Te Araroa / Great Walks pack list

an ultralight walker? they have a habit of coming to grief in NZ. one of them has never been found. summer isnt the same in NZ as it is in a lot of countries. get more warmer clothes, and get some decent rainwear, the driducks won't last an hour in nz bush. you need long johns at least. and a fleece top as well, at least, expect to be wet and expect that your gear won't dry out fast. the dampness makes nz a very cold place when its wet. you need a tent that will stand up to strong winds, can't remember which model MSR tent, someone had one of those and the wind broke it.. if you're not used to walking rough tracks in trail runners, now is not the time to start. stick to what has worked in the past, if you havent done a lot of trails that are uneven and unformed then get at least mid height boots. people who do the trail in runners are experienced in them and they have ankles and feet strengthened already and have developed the coordination required, the weather is going to fluctuate, your default shirt is going to need to be lighter and not merino. it won't last wearing it day in day out on the go.

Shoes won't last long on the Dusky or NW Circuit, assuming they've lasted thus far on all the tracks you'll have walked by the time you get down this end of the country. Expect to be in knee deep mud nearly every single day on the Dusky (Lake Roe to Loch Maree is about the only time you won't be). The salt water on Stewart Island is a real killer of footwear. Even being careful to rinse your boots each day in hut water will still see metal parts rusting. A good pair of boots which you should expect to throw away at the end of your trip as they'll be shot would be my advice.

With the exception of the rain gear and maybe sleeping bag their gear is not really ultralight. Would have to agree some slightly more robust raingear could be wise. I use a MSR Hubba NX myself and it stands up to same very strong winds, winds which brought down other tents. I personally would bring a more powerful headlamp. The Micro-light might be too weak to find the markers when walking in the dark.

the thermawrap is ultralight gear as well. the only place you might need a water filter is when you are taking water from a source in an area of human habitation around more intensive farmland. and the Wanganui river. most places in the bush and wilderness the water is fine to drink, steripen being an electrical device isn't the most reliable option. and it doesn't work at all in cloudy water. and then theres the issue with batteries running flat. I'd just take tablets in case you need to sterilize water otherwise you're going to be carrying too much dead weight with a water filter. I've never filtered water and never been sick from water..

If you're desperate to take a water filter take a Sawyer Mini SP128. Very low weight but a potential life saver. Its true that the closer you are to a more dense human habitation, then the risk is higher. The same rule applies with farmland concerning cattle. @Waynowski saying "I've never filtered water and never been sick from water.." is pretty poor advice really. You may not have, yet it doesn't mean you won't be in the future. Having said that, no filter can breakdown chemicals that may be present in water, so if ever in any doubt boil the stuff. check out: sawyereurope.com/sp128

@bamboo read my whole comment. I'm talking about my personal experience as an idea of how safe the water can be. I still recommended filtering near human habitation, I don't hike near human habitation and have never needed to filter, its rare for people to get sick from drinking water in the mountains in NZ. only the places with high volumes of people are sometimes an issue and need caution. I have enough background knowledge about water sources in nz to know when I do and don't need to filter.. and I've been right in the thirty years I've been hiking in NZ.

Im with Wayno on this. Some fairly basic rules and for most people that actual risc is quite low. Stay away from water downstream from settlements and farms Dont drink discoloured or still water Avoid turbulent water Take water from a pool at least a half meter deep not near the surface of bottom. Only time Ive been sick from water I broke at least 3 of those rules. Of course anyone with a weak imune system should take more care

abel tasman water will need sterilizing if you aren't taking it out of a hut water tank. the volumes of people on that track are extremely high increasing the no's of people who answer natures call near the track near water sources.. the streams away from the sea inlets aren't that big either so they don't flush clean easily. I've never taken water there outside of hut and shelter water tanks.

Agree with above comments. Good advice. Hut tanks are not reliable either. Plenty of stories of dead rodents and birds in varying states of decay… If the tank doesn't have any sort of netting in the opening and the gutter down-pipe, boil/sterilise that water too. The water at the Casey Hut tank smelt real bad and that wasn't surprising when the ground was moving with so many mice… the tank intake was fully accessible to all with four feet. Scroll to the bottom of this blog page to see evidence of rodent bathing in hut tanks… http://whiowhio.weebly.com/blog/day-54-mountain-highs The tank was drained and "...skeletons of little hands and tails were seen at the bottom…"