Got to Get Out is a new documentary series following a group of novice hikers as they take on sections of Te Araroa. Video / Supplied
An Irish national has died while walking the Te Araroa Trail, shortly after what he described as his best day yet.
Stephen Andrew Eric Barrington died suddenly in his sleep on Tuesday, a death notice said.
He started the trail, which runs the length of New Zealand fromCape Rēinga to Bluff, on October 20, and made it as far as the Waikato before his death.
A blog and his Instagram page detailed his journey, beginning in Northland, with daily posts.
Barrington wrote of making friends, what he did on both rest and walking days and shared photographs of New Zealand flora and fauna in his blog.
In his last post, Barrington wrote of his tramp from Whatawhata to Karamū Homestead.
He said the 19km hike was the “best day yet” and rated it 10/10.
“We climbed to high hills and walked among the sheep. Only 19km but the next stop is 5 hours. So stopped at lunchtime for a bunk room and promise of coffee and eggs for breakfast. A Baptist pastor runs it. Great chat about grief and recovery,” he wrote.
Irish tramper Stephen Andrew Eric Barrington died in his sleep while on the Te Araroa trail. Photo / sbarrington38
Earlier on day eight, when he walked the Mangakaretu track in Northland, he reflectively wrote: “No life is lived without storms coming our way. It’s what you do in the storm that counts. When we have a strong rock to anchor to, then the storm doesn’t seem so terrible.”
It typically takes four to six months to complete.
Barrington, 66, set out to do multiple long-distance hikes, including the Appalachian Trail in the United States, after his wife’s death in 2021, the Irish Independent reported.
Comments on his final blog post paid tribute to Barrington, with one remembering him as “the kindest man I knew”.
Barrington will be missed by his siblings Gill and Ron, sons Jason and Matthew, daughters-in-law Noemi and Mandy, grandchildren Annabeth, Emma-Jane, Theo-Jo, Beatrice, Maia, and Baby, his death notice stated.
“His faith in Jesus Christ permeated his whole life, and his heart of love for others was widely known,” it said.
A funeral will be held at Hillside Evangelical Church in Greystones, Ireland.
