Mother of three, Deanna Gerlach says the idea to walk Te Araroa was conceived during covid lockdowns, from their suburban home in Sydney. The family sold everything in Australia, spent two weeks in hotel quarantine in New Zealand and then started walking the length of the country from Te Rerenga Wairua (Cape Reinga) to Motupo-hue (Bluff). Day 1 on the trail was the family’s first overnight tramp, but within three weeks they were trail-fit. Deanna reflects on the experience saying, “we loved it,” but there were tough days for everyone. Flooded streams in Canterbury meant that they had to skip large sections between Arthur’s Pass and Takapō. The Gerlach family revisited these missed sections with now-teenagers and Deanna says it was quite a different experience, though once again it had it’s highlights and it’s struggles. She shares advice for others that want to start tramping and says, “don’t run in and do what we did!” Deanna says to consider your motivations, what you want to get out of it and the importance of giving kids a sense of purpose and playing to their strengths.
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