157: Setting the Fastest Self-Supported Record on Te Araroa with Billy Meredith

Till Middelhauve moved from Germany to New Zealand in 2020, after years of family via ferrata trips across the European Alps. Finding no public via ferrata here, he wrote the first concept during two weeks in managed isolation. Till shares about two and a half years of permits, surveys and landowner agreements before a small team of volunteers built New Zealand's first public via ferrata on Tākaka Hill. He talks about scaling loose rock off the cliff, securing fridge-sized boulders to the bedrock and the 150 climbers who turned up when the first route opened. He reflects on how rewarding it is to watch people have a great day out on the cliff. Till shares advice for first-timers, from the gear you need to why the afternoon is the best time to climb.

Kelsea and Olivia met on the first day of year one and are still best mates, sharing their adventures as Girls Off Grid while fitting tramping, hunting and mountaineering around busy Auckland jobs. They share about walking the Around the Mountain Circuit on Taranaki in three days rather than the recommended four to five, while much of the track was closed and overgrown. They talk about finding an eight and a half hour sign under a strip of tape, a near fall in the first hour of a 12-hour day, and a wrong turn in the dark before reaching the hut at 10pm. They reflect on vibe checking each other when one of them hits a wall. Kelsea and Olivia share advice for women that want to get outdoors, from renting gear to being the older newbie. Thank you so much for tuning in and coming along for the ride. If you love the show and enjoyed listening, please take the time to leave a review on Apple or Spotify. I would also love to connect with you, so send me a DM on Instagram, leave me a voice message and I can't wait to see you next time. Until then, keep adventuring :) Follow Girls Off Grid on Instagram: https://instagram.com/girls_off_grid/ Follow Aotearoa Adventures on Instagram: https://instagram.com/aotearoa_adventures_/ Follow Abigail on Instagram: https://instagram.com/abigailhannnah/

Hazel Phillips is an author and journalist who grew up scared of the outdoors, until a friend carrying all her own gear on the Milford Track made her think she could do it too. She shares about her new book Great Hearts, the stories of 30 women climbing around Aoraki Mount Cook from 1873 to the first all-women unguided ascent in 1953. Hazel talks about climbing in long skirts and motoring veils, a woman who bluffed her way into a guiding job at the Hermitage, and the small erasures that wrote women out of mountaineering history. She reflects on how many of these women were never going to take no for an answer. Hazel shares advice for women that want to progress past basic snowcraft, and why Ruapehu is the ideal place to start mountaineering.

Tom Waters grew up on a farm near Tekapo and found the outdoors through hunting with his dad, before whitewater kayaking became a healthy obsession. He shares about a packrafting trip to the head of the Landsborough River, approaching from the West Coast via the Karangarua Valley and the Douglas Traverse. Tom talks about crossing a glacier lake at first light to beat an incoming front, ice falls coming off the Douglas Névé on Douglas Pass, and a 14-hour day through a boulder-choked gorge before putting in at Percy Creek. He reflects on why a river carries a different type of risk to walking. Tom shares advice for anyone that wants to start packrafting, from checking flows and sticking to grade one and two, to never paddling alone and knowing when to leash to your boat.

Tsewang Nuru Sherpa is a freshwater researcher and freelance travel journalist, who grew up in the Everest region of Nepal. He shares how adventure came to him late, because trekking at home was a profession rather than something you did on a weekend. After moving to Christchurch, Tsewang spent weekends with the tramping club discovering trails in Arthur's Pass and around Canterbury. He went on to cycle the South Island section of Tour Aotearoa, and then started Te Araroa later that year. Tsewang has done his fair share of big expeditions, and reflects on why he still enjoys microadventures close to home, including the Christchurch 360 Trail. He also shares his advice for other people that want to get outdoors and how to find local adventures. Thank you so much for tuning in and coming along for the ride. If you love the show and enjoyed listening, please take the time to leave a review on Apple or Spotify. I would also love to connect with you, so send me a DM on Instagram, leave me a voice message and I can't wait to see you next time. Until then, keep adventuring :) Follow Tsewang on Instagram: https://instagram.com/tsewang.sherpa/ Follow Aotearoa Adventures on Instagram: https://instagram.com/aotearoa_adventures_/ Follow Abigail on Instagram: https://instagram.com/abigailhannnah/