They say that size matters, and while in many cases that idiom may be a fallacy, in other walks of life (or cycles, or paddles), size very much does matter. Adventurer, author, and sometime Wild contributor Laura Waters recently completed a 2,400km kayak descent of the Murray River, from Bringenbrong Bridge to the sea. This is considered a Big Trip, due mainly to the time taken—76 days.
Having previously hiked the Te Araroa (TA) track in NZ (150 days), she’s no stranger to substantial time in action, and I’m partial to the occasional Big Trip myself, having cycled around NZ’s South Island (34 days) and hiked the length of the Sierra Nevada in California (43 days). Curious to talk to Laura about the highs and lows of long-term adventuring, I…