Te Araroa: North Island section breakdown

A planning guide for walking the North Island Te Araroa sections 

I have been working on a section plan of the North Island Te Araroa Sections, the file can be viewed here:

In line with my general method most of these sections are stand alone 3-7 day tramps to be completed as and when I am able. One of the major problems is transport: some of the start and finish points are difficult to get to from the South Island.

Approaching the Tongariro Alpine Track

My overall plan is to take some long service leave next year to walk a 30 day section of the trail from Cape Reinga to Auckland.  Additionally I have another 10-12 day section walking from Auckland to Hamilton to complete. This covers approximately half the distance between the start and finish points.

Completed sections and Alternate plans

I have completed two sections of the TA in the North Island: The Tongariro Crossing and the Whanganui River Journey, these are marked as finished in this plan.

As an alternate to the Whanganui Journey I plan to either walk or cycle from Whakapapa to Taihape.  Heading out to the Mangapurua Landing would leave me stranded over 70 kms from the nearest transport hub, this alternate covers roughly the same distance. 

Some of the individual days travel need to be finessed,  but for the most part this is how I intend to walk from Cape Reinga to Wellington.