Bewildered

By Laura Waters (Affirm Press)

“The idea had begun in bed one night, while scanning the news section of a hiking magazine. The announcement rose from the pages, a brand-new longdistance hiking trail. Te Araroa – the long pathway, in local Maori language – a 3000-kilometre route winding and rippling its way over mountains and forests, from Cape Reinga at the northernmost tip of New Zealand’s North Island to Bluff at the southernmost point of the South Island.”

Waters, an occasional contributor to Paradise, has a passion for inspiring people to connect with nature and has lived in various places around the globe while squeezing in random adventures – like mountain biking coast-to-coast across England – as part of a commitment to leading a life less ordinary.

There is nothing ordinary about walking the entire length of a country. For Waters the journey is transformative and much of what she learns could apply to many of us.