WA man completes EPIC 3000km trek across New Zealand

Soaking up an orange sunset at Cape Reinga Lighthouse, Perth man Cam Bostock had the biggest smile on his face and an overwhelming sense of accomplishment.

He had reason to be happy, having just completed “the most incredible adventure” of his life … so far.

The 27-year-old had finished hiking the length of New Zealand mostly solo — traversing 3000km on the Te Araroa thru-hike from Bluff on South Island to Cape Reinga on North Island.

Te Araroa, meaning “the long path” in Maori, certainly lives up to its name. With challenging terrain, unpredictable weather and navigational obstacles, it is considered one of the world’s toughest and most diverse major thru-hikes.

If broken up into 25km stretches, the trail takes 120 days to walk or around four months, but Bostock pushed the limits to conquer the track in 61 days, kicking off his adventure in late February. He was only 12 days behind the fastest record, set by hiker George Henderson, who finished in just over 49 days.

On his last day, Cam smashed out 105.4km, with a 729m elevation gain, to reach his final stop at the lighthouse.

“I wanted to finish with an absolute bang and what better way than to hike the infamous 90-mile beach in a single day,” he said.

“Getting to the lighthouse had to be one of my favourite moments.”

The hike, which officially opened in 2011, is made up of 87 separate trails — showcasing almost everything NZ has to offer, from picturesque mountains to sandy beaches, volcanoes, winding rivers, glacier lakes, stunning valleys, farmland and country towns.

Rated difficult, taking on the entire trail is not an adventure for the faint-hearted or one that can be done on a whim. Bostock said some serious planning was needed in advance, including food drops, ensuring he had the right equipment for all conditions, and mapping out how he’d break up the trail, including where he’d be spending each night.

Bostock, who has built a career around sharing his incredible hiking experiences, had 257,000 people following along on Instagram as he made his way across NZ — keeping him focused and motivated to keep stepping forward.

“I had some wild weather along the trek, including snow, icy rain and crazy winds,” he told PerthNow.

“But giving up never crossed my mind. I’m the type of person, who, if I say I’m going to do something, I have to finish it.

“The endless stream of supportive comments and messages were a huge driving factor to keep pushing every day… I was also so lucky to have the ongoing support of my wife on the second half of the hike.”

Bostock started out hiking in Perth’s Hills in his early 20s and fell in love with the rolling Stirling Ranges before he started looking for new challenges. Having tackled the Bibbulmun Track, a 1000km trek between Kalamunda and Albany, Bostock was ready for something bigger, so he then conquered Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania.

After that, he decided to start planning a much longer trek.

“TA was next on the bucket list,” he said.

With his hiking feet well and truly worn in, Bostock said he was lucky to avoid any blisters or foot injuries on his whole 61-day journey but did encounter some tendon issues in his lower left leg towards the 40-day mark.

In his first nine days, he smashed out 330kms on the South Island, walking along roads, rugged trails, sandy beaches, up hills, through shin-deep mud, tussock fields and forest, over bridges and alongside waterfalls until he made it to Queenstown.

“The Te Araroa has been epic so far — the trails have been challenging but absolutely beautiful every step of the way,” he told his Instagram followers at the time.

By day 11 Bostock was walking through clouds, up in the mountains on the Motatapu alpine track in the Wanaka area, which he said had to be one of “the most beautiful days on the track” with “mountains everywhere and views never-ending”.

His spirits were still high come day 17 where he tackled terrain from Twizel to the “beautiful” Lake Tekapo before heading into the mountains on day 18.

He then climbed to the highest point on the Te Araroa, up to Stag Saddle at 1,295m on day 19 — and then decided to add even more elevation with an extra adventure, summiting Mt. Beuzenburg at 2,070m.

On day 24 he was “rock hopping, river crossing and zig zagging for hours on end” from Deception River to Goats Pass.

“This section was super fun and super challenging,” he told followers.

But it was day 30 that was particularly special, Bostock woke up to a magical winter wonderland but instead of taking the day off, he decided to battle the freezing cold and climb up the challenging Waiau Pass with a fellow hiker, Spencer Horton, who he’d met at his last hut stop.

