HOW TO ENSURE TA'S SUSTAINABILITY
In ‘Te Araroa Trail shows pressure’ (May 2023), Imogen Coxhead focused on questions of overcrowding and sustainability.
My wife and I took on the TA in sections and have recently completed it. We began before the trail was fully established. In the early stages, we rarely encountered other walkers. In the few years pre-Covid, numbers increased noticeably and this season, Matt Claridge, Te Araroa Trust executive director, stated there had been ‘around 4000 walkers’, the majority being young Europeans.
Few walked the entire length of the trail. Many sections were skipped, particularly in the North Island. Blogs and chat groups indicate greater interest in the South Island and, increasingly, in walking the South Island northbound.
TA has been a tribute to the vision and energy that (originator) Geoff Chapple provided together with willing
