Northbound
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Northbound
Buy Now for €17.88
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Narrated by:
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Naomi Arnold
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By:
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Naomi Arnold
Alone in the wilderness
Shortlisted for the General Nonfiction Award at the 2026 Ockham Book Awards
2026 Book Industry Awards NZ Audiobook of the Year Finalist
Award-winning journalist Naomi Arnold spends nearly nine months walking the length of New Zealand on Te Araroa, fulfilling a 20-year dream. On her own, she traverses mountains, rivers, cities and plains from summer to spring, walking on through days of thick mud, blazing sun and lightning storms, and into cold, starlit nights. Along the way she encounters colourful locals and travellers who delight and inspire her.
An upbeat, fascinating and inspiring memoir of solitude, love and friendship, and the joys and pains to be found in the wilderness.
The author has hiked the TA over the course of 8 consecutive months, mostly during winter.
It seemed to me that she didn't really enjoy it much, mainly because she was wet and cold on most days. She kept telling the reader that she was miserable and that she neglected her physical needs (when numbing deep wounds with pain killers instead of proper treatment; hiking for days without neccessary food, because she didn't really care; and not bringing gas when hiking in cold weather, because she was too lazy to walk back and get it). I couldn't comprehend why she was making herself so miserable and wondered if she wants to be seen as a hero for pushing through?
The book follows a diary style and mentions a lot of names of places, but I missed longer descriptions of the landscape, sounds and smells. If you are planning to hike the TA this book might be helpful (or put you off ;-)).
I've been looking forward to a TA hiking book
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absolutely delightful
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