Tom Bartlett and Maddie Wait during their record-breaking walk from the top to the bottom of New Zealand. Photo: Supplied.
Tom Bartlett and Maddie Wait have a passion for walking. It’s a passion that has seen them traverse over 30,000 kilometres, breaking records along the way.
The latest record is for the fastest known time for the self-supported walk from the top of New Zealand’s North Island to the bottom of South Island. Known as Te Araroa, the trail is 3060 kilometres in length.
Tom and Maddie covered the distance in 54 days and 14 hours, shattering the previous mark of 69 days and 20 hours.
“We wanted to experience moving as fast as we could on a multi-month trail. We’ve done longer hikes but not at a record pace,” said Tom.
Tom Bartlett and Maddie Wait experienced incredible landscapes while setting their walking record in New Zealand. Photo: Supplied.
The record has been verified after officials from Fastest Known Time (FKT) analysed the data from their live satellite tracker, which updated Tom and Maddie’s position every 20 minutes during the event. They also submitted their daily GPS watch data, which recorded their position every second.
The trek was around 95 per cent hiking, with a 180-kilometre kayaking section making up the remainder of the distance. They had premade food boxes sent to destinations along the way and resupplied at local supermarkets.
It was a major exercise that took over two months to plan, but the record attempt was underscored by a lifetime of fitness.
Part of the walk taken by Tom Bartlett and Maddie Wait from the top to the bottom of New Zealand. Photo: Supplied.
“Training for a speed record of this length really comes down to how many kilometres you have in your legs. You want to balance getting fit for the hike but also turning up to the start mentally fresh and ready to go,” said Tom.
For Tom, the preparation has been happening for some time. In Year 12, he trekked the Australian Alps Walking Track. The following year, he conquered New Zealand’s South Island. Since then, he has walked across the world and also set records on the Australian Alps Walking Track and the Bibbulmun Track.
He and Maddie met at ANU while studying physics together. They soon realised their shared love for the great outdoors. They have been trekking together ever since.
In recent years, it has become more than a pastime.
Maddie says the thought of sitting at a desk for the rest of their working lives wasn’t appealing.
Spectacular views on the New Zealand record-breaking walk by Tom Bartlett and Maddie Wait. Photo: Supplied.
“After graduating with honours in physics, we debated whether to do a PhD. We opted to focus on our other passion, trekking, as we didn’t want to be desk-bound. After working in the guiding industry, we have started our own guiding company,” says Maddie.
She continues, “We believe there is a gap in the market that perfectly suits our abilities. We are going to combine our expertise in modern hiking techniques and lightweight gear to run hiking tours in exciting locations that are currently not being guided. We are starting with the Australian Alps Walking Track with our first tours this summer from Canberra to Thredbo.”
While the physics degree isn’t being used in the purest form, the critical thinking mindset developed during their university days is proving to be invaluable as they seek to establish a business out of their passion for walking and facilitating adventures in the outdoors.
The guiding company, appropriately named The Adventure Gene, ensures Tom and Maddie have no plans to stop walking anytime soon.
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