Te Araroa Map Series and Toolkit

Te Araroa is a journey of a lifetime.

From Te Rerenga Wairua / Cape Reinga to Motupohue / Bluff, 3,000 kilometres of trail threads through the wild heart of Aotearoa — through forests, volcanoes, rivers, beaches, and mountain passes. But ask anyone who's walked it and they'll tell you the same thing: it's not just the land that changes along the way. You do too.

"Just received my WildLab TA maps and they're brilliant! Thanks for creating such a beautiful, practical set of maps. Planning to start walking in October. See you all out on trail." — Sonia S.

Thinking of doing Te Araroa — or know someone who might?

Whether it's on your radar for next season, a longer-term goal taking shape in the back of your mind, done end-to-end in one big adventure or section by section over several seasons — these maps are a must-have from the very start. They're the kind of thing you find yourself coming back to again and again: to dream, to plan, to share.

This is the first time the full trail has been mapped and designed as one connected journey — six detailed trail maps together with a seventh full-trail planner map, created right here in Aotearoa by the team at Wildlab.

What's in the set

Six beautifully designed trail maps cover the length of Te Araroa from north to south, bringing the whole route to life at a scale that rewards proper looking. Towns, huts, road crossings, terrain, key landmarks — everything you need to picture the trail and plan your own way through it.

The seventh map — the full Trail Planner — is something else again. Pin it to the wall. It's the perfect way for friends and family to follow along and keep track of where you are as your journey unfolds. And if you're the one at home waiting for updates, it gives you something real to look at while you track the progress of someone you love.

The set comes packaged together with a magnetic closure, built to last and easy to store or gift.

What's more

Every purchase supports the work of the Te Araroa Trust and their team — the people who maintain, develop, and care for the trail that makes all of this possible. Buying these maps is a small way of giving something back to a trail that gives so much.

What people are saying

"Te Araroa Maps are wonderful — mapping, composition, packaging. Simply stunning." — David S.

"The maps arrived yesterday and they're amazing! We were all blown away by the production quality and amount of information. It's a superb job." — John D.

"I have these maps as well. They are great — such a great planning tool. Thanks so much WildLab Ōtepoti. Look forward to seeing you later this year." — Anah A.

Technical specs

• Set of seven maps: six trail maps + one full Trail Planner
• Size: 940 × 645 mm each
  
• Recyclable packaging with magnetic closure
• Designed and distributed in Aotearoa New Zealand by Wildlab

Curious how these maps came to be?

"Years ago I had what most people thought was a fairly stupid idea.

I wanted to walk my way up the South Island — a solo trip criss-crossing the Southern Alps, starting on the South Coast of Fiordland and finishing up at Farewell Spit. I didn't get much encouragement, just a lot of strange looks.

What actually made it happen wasn't so much fitness, or planning, or having the right gear. It was the inspiration and motivation I got from looking at maps of the route and imagining this new world I was going to explore. I plastered them all over my wall and just dreamed about the trip (well actually obsessed!). Even when nobody else was that interested. Especially when nobody else was that interested.

My first attempt failed, but the second attempt a year later didn't — with those 130 days changing the trajectory of my life.

It's knowing how maps can ignite that kind of spark, to be the catalyst for a journey where not only the landscape changes but so do you (or the people you share the maps with), that is the reason we've made these maps."

Mick Abbott, WildLab founder