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The IdeaTo embark on a musical walking tour across the length of New Zealand.
Michelle is an avid hiker and completed Australia's premier trail - The Australian Alps Walking Track (650km) in 2017. Having officially caught the long distance hiking bug, Michelle set her sights on New Zealand's 3000km Te Araroa Trail. Mickey was keen, but the time away from playing music was a concern for him... the obvious answer: why not do a musical tour along the way? At first the idea seemed impossible, but with research and a flair for the ridiculous, Mickey & Michelle set their sights on NZ. Interview with We Are Explorers:
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Musical Hike on Te Araroa
Mission Statement: Combine music touring with hiking to create an experience which is mentally and physically healthy, financially sustainable and environmentally friendly.
In October 2019 Mickey & Michelle set out to walk the length of New Zealand on Te Araroa Trail and perform 20+ concerts along the way. This established trail is 3000km long and snakes its way through the heart of NZ from Cape Regina in the North Island to Bluff in the South Island. The duo also raised money and awareness for osteoporosis research while walking, a condition which Michelle was diagnosed with in 2014. More info.
The trail took them through both major cities and rural locations, with concerts ranging from halls, living rooms, churches, folk festivals and on a ferry. Mickey & Michelle would send their instruments ahead of them to the next concert (usually transported by a lovely Kiwi they'd just made friends with) and then walk for a week or two until they met up with their instruments in the concert's town. In order to stay in performance shape, Mickey & Michelle did mental practice while walking and would arrive a few days before each concert so they were reunited with their instruments early.
"We had no idea how we'd go preparing for a concert without our instruments on us to practice with," says Michelle. "It was definitely a grand experiment! I was happily surprised with how well the mental practice worked. My memory for our repertoire was great, but the first hour of practice once reunited with my harp was very odd. Calluses were gone from my fingers (on my feet instead!) and fine motor skills were sluggish. However, after two days of practice and I was ready to perform."
Te Araroa passes through some of New Zealand's most scenic locations including: Tongariro Crossing and a 7 day canoe trip down the Whanganui river in the North Island, as well as the Richmond Ranges and Nelson Lakes in the South Island. Mickey & Michelle would enjoy the trail lifestyle for weeks and then emerge into reception, admin, practice and concerts once they reached a town.
Mickey says: "Trail life is simple and repetitive in the most loveliest of ways. Everything you do in a day is purposeful and important to keep you going and safe from the very real danger of the elements. It was amazing to go from this quiet existence to the buzz and busyness of performance. I actually think that both were made better by the other experience. In 6 months we never got bored of walking Te Araroa as we always had a gig to look forward to and prepare for, and conversely we were never burnt out by the demands of touring, with the solitude of the bush awaiting us after each show."
Mickey & Michelle walked from October 2019 to March 2020 and performed 20 concerts before their tour was cut short a month by Covid-19. They plan to finish the final concerts and kilometers left later this year.
"I think it's fair to say that it was a pretty ambitious tour!" Says Michelle. "It took us a year to plan and involved 6 months of walking. Lots could've gone wrong and honestly we thought an injury might stop us walking, but a global pandemic was a surprise! In the end we walked 2580km from Cape Reinga to Wanaka, so we have 420km left... and can't wait to return and finish it!"
Check out our blog posts to read more about this adventure and subscribe and/or chuck us a like on facebook or instagram to follow along when we return to complete our Musical Hike, NZ.
In October 2019 Mickey & Michelle set out to walk the length of New Zealand on Te Araroa Trail and perform 20+ concerts along the way. This established trail is 3000km long and snakes its way through the heart of NZ from Cape Regina in the North Island to Bluff in the South Island. The duo also raised money and awareness for osteoporosis research while walking, a condition which Michelle was diagnosed with in 2014. More info.
The trail took them through both major cities and rural locations, with concerts ranging from halls, living rooms, churches, folk festivals and on a ferry. Mickey & Michelle would send their instruments ahead of them to the next concert (usually transported by a lovely Kiwi they'd just made friends with) and then walk for a week or two until they met up with their instruments in the concert's town. In order to stay in performance shape, Mickey & Michelle did mental practice while walking and would arrive a few days before each concert so they were reunited with their instruments early.
"We had no idea how we'd go preparing for a concert without our instruments on us to practice with," says Michelle. "It was definitely a grand experiment! I was happily surprised with how well the mental practice worked. My memory for our repertoire was great, but the first hour of practice once reunited with my harp was very odd. Calluses were gone from my fingers (on my feet instead!) and fine motor skills were sluggish. However, after two days of practice and I was ready to perform."
Te Araroa passes through some of New Zealand's most scenic locations including: Tongariro Crossing and a 7 day canoe trip down the Whanganui river in the North Island, as well as the Richmond Ranges and Nelson Lakes in the South Island. Mickey & Michelle would enjoy the trail lifestyle for weeks and then emerge into reception, admin, practice and concerts once they reached a town.
Mickey says: "Trail life is simple and repetitive in the most loveliest of ways. Everything you do in a day is purposeful and important to keep you going and safe from the very real danger of the elements. It was amazing to go from this quiet existence to the buzz and busyness of performance. I actually think that both were made better by the other experience. In 6 months we never got bored of walking Te Araroa as we always had a gig to look forward to and prepare for, and conversely we were never burnt out by the demands of touring, with the solitude of the bush awaiting us after each show."
Mickey & Michelle walked from October 2019 to March 2020 and performed 20 concerts before their tour was cut short a month by Covid-19. They plan to finish the final concerts and kilometers left later this year.
"I think it's fair to say that it was a pretty ambitious tour!" Says Michelle. "It took us a year to plan and involved 6 months of walking. Lots could've gone wrong and honestly we thought an injury might stop us walking, but a global pandemic was a surprise! In the end we walked 2580km from Cape Reinga to Wanaka, so we have 420km left... and can't wait to return and finish it!"
Check out our blog posts to read more about this adventure and subscribe and/or chuck us a like on facebook or instagram to follow along when we return to complete our Musical Hike, NZ.
