highways, as well as a section which is a river and must be kayaked. Many parts of the trail are challenging. In these sections, trip planning, river crossing and navigation skills are recommended, as well as a good level of fitness and heavy boots. Most Thru-hiking take between three and six months for a complete trip and 90% of those travel from north to south.
The trail has approximately 300 sections ranging from walks of one to two hours through to an approximately nine-day route in the South Island where most trampers haul large amounts of food and gear. About 60% of the trail crosses conservation land managed by the Department of Conservation. The remainder is mostly on privately owned land. There have been reports that some landowners have grown frustrated with the number of walkers, while many see it as a chance "be good neighbours and to bridge that rural-urban divide".
With the exception of a short section of the Queen Charlotte Track at the trail's northern terminus in the South Island, neither permit nor fee is required to walk Te Araroa. However, Te Araroa Trust requests a donation of $750 per person tramping the full trail, $400 for those walking one island only, and smaller amounts for section hikers. Through-hikers will also pay $118 for a six-month Department of Conservation Backcountry Hut Pass if they wish to sleep in New Zealand's extensive network of back-country huts.
Walkers often receive support from "Trail Angels" – volunteers living near the track who can provide places to sleep, showers, and food.
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