With many thousands of followers across the world, many of you identify me as Sharon, the Freewheeling Kiwi however I led a very different life prior to being the adventurous, outdoors person that you follow today. 

In this deeply personal blog I share with you some of the circumstances that led me to change careers in midlife, why I quit corporate life altogether and the epiphany that morphed into the Freewheeling Kiwi.

I know how difficult it is to welcome change but having successfully navigated some of life’s largest transitions, sometimes, the grass really is greener on the other side. 

By sharing my story, I hope to provide you with the courage and inspiration to embrace the inevitable changes in your own life. 

Walking New Zealand’s 3,000 kilometre Te Araroa was the first thru hike I’d ever undertaken and as a novice thru hiker, I made my share of mistakes plus possibly a few more.

As a beginner, there’s so much to think and plan for plus the countless variables you’ll hopefully anticipate ahead of time from the comfort of home, rather than from a mountain top in the middle of a blizzard.

Here I share my top five mistakes that I made when hiking Te Araroa including the context that surrounded my decisions to better help you avoid making my blunders. 

It was almost as if the Gods had flicked a switch, one moment was quiet and calm, surrounded by some of the highest mountains in the world, the huge glacier below us swathed in early morning sunshine, the next was charged with tension.