Te Araroa Trail: Walking the Te Araroa Trail as a photgrapher and film maker

Dylan Moron, a photographer and filmmaker passionate about the outdoors. In 2018, decided to follow his dream and travelled to New Zealand. Shortly after his arrival he came across an interesting article about Te Araroa Trail,: New Zealand’s longest hiking trail. From this point he just had one goal in mind: to make his first adventure film documentary. That is why he started an adventure of 3000 km by feet, following Te Araroa Trail. Beyond the beauty of New Zealand’s landscapes this journey led him to inspiring people from different backgrounds who shared their personal experiences and their inner journey with him. In his article he explains how he filmed a documentary while walking the Te Araroa Trail.

Where did the idea come from ?

Shortly after I arrived in New Zealand I came across a blog article about a long distance hiking trail of 3000km. While reading this article I could feel my heart beating like crazy and a source of energy I had never felt before started to burn inside me.

At this moment I just realised why I came all the way to New Zealand: to cross the entire country by feet. Without thinking further I decided to do Te Araroa Trail.

The following day I sent an email to a contact in France asking if she would be able to sponsor me and send me some missing gear and she said yes. From this point I started to prepare myself and planned the adventure that laid ahead of me.

I will never forget the 21st of December 2019. I stood at the starting point of the trail with nothing more than my 55l backpack and camera, ready to start this exciting journey from Cape Reinga, the northernmost point of the North Island, to Bluff, the southernmost point of the South Island.

What inspired me ?

I have seen the Te Araroa Trail as an opportunity. Since a long time I wanted to live an adventurous life as I have always been inspired by these incredible stories of people documenting their adventures. Chris Burkard and Jimmy Chin have been some of them by their photographs and films (Under an Arctic Sky, Unnur, Meru, Free Solo..) they really pushed me to realise my own adventure film documentary.

Deeply inside of me I always wanted to do something like that. In addition, no documentary about this young through-hike has been realised in the past and I thought it could be a great opportunity to make one so that people can experience what it is like to walk a long distance hiking trail.

How did you define the angle of the documentary? A challenging start but necessary

The first weeks were incredibly challenging, but it was necessary because it helped me physically and mentally to be prepared for rest of the adventure. I even had to stop for five days due to an injury; I twisted both ankles. I could barely walk and my ankles were so swollen that they doubled in size.

As it is not natural to walk 25 km every day the body had to adjust so I had to go through a period of adjustment which is normal to happen. After this period it was a lot easier and enjoyable. As always in life motivation is what makes you start a journey like this but a goal helps you to keep going. And my motivation and goal has been to create my first film documentary.

Even more than the challenging start it has been the people I met who helped me to define the angle of my documentary. People from all over the world with the same objectives, passion, learning, joy and sense of adventure inspired me to define the angle of my film documentary.

Once I made up my mind, I started interviewing the people I met on my way. It was incredible to see the diversity of people walking the trail and it proved to me once again that regardless of our age, gender or background - we are all able to accomplish amazing things.

Which gear was used ?

I mainly filmed with my Sony A7RII, 28mm f2 lens and a Rode Microphone. If you walk a through-hike for several months just with a small backpack the challenge is to find a setup that is light enough to carry the entire journey.

Luckily, this setup was light enough to carry it for three months. I also used a GoPro Hero 6 for some POV shots which was very useful when it was pouring rain for several days at the 90 miles beach. Furthermore, it allowed me to film some nice underwater footage and to show different angles.

I also carried a Gorillapod as a small tripod which was my best friend when I needed to shoot a scene by myself. One of the most useful things I used was the Capture Camera Clip which simply is a metal clip that lets you carry your camera on your backpack strap. I could easily grab my camera at any moment without having to search in my bag which allowed me to capture more moments.

In addition I used a rain cover to protect the camera against the elements (rain, dust, dirt) and leave it outside my bag all day long if I wanted to.

The main problem during this adventure was to be able to

backup my footage and be lightweight. I quickly thought of carrying my computer or an external hard drive but these two options were either too risky or too heavy.

The best solution to me were several SD cards that I carried in a waterproof case. Some people would think that is not the most secure one but it worked perfectly well.

Another challenge I had to face were the camera batteries. I had to be able to shoot for five to nine days (depending on the sections) without any possibility of charging the batteries. I thought of a Portable Solar Panel but ultimately I prefered to carry more batteries (four in total) and one powerbank (20,000mAh).

I needed something I could rely on and a solar panel depends a lot on the weather forecast.

Few Tips :

• Keeping your electronics in a warm place : I often didn’t sleep alone. Sounds weird but is true. During the cold nights I slept with my electronics (batteries, powerbank, phone) in my sleeping bag to protect them from the cold and save some power. It can make a huge difference when you spend days without being able to charge your batteries.

