“I think I’ll walk across the country,” I said, applying for my New Zealand work and holiday visa sprawled out on the floor of a hostel in Melbourne, Australia. Some thought I was insane, others, well, they just said “Classic Emmaleigh”.

It’s strange to reflect on a thru-hike when it is in the past. Some of the most miserable moments in the present grow into the fondest memories. The lifeless landscape of the endless 90-mile beach still haunts my soul. I can still feel the dense fern forests tickling the hair on my legs. I had no idea what to expect when I arrived at Cape Reinga, New Zealand on October 16, 2019, but I knew from the second the soft ocean breeze caressed my skin that it would change my life.