My guest today is Naomi Arnold – a New Zealand journalist and writer who not only hiked Te Araroa, the country’s long-distance trail, but also wrote a wonderful book about her journey: Northbound.

In this episode, we talk about what it means to walk the length of Aotearoa, how her hike stretched across nine months, and what it was like to experience Te Araroa mostly on her own. Naomi shares her reflections on the trail, the challenges she faced, and the deep connection she developed with the landscape and people along the way.

Topics we cover include:

• How Naomi got into hiking – or “tramping,” as it’s called in New Zealand
• The difference between hiking and tramping in Aotearoa
• What it means to stretch a long hike across several months
• How her body and perspective changed along the way
• The special bond between a hiker and a trail
• The challenges for body and mind

Her book Northbound is not only a personal story of hiking Te Araroa, but also a reflection on adventure, solitude, and what it means to be a woman hiking alone in her early 40s.

Happy trails!

More information on Te Araroa

Naomi Arnold on Instagram

Book on Amazon Germany 

Book on Unity Books, my favorite book store in Auckland

More about Te Araroa

Tim Voors about his thru-hike on Te Araroa 

Karin über ihren Thru-Hike auf Te Araroa 

Jan über seinen Thru-Hike auf Te Araroa 

Te Araroa-Hiker erzählen direkt vom Trail - Teil 1 

Te Araroa-Hiker erzählen direkt vom Trail - Teil 2 

Wird Weitwandern jetzt unbezahlbar? 

Paulina Zack über ihre FKT

Schreib mir!

Lust, mit Mareike bei "Wanderwach & Kaffee" über Deine eigenen Weitwanderungen zu sprechen?
Oder du möchtest einen kürzeren Trail, den du gegangen bist, in einer Sprachnachricht vorstellen?

Melde dich per WhatsApp, über Instagram oder ganz einfach per E-Mail unter [email protected] bei mir!

Auf meiner Website und auf Instagram gibt es auch noch viele Bilder und kleine Berichte zu den Episoden.

... und abonniert "Wanderwach & Kaffee" in eurer Podcast-App oder bei Spotify.

Übrigens kann man mein Buch über den Pacific Crest Trail "Wildnis, ich komme!" über Amazon beziehen.