Creating New Zealand's national walking trail

Witness History

BBC

History, Personal Journals, Society & Culture

4.4 • 1.6K Ratings

🗓️ 18 May 2023

⏱️ 9 minutes

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Summary

In 2011 a 3,000 km long walking trail was opened in New Zealand. Geoff Chapple had spent years lobbying for the creation of Te Araroa. He’d written articles in newspapers and tested out routes in the country's rugged landscape. The process of exploring where it could go sometimes put him in danger as he tells Alex Collins. (Photo: Geoff wading in the Waipapa River in the far north of New Zealand while on the Te Araroa trail. Credit: Amos Chapple)

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello there, welcome to the witness history podcast from the BBC World Service, with me,
0:09.8	Alex Collins.
0:11.6	Today, I'm taking you back to 2011 and the opening of Tiara Roa, New Zealand's National
0:18.6	Walking Trail.
0:19.7	It's the 3rd of November and Jeff Chappell is waiting in Shorland Park Wellington for
0:26.0	the opening of the trail.
0:27.8	He's feeling emotional as he's spent decades working on the project.
0:31.9	The army band marched in playing coming round the mountain and then the Governor General arrived.
0:38.1	He's a Maori Governor General at that time, Sir Jerry Mathapurai, and the Governor General
0:45.0	pulled me towards him and gave me a hug.
0:47.5	A hungry is a traditional Maori greeting when two people touch noses when meeting.
0:52.9	After performing that, Jeff and the Governor walked together into the park.
0:56.9	Our speech is given and then the Governor General and I unveiled a plaque which had a little
1:04.4	message on it from the Maori Queen, walk the trail in peace, look deeply into the landscape
1:10.5	and lure it.
1:12.0	Jeff had spent his entire life walking in New Zealand.
1:15.2	They call it tramping, but how did he get the idea of creating a national trail?
1:21.2	Let's rewind to 1994.
1:23.6	At the time, Jeff was the book's editor for the Sunday Star.
1:27.8	One day he was sitting at his desk and a flash of inspiration came to him.
1:32.5	He thought New Zealand needed a national project.
1:35.2	The creation of a trail from the top of the North Island, going all the way to the bottom
	...

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