Leading from the front issuu

TE ARAROA OFFERS HOPE — TAKING THE
HIKOI ALONG AOTEAROA’S LONG TRAIL
Pat’s always been on the go, hyperactive some said. As
a kid, zooming all over the hill, finding larks, feasting on
being in the great outdoors. So as an adult, it’s not surprising
he would forge on with fun, friendship, fitness
and the environment guiding and inspiring him.
He relishes connecting with nature, appreciating the
treasure — the toanga that it is, and what it gives us.
Ask him his religion and he’ll say, “Nature is my god.” So
he puts the two together, environment and exercise, and
finds something magical every time and anywhere he
hits the trail.
As a gregarious ultra-enthusiast, of course he takes as
many people as he can along for the glorious ride. He’s
done it for years. Share the magic, have some time out,
take a deep breath, and in a small leaf of the forest floor
you might just see and feel a bigger, better world with
endless possibilities.
Te Araroa, New Zealand’s Trail, stretching end to end
3000kms from Cape Reinga to Bluff covers a mixture of existing
and new tracks, walkways and link sections alongside
roads. It fires up plenty of people’s excitement levels
and determination to tackle a challenge, with Aotearoa’s
stunning landscapes their constant companion.
Pat sees more opportunities for Te Araroa, past that of
Caging our youth is an
expensive failure. Instead of
imprisoning youth who aren’t
bad but simply aren’t coping,
why not take them out on the
trail?”
the tourism trade and those who notch up physical challenges
as trophies.
He wants to see this magnificent asset as an alternative
outward bound, as nature’s classroom, a trail for
healing and rehab, where time spent anywhere along its
pathway inspires opportunities and has lifelong, positive
impacts. When Minnie Ratima first hit the trail up north,
she too saw its potential and after they had completed
the first section she’d caught the bug. She wanted to do
more and that’s how the idea grew to start a trust, an
ideal, a dream, a challenge, to walk from Cape Reinga to
Bluff, when time and money allowed.
Above and opposite: Cape Reinga. Photos Andre Bernhardt/Will Li.
Napier Pilot City Trust – for a kinder, fairer city 135