“It was the hardest, coldest, slowest and most beautiful 17km of my life,” he said.

“It was absolutely stunning hiking in the snow. Before long though, we were fighting waist-deep snow, insane winds (literal blizzard) and the trail was hidden.”

Four days later Bostock and Horton were still tackling tough terrain, now in the Tasman region on the rugged Richmond Alpine Track.

“The Richmonds are no joke but this is some of the most beautiful country I’ve ever hiked in,” he told fans on day 34.

“Horton and I had brilliant weather to tackle what is considered to be the most challenging day on the entire TA,” he said on day 35.

“Big mountains and techy trail all proved true and it was slow going but I was blown away by the landscapes.”

By day 39, plus a couple of rest days, Bostock had hiked close to 1,300km and completed the South Island section, telling his followers it was “absolutely incredible”.

But there was still a “long way to go”.

After taking a ferry ride across the Cook Strait, Bostock was about to encounter another testing section of the trek — the Tararua Range, a mountainous, muddy region north of Wellington.

“The Tararuas are bloody tough,” he said on day 43.

“Not going to lie, I did not like that section at all,” he added on day 44. “A mix of terrible weather, absolutely horrid trail conditions and an injured left leg made for an extremely slow and unenjoyable hike.”

Skip to day 45 and Bostock was passing through some “otherworldly landscapes” with “bright emerald pools” in the Volcanic Region of Tongariro.

“The volcanic landscapes along the trail were incredible,” he said. “It really felt like Mordor (J. R. R. Tolkien’s fictional realm from Lord of the Rings).”

From there, Bostock got to rest his feet for a bit, grabbing a paddle and jumping in a canoe to take on the Whanganui River with a fellow hiker on day 49. The cruise down the river ended up being another of Bostock’s favourite sections, along with Nelson Lakes National Park on South Island.

Day 50, was another big highlight of the trip.

“Today was one of my favourite days on the entire TA,” he told followers. “50km of beautiful river wilderness with countless waterfalls, heaps of rapids, lush rainforest and abundant wildlife.”

On day 58, he swapped his canoe for a mountain bike, hitting the Timber Trail in the Pureora Forest Park, cycling more than 80km and crossing 35 bridges.

“The trail was beautiful, through forests and over mountains with some epic views,” he said.

From there he travelled from Hamilton to Auckland ahead of the last week of the trek. After walking some beautiful Auckland coastline he headed into the forest, tackling “shin-deep mud, rain and wind” to reach the town of Mangawhai and inching closer to his final destination.

Skipping some road sections towards the end due to time constraints and trail closures, Bostock braved more wind and rain to walk more than 120km over two days to reach his last stop and finish his adventure at Cape Reinga Lighthouse.

He summed up finishing the long hike in two simple words on social media: “You beaut!”

Bostock has an obvious love for hiking, but finishing the wild adventure was also about inspiring others to lace up some boots and get outdoors.

“My goal on social media has always been to inspire people to step out of their comfort zone and into the great outdoors, to experience all the benefits that hiking and the natural world can have on their mind, body and soul,” he said.

Despite its challenges, the thru-hike has become more and more popular over the years, with the number of people walking the entire track growing from 210 hikers in the 2014-15 season to 1200 in 2018-19 season, according to the Te Araroa Trust, which expected about 3000 hikers to tackle it in the 2022-23 season.

A week after completing the hike, Bostock was already missing being immersed in NZ’s wilderness.

“I miss being deep in the New Zealand backcountry with the most spectacular views I’ve ever seen,” Bostock said. “I miss drinking from mountain streams and swimming in remote, icy rivers.

“I miss being completely alone for days at a time, only to come across another hiker from across the world with epic stories to share.”

While it seems like he’s already done enough steps for a lifetime, TA was just one adventure on a long list and Bostock’s feet still have a long way to go. He’s now preparing for more hikes around the globe, including the infamous Everest Basecamp in Nepal and later, the North Pacific Trail in the US.

“What a journey, I can’t bloody wait for the next,” he said.

Follow all of Bostock’s adventures on Instagram @cambostock