I'm an Assistant Director in the film industry who spent a fortune on film school and never used it until now - sharing my hobbies of hiking and photography with you in the form of meandering, poorly produced RU-vid videos. Enjoy!
Thanks it's nice to be back! I don't know about soon, but I'm definitely not done with Te Araroa. For now I will have to settle for some future videos about gear, planning, etc for my fellow thru-hikers.
I thought the sound quality was great. Microphone inside the shirt didn’t seem to affect the quality and really cut the wind noise. Glad to see you back making videos!
This is a really helpful video. I especially like Tip 4, about the photos telling a story of your journey rather than just going out for one or two landscape shots.
As an overseas visitor starting the TA in November it would be useful to have a better understanding of how you know or determine where you can and cannot wild camp on the TA so we can stay within the local requirements whilst enjoying the trail to the max, thank you
Thanks for another great video! I have especially enjoyed your Te Aroroa series. A not quite photography related question, in your TA videos you mentioned editing videos on your phone, out of curiosity what app did you use for this?
Such a shame, but hope the recovery is speedy and you are back out in the hills very soon. Will miss your videos, but hope to see them next season. Thanks 😊
Hi Andrew, really enjoyed your videos from the trail. I keenly awaited each new one. Great effort - unfortunate it was interrupted by injury. A video I would be really interested in seeing is how you recorded, edited and posted the videos from the trail. The quality of your videos and the associated photography was extraordinary. Planning to give TA a go myself later in the year and will be delighted if I get as far as you. Maybe see you out there
Hope the injury heals soon! Really enjoyed the videos, my partner and I are hoping to take on the TA next season. Keen to know more about your experience hiking as a couple (although obviously you did also get separated for parts too), how you split your gear up and how you shared the load when you could. Knowing more about the gear you took is always a winner too! Hope to see you out there :)
The commentary was great! It was mostly great to get to experience the trail through your eyes again. Oh how I miss being on Te Araroa. Time for round two!
Relax and recover. Looking forward to future videos as they are really enjoyable. I like the highs and lows candid commentary. The trail commentary. The photos at the end are great.... show more as they best sell the Te Araroa trail and your highs.
"Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning" - Winstone Churchill. The end is just a new beginning, GOOD LUCK for next season.
Oh no, I hope the mahi you put in feels valued to yourself, it's an impressive distance to cover. Whatever adventure you post next will be sure to be good, counting of the quality already posted. Hope the injury can heal or be managed.
Wow how that valley has changed. I was there some 25 years ago. No board walk, just wade your way through. My fav place in waitaks. Brilliant camping spot. Thanks for sharing!
Yep when I came through there on the Hillary Trail many years back it was quite different also. I fondly remember many stream crossings and wades. The bridge is quite cool though!
Enjoying your posts thank you. Yes date and time please, helps me feel connected as i make art in Lower Hutt. I like verbal commentary as i am often not actually looking at the screen, but i do appreciate well composed shots and interesting visual detail. I liked your acknowledgement of the history of the ground you cover.
Keep the vids coming please. We are loving watching your journey. Onya👍😁 Also can we get some stat's? How long does it take to set up your tent? How far you walk each day? The date so we can see the season and weather etc. Cheers 🙏
Great storytelling - love the little moments (like the crickets and the view of your legs through a rough stretch). Hope you avoided zaps from the fences!
I am loving the detailed look at the landscape as you pass through the different sections on the TA. Its interesting to see the different challenges that are thrown at you. I thought it would be the mountain ranges and wilderness that would be difficult, but I can see that the more rural and urban areas have their own share. Keep the films coming, I am loving watching from the UK and dreaming. One day.....
Andrew. When you travel by yourself, and are not meeting many people, you get a focus on the landscape. This channel is giving an excellent impression of the areas you are moving through but it isn't really encouraging me to walk the North island half of TA. I guess once you get out of these built-up zones it should get better. The South Island half is so different, and more of a typical tramping experience. Hope your ankle comes right. I'm really enjoying these, and you've only just left Auckland.
Hey, I use the official TA Trail app for navigation. We carry a Garmin InReach Mini for communication with family and so they can follow along, and we have a PLB for emergencies.
Conent-wise, I love what you're doing. My only suggestion for making it more followable for the user would be to add text on the screen for the place names. I love following along on the maps, but my ignorant American ears have a hard time sussing out the Maori names. Or perhaps/also show on a map your starting/finishing points for a given day. Thanks for sharing your journey!
The Oregon Coast Trail in America is much the same way. The only signage exists on obvious trails in places where you already know the way, placed there so tourists can say, Oh, honey, look, we're on the Oregon Coast Trail. But for all the confusing turns and nonobvious moves elsewhere, no signage whatsoever, and criminally vague descriptions.
I can tell you were laboring under the decision about the importance of a continuous trip, but it was the right one to make. It's not your fault that the TA is a poorly-designed route. As it is, with long dangerous road walks, and sections of actual trail that are closed either seasonally or permanently, it's neither logistically nor aesthetically pleasing to do it continuously.
I'm VERY INTERESTED to see how south of the bombay hills go for you. After all that road walking and land closures of Northland you certainly convinced me to forget about that section entirely. At this stage I might just start my journey from the top of the Coromandel Peninsula. GL with this next section ... and the fact that winter is coming ... 😉
Enjoying the videos and content. I like a mix off content. I prefer to watch the landscape and terrain. Like the short lapse trail shots. I do enjoy the talking to camera shots explaining things and being real about the trip. I would like to see more about gear etc, hightlight or reviews a different piece each video maybe. I enjoy the still photos at the end a chance to focus on the landscape.
Love your vids, at the moment I’m picking up courage to follow in your footsteps. Can you let us know your camera set up. All the best for the coming kms.
Thanks for the support. I'd definitely recommend giving it a try - it's not always easy but it's a special experience. I shoot the videos on a GoPro and the stills on a Lumix G9. Stay tuned for a video dedicated to my camera kit and how I carry it!
I really like the balance you show in your films. I like your talking to camera as its very informative but I also love just looking at the terrain and the views. I really like the photos at the end of the film too, I enjoy the chance to see things in more detail. It doesn't need to be any more polished for me, I enjoy the reality of the journey, especially when you show the lows as well as the highs. I do enjoy looking at camp life/food/gear issues so a bit more of this would be great. However, the one thing you could do for me is to let me hear the sounds of the birds a little more. Its so evocative of my trip to NZ15 years ago. Thanks for asking for feedback, although its your hike and your film so you can do anything you like and I am sure I will still find it interesting! Happy travels
Keep on doing what you are doing. I also enjoy a bit longer videos and love the time lapses. I do like that you are also showing the bad side of hiking, getting lost, no signage, injuries etc. Cause most people don't show that. Really love your content, so keep going
Thanks for the feedback. Yeah I definitely wanted to give a more rounded impression, hopefully without it being too much of a downer! There's highs and lows for sure, but all character building.
