17th November
38.7km
Auckland 581.9km to Bushcamp 619.6km
Most of my day off in Auckland was spend running around getting little jobs done. My only rest was in the form of a room I shared with 3 young girls that spend most of their night out drinking. With jobs done and stomach satisfied with Thai and Indian food I was ready to have my feet hit the pavement.
It was 8am when I started my urban hike through the city of Auckland. It was a Saturday morning. I shared the quiet streets with people on their way to play sport and the parklands with runners and people walking their dogs.
The trail passed some of Auckland cities tourist areas like Mt Eden and One Tree hill. Both are several kilometers from the centre of town which for most people is too far. I carried almost no food or water in my lightweight 6kg backpack so I sped through the city much faster than expected.
Below, photo of Auckland skyline from Mt Eden.
A quick stop for lunch and a snack here and there and I was in the international terminal of Auckland airport. The trail passes right next to the terminal. I had planned to sleep in a quiet spot in the departure terminal but I arrived here at 4pm with legs that felt like they could carry me so much further.
Below, 10am photo.
I’ve slept in airport terminals all around the world. Not the glamorous life you might associate with traveling but if you wonder how I travel for so long, its because I manage my budget very frugally. In fact, the most common question I get asked is how I can afford to travel for so long. Sleeping in airports rather than airport hotels can save money.
Below, wandering through the airport terminal
Would you sleep in an airport, or have you slept in an airport?
I sat in the international terminal charging my phone listening to all the visitors talking about their holidays. I heard the latest stock tips on the Australian Stock Exchange and what food people missed from home but I felt I should not sleep here tonight and i should try and make some more miles.
The trail routed through suburban sprawl and farmland. The planes were very close overhead as the sun was setting. I found a spot of parkland several kilometers away just as the sun was setting. With no sign to tell me otherwise, I say up my tent.
Next – Day 26 – Hiking more than 50 kilometers
All the tips you need to hike the Te Araroa Trail :
Complete Guide to the Te Araroa Trail
Te Araroa Trail Resupply Guide
Te Araroa Trail Gear List
Te Araroa Trail Gear Review
Hello and thank you so much for your in-depth blog of Te Araroa, especially seeing as I now live in Adelaide. Your trail name suits you and in through reading your experiences, I am inspired to return home do the trail myself!! It won’t be until the 10th anniversary though due to other life goals I want to attend to first. (Watch this space)
Your trail name Shepherd suits you, having spent my whole Sunday engrossed in reading your PCT adventures after using all of last week reading about the TA. Looling forward to keeping updated with your travels!
Back to what I was thinking re: this post…
What a great idea of crashing out at the airport! I do this all the time when I’m travelling abroad on my own. I will remember this for when I do the trail.
For any future TA’s reading this, not many people know, there is a free shower you can use at Auckland International Airport, just right next to the customs exit point (on the left when you first step out) and next to the McDonalds. Just saying :)
Thank you for the kind words. I’ve slept in several airports around the world, those early morning flights suck. I’ll be updating the info about the TA in the coming weeks to help future TA hikers and I’ll be sure to add that information for all to see. Thank you and good luck with making room in your life for the hike.
I just slept in the Atlanta airport in June. I really didn’t think it was that bad.
Atlanta airport is huge, I bet there were many out of the way places to sleep for a few hours.
I most recently slept in the Tokyo Airport when there was a tropical storm. It was me and probably hundreds if not thousands of other passengers. The great thing about the Tokyo Airport is that they have shower facilities that you can rent… after hours of plane delays it was great to take a shower before finding a place to sleep. Even though it was unfortunate to have so many flights cancelled because of the storm …in the end it was a nice adventure and story to tell that wove into my travels.
That’s a cool story. With that many people I can only imagine how long the wait for the shower would be and difficult it must have been to find a quiet place to sleep.
By the way, I tried to click through to the postcard option, and it won’t take me there.
It should work, click the become a patron link, it should then give the level options.
Ah yes, I have slept in many an airport.
I thought you would have