Brazil – Paraty – São Paulo

May 18, 2023
by Jens Hevike
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I see my trip less as a vacation in which I try to see and experience as much as possible, but as a journey to myself. That’s why the people I spend time with are more important to me than the place I’m in. Sometimes that person can be myself. If I can choose it, then it is preferably a quiet place in nature. If it’s a city, then with little traffic and lots of greenery. Places where I can retreat to switch off.

Privileged with distance

May 2, 2023
by Jens Hevike
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People make a living selling bags of potato chips in the congested streets. Hordes of young men wait all day for the red light of the traffic lights to earn their living. I guess there’s not much room to escape this life, to maybe one day sit on the other side of the Uber window and with a guilty conscience keep refusing the snacks on offer.

Brasil – Rio de Janeiro – Ilha Grande

April 25, 2023
by Jens Hevike
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Somehow I slipped into a lifestyle here that suits mine. You don’t rush, time passes without paying much attention to it. The clocks tick differently here than in the Western world. Just because there is a timetable doesn’t mean it will be followed. We’re in an Uber. We’re stuck in traffic. According to the timetable, we’re already late, but nobody cares. The bus is also late.

How much money did I spend on Ta Araroa?

April 15, 2023
by Jens Hevike
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I have to admit that I didn’t really pay attention to money since I didn’t have a strict budget. Certainly you can make the TA much cheaper than I did by eating less in restaurants, sleeping less in beds and hanging out less in cafes. In general, New Zealand is very expensive. I was surprised how quickly I had high costs.

Cities – Sydney and Newcastle

April 13, 2023
by Jens Hevike
2 Comments

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
1 Comment

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
1 Comment

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.