Looking for thru tramp team for JAN 2016

thru hiking nz isnt a place for a novice to be. people have died attempting the trip.... a novice would be a liability on that trip.

Well to be honest waynowski I havnt seen one positive post from you on this site, so I'm not too inclined to follow your word, but thanks for the heads up..

to put things in perspective , I coudlnt tell you the stats for tramping but skiiing alone in nz generates 13000 recorded injuries a year as recorded by nz's accident compensation corporation. but you dont see that in the news, its just nice images of people on the slopes. http://www.nzdoctor.co.nz/un-doctored/2014/june-2014/06/13,000-reasons-to-keep-safety-in-mind-this-ski-season.aspx found it, 3000 accident claims a year from tramping, in a country with a small population where most people don't tramp http://www.acc.co.nz/about-acc/statistics/injury-statistics/index.htm so have you repeatedly had your backside kicked by the NZ mountains for thirty years and sometimes been lucky to come out alive? have you lost friends to the NZ mountains? I have. good luck. learn the lessons you need to learn before you bite off more than you can chew, novices die every year in NZ, sometimes the answer for them is you're not ready, get some experience and come back later when you are ready. but even the experienced die in NZ mountains. i wish anyone well who goes into our mountains , but too many think its gonna be "sweet" if you cant assess the dangers and manage them then thats not sweet, thats russian roulette. you've been on the forum a couple of days and claim i write nothing but negative posts. then you have barely read anything of what i've written in five years on this forum http://m.metservice.com/warnings

Waynowski, thank you for the links and I apologise if that message touched any sensitive topics for you, but I think disregarding the idea straight up would be silly for me because it is something I have been thinking about for a while now and a calculated risk is the whole part of the adventure, surely. With that in mind I am still calculating the risk and planning my adventure, it just seems as if you're not suggesting anything or giving tips to reduce the risks, just straight up saying not to go through with it. But yeah, I'm not on here to squabble, just checking if there was anyone that wanted to join.

If you start off with the easier stuff as you are by commencing with the Te Araroa in Northland, you can gradually acquire the skills and experience as you up the ante. Hopefully by the time you get to the South Island, you'll have the knowledge etc. that is required for this section. Good to see Matthew has posted some stuff on the front page as well as Hugh Van Noorden's contributions on this site.

Go for it man. As long as your young and fit you'll be fine.

Basically I agree with Honora here. Te Araroa was designed to be relatively safe, and starting at the top is the right way to do it. Having said that, we all evaluate risk subjectively and the regulars here have had more than a few conversations pivoting around those differences. Basically when you head into the hills you have four things to consider; the weather, the terrain, the contents of the pack you carry - and the skill and experiences in your head. And at each moment of every tramp these four factors are unique to you and your trip. And you get to face them and take responsibility for your choices and actions alone - and this for me is perhaps the most primal reason why I love tramping. Let's put it this way - in just the past two years I'd estimate about 15 or so people have died in the NZ mountains. And all of us who've done this for more than a few years have been close to one of those deaths. It's the reason why I gave alpine climbing away. Frankly your first post came over - probably inadvertently - a bit gung-ho. So I can understand wayno's initial negative reaction. But equally I think you'll be just fine and have a great time - IF you put the effort into loading some planning and apprehension of what could go wrong into your heads before you set off.

Think about it. Honestly assess your ability, equipment and the risks. Then decide whether what you want to do is within what you deem to be an acceptable measure of risk. Accept the risk, proceed with whatever course of action you choose. My impression is if you are careful on the TA, and ask enough advice before difficult sections from those who know about them, then you should be just fine. I agree wholeheartedly with Phillip and Honora

@DylanMcBride Now I understand your feeling of "intimidation" by @Waynowski, however even though he can come across as a bit sharp and to the point, he does have a vast amount of knowledge and experience about Tramping in New Zealand. His approach can appear dismissive many times. I have had a similar early misgiving with him myself. Honestly though, I think deep down his interests are in making sure nobody gets hurt. There is no problem with being cautious and it is way more important to be aware of when you are out of your depth. Always remember..."The mountains WILL still be there tomorrow,one wrong choice and you may not." Never risk more than beyond your limit. Push your boundaries, but never break them. It is ok to stop and say "not today". Don't give Wayno too much of a hard time. I'm certain he's a real nice guy in real life. He probably wouldn't buy you a pint, but i'm sure he'd let you buy him one. Enjoy your trip!