Cities – Sydney and Newcastle

April 13, 2023
by Jens Hevike
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Soberly, cities don’t really know what to do with me, except to shove things in my mouth and let me run aimlessly through the area. They try to stress me out with their noise and hectic pace, which they haven’t succeeded in doing very well so far. When I think back to how I was doing just two weeks ago, I have now ascended to the spheres of a champion.

Australia – The Great Northern Walk

April 2, 2023
by Jens Hevike
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I don’t know if we have them in Germany, but if we do, they are certainly not as numerous as you encounter them here, or should I say swarming. The little worms suck on the skin and fill up their narrow, tubular bodies until they are as thick as a finger. Then they fall off. The blood thinner makes me ooze. Mike showed me that they can’t tolerate salt and will retreat after just a few grains and usually die. I must have had twenty on my feet that day, not dangerous, but annoying. As Mike told me, I got into an area here where the leeches swarm through the area like a plague.

Australia – Blue Mountains

March 27, 2023
by Jens Hevike
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The wilderness of Australia is so much wilder than that of New Zealand and the biodiversity much richer. I have only been here for a week and have already seen countless wild animals. Different kinds of parrots, crows, all kinds of butterflies and other birds. Today Josie and I ran into a monitor lizard about 60 cm long, plus tail. This was the first time we both saw one in the wild. Later he was creeping along the other side of the river, about 5 meters away from us, when he suddenly made a leap from one branch to the other to attack a snake that must have been over a meter long. He tried it a few times and also bit into it until it finally managed to free itself and fled into the water.

Australia – Royal National Park

March 17, 2023
by Jens Hevike
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Arrived in Sydney I stayed for one night in a hostel. Somehow the whole hustle and bustle of the city and the high prices surprised me so much that I had to escape it right away. My friends, Ruth and Giancarlo, whom I met on the TA, happened to be on their way south past Sydney. So it happened that they picked me up at the train station for a little adventure into Royal National Park, south of Sydney. It was nice to be able to spend a little more time with them here. Somehow, it’s always more about the people you meet than the place you’re in.

The end of Te Araroa – Equipment I really needed

March 16, 2023
by Jens Hevike
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More than 3000 kilometers have shown which equipment is really essential. I still wouldn’t call myself a complete purist, but every step has shown me that every kilo counts and what I really “need”. Except for my emergency kit, I used every item I had with me on a daily basis.

The last 42 km – marathon to the finish

March 6, 2023
by Jens Hevike
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It’s been a few days now since I finished the trail along with a few others. Arriving was a real relief. It was downhill and I was just able to “run” the last few meters to Sterlig Point, the final point of Te Araroa. My legs did not allow another step. I had already set my mind in Te Kuiti, on the North Island, to implement my plan to run a marathon as the last leg of the trail. Suddenly it was not just an idea, but within reach.

the last 200 kilometers

March 3, 2023
by Jens Hevike
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The last stage of my New Zealand trip has begun. There are only 220 km left to Bluff. I have planned to arrive by the end of February. It’s a bit of a challenge, but it should still be doable.

Free fall

February 21, 2023
by Jens Hevike
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It didn’t cost me any overcoming to jump in tandem from 4000 m height, not even my heartbeat was noticeably increased. I actually wonder what it takes to get me excited. How do you guys feel about it? Are you like me in that hardly anything can get you excited? For me, the only time my heart really starts racing is when I’m thinking too hard about a difficult situation. Spontaneity and quick action is the key to not getting all dithered in the first place. I wonder if I’ve somehow trained myself not to get shakey or if it’s just part of my nature.

Queenstown – 10 % von 3000 km übrig

February 16, 2023
by Jens Hevike
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Wir hatten uns drei Tage Pause bei Logan’s Eltern, Sue und Andrew, in Wanaka gegönnt. Die beiden wohnen in einem wie mit Händen aus Lehm geformten Haus mitten in einem Weinberg. Die Bäume, die das Anwesen umringen, geben ihm den Anschein, auf dem Land, entfernt vom touristischen Trubel der jährlich wachsenden Stadt Wanaka, zu sein. 

Wanaka

February 12, 2023
by Jens Hevike
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From our perspective it is so much more, it is the effort of climbing the mountains that is rewarded with the views, it is the fun we feel trying to cross the rippling streams and rivers without getting our feet wet, the feeling on our feet of walking over a soft forest floor instead of hard rock.