Within half a year Ann Saul had lost her mum, her husband, their future child and in the end, herself. There was only pain inside her; no strength left to live; no strength left to die. All she could do was leave her previous life behind.

Through knee-deep mud, torrential rivers, narrow gullies, along sharp ridges and endless beaches she walked through the wilderness of New Zealand. Te Araroa – ‘the long pathway’ – became her home for five months. Dangers and the deprivation of any luxury slowly shook her numb mind back awake. The breath-taking nature, the wonderful country and special encounters helped her to process what had happened and to re-discover the long lost joys of laughter and life.

The travel adventure ‘Walk It Off’ is a day-to-day tale of hiking one of the longest and most diverse long-distance trails in the world; New Zealand’s ‘Te Araroa’. The description of New Zealand’s unique charm seen out of a foreigner’s eye is combined with the progress of inner healing, growth and awakening.

Ann Saul was raised and born in the very north of Germany. Reading her beloved books about faraway countries quickly captured her heart and made her a keen traveller. Ann shares the impressions she gets on her travels by writing articles and books and by giving multimedia presentations. Ann works as a physiotherapist in Hamburg, Germany.