•Recharge your electronics : Most of the time after a long section I was taking a day rest in a hostel to recharge everything. Just make sure to have a multiplug. This will save you some time.

•Shooting at the right time : If you are already into photography or filmmaking you probably know that there is no better time to shoot when the sun is rising or setting. I was making sure to check the map in advance to find the best spot for sunrise/sunset.

•Waterproof bags : Make sure to order your electronic gears in a waterproof bag. Indeed the sun is not always shining and there is a lot of river crossing to do - so better be prepared. This works as well for your food, clothes and other equipment.

•Talk to strangers: This is something I learned during this journey - dare to talk to others and take the time to listen to their stories. First of all as a person it is very rewarding - you learn a lot from people. Second, as a film director it can be an exciting/ inspiring story to tell in your documentary.

•Write notes: Throughout the adventure I made sure to take few minutes every evening to write down my feelings and the relevant information of the day (places, kilometers, highlights, names of the people met , name of the huts, etc). In addition to create a wonderful memory it allows you to remember information or details that can be very useful for your documentary.

Where did the title come from ?

“Up and Down” has two different meanings. The first one is a reference to the hiking trail itself as you are always walking up and down through the hills and mountains. Every time you are going down you know the next climb is just around the corner or even closer.

The second is about the psychological aspect because everyone goes through their mental ups and downs during the Trail but in the end you can find positive aspects even in the challenging days.

What is the message ?

The main goal of this documentary is to inspire people to live their own adventure, explore the outdoor life and discover the beauty nature has to offer.

But I also want to encourage people to leave their comfort zones by challenging themselves because we are all able to accomplish amazing things regardless of our age, gender or background.

This is the reason why I have selected six walkers from different backgrounds who shared their personal experiences and learnings. I wanted the documentary to be about the experiences of different people and not about my own.

In all honesty, before starting this journey, I was mainly thinking about the incredible landscapes that I was going to be able to see and capture on my way.

In the end, what really impacted this experience was all these people that I met during this journey and how they deeply marked my adventure and made it unique!

Today when I think about Te Araroa Trail I am first thinking of the faces of the people I met before thinking of the beautiful New Zealand’s landscapes.

Just to say how much the human dimension is present during an adventure like this one

Conclusion :

This three-month adventure was absolutely blissful. Waking up every morning surrounded by nature and documenting the everyday life on the trail with my camera was something I couldn’t even imagine living one day.

Until today I can’t fully realise what I have achieved. Today when people ask me about this adventure it is still hard to find the right words. I often say that it is beyond explanation, you have to live that experience to really understand how it permanently affects you.

This experience allowed me to learn a little more about myself and taught me five important life lessons that I try to put into action daily:

Minimalism : First, minimalism : I value simplicity much more and reconsider whether I really need to buy something. After all, I lived for three months with one bag and I did perfectly fine.

The problem nowadays is that society we are living in wants you to buy and consume stuff you really do not need and it is really easy to fall into that “marketing trap”. Trust me you will find yourself happier with less.

Sharing : This relates to my second lesson: sharing. Even though you don’t have stuff in abundance, you have so much to offer. You will be surprised by how you can help people, what you can share, and that words and gestures are so much more powerful than the size or value of things.

Kindness : Thirdly, this has also to do with kindness. Being kind to people is probably the most important of all. It contributes an invaluable amount to the happiness of all and can really change one’s day – and it costs nothing to be kind. Even if you feel occupied by your doubts and frustrations, aren’t you feeling happier when you are kind?

Aren’t your negative thoughts softened when you receive a genuine smile or see one’s appreciation of your small, helpful gesture?

Live the present moment : Furthermore, living in the present moment. Being present allowed me to see so much more of the world and my surroundings as my mind wasn’t distracted by an imaginary future or worries of the past.

This really had an influence on my photography as you are more aware of the details, which often make the difference in a photo. Because it is not always about amazing sceneries – Beauty is hiding everywhere and especially where you don’t expect it to be so keep your eyes wide open !

Everything is possible : Finally, I also genuinely believe now that everything is possible. It sounds cliché and I personally never took this expression seriously. But during this journey, I realized that it is true, everything is possible. It involves a lot of effort, doubts, dedication, failure, and perseverance – but you can make it happen.

The whole trip has impacted me in so many profound ways I can hardly describe. It has made me more whole as a human being and I bring this with me in my everyday life.

These kinds of trips aren’t over once you fly home - they have a long-term impact on who you are and how you live the rest of your life.

If you want to learn and grow you have to leave your comfort zone. It does not always have to be a long journey of 3000 km.

Sometimes it is just nice to step out of your comfort zone by trying something new or finding a new adventure in your own backyard. You just have to keep your eyes open.

A trailer of the film can be viewed at www.youtube.com/daynmoron