Thank you to everybody who worried about Jan’s feet. It helped! One day later Jan’s feet were completely pain-free, and they have stayed that way! Or the painkillers finally kicked in.
- Days 65-70
- This section: 149 km
- Total: 1945 km
So we decided to venture into Richmond National Park – a forecast nine days away from civilisation before you reach the small holiday village of St. Arnaud, where our first forwarded food box is waiting for us.
But first it meant shopping for exactly those nine days. In hindsight I have to say: luckily the Four Square where we stocked up had already been well plundered, so we had little choice and had to limit ourselves to the bare essentials. That kept the pack weight reasonably bearable despite nine days of supplies. During the shopping itself, of course, it was very sobering…
Along the Pelorus River, which supplies the entire Nelson region with drinking water, we walked through Richmond National Park. The lovely thing about the sections that follow is New Zealand’s good backcountry hut network, which means you can find a cosy hut to stay in practically every night.
Speaking of hut capacity: we ran into two walkers again who had not let the Christmas feast at the Makahika Outdoor Pursuits Center pass them by (see the blog post Christmas in the forest). They were caught by the bad weather front on exactly the stretch of the Tararua Ranges where the 2-bunk Dracophyllum Hut stands, and spent the night inside it with eight people! Unimaginable how they all fitted in there!
But back to this section. The huts on the first stretch mostly stood right by the Pelorus River. The water of the river is so clear and shimmers so turquoise that you cannot resist the temptation of a swim – until you dip your little toe in. Brrrr – we are not quiiite such hardened outdoor freaks after all. And sadly there are particularly large numbers of sandflies buzzing about near the river. In no time you have fifteen of them sitting on you, merrily tapping blood and leaving agonisingly itchy bites behind… In one part of the forest an extraordinarily powerful storm must have raged some years ago. Many trees were completely uprooted and toppled. A strangely ghostly sight…
At the end of the second day we met Amélie and Stev again and decided to carry on together. Trail family time!
The next day 1495 m of climbing awaited us. You would think that after two months of walking something like that is a doddle. But I found the climb so hard! The most strenuous day so far, for me! The view rewarded us a hundred times over, though. This was how we had pictured walking: nicely along the ridge in a picturesque setting in the best of weather.
Arriving at Old Man Hut, we discovered that staying in the huts is not quite so easy-peasy after all. Most huts on this stretch have only six bunks, and you can comfortably fill those with TA hikers alone. On top of that come everybody else who simply heads out here for a few days of walking. In the end Jan and I shared a bunk and a good few others pitched their tents outside, which luckily was possible at this hut. The next day the same problem caught up with us. After an already long 10-hour day and 1875 m of climbing to the Mount Rintoul summit we arrived at Mid Wairoa Hut, hoping for two bunks and a hot chocolate.
Not a chance: every bunk was already taken and it was at least 40 degrees inside the hut, since the occupants preferred to leave the windows shut. Not a place where we wanted to put our sleeping mats on the floor… Outside there was only one halfway level patch where you could have pitched a tent. It was suffering a full-blown sandfly plague, though (@Daniel and Jenny: Schnoocheplooch). According to the official figures the next hut lay 4.5 hours and a mere eight river crossings away, and had no camping areas to fall back on should the hut already be full. It was already 5 pm, but since we had so far needed at most 2/3 of the official times, we chanced it. The route along the Wairoa river was wonderfully lovely with many waterfalls – a shame only that we could not really enjoy it, because we wanted to reach the hut as fast as possible.
Our prayers were answered. One bunk was still free, which Jan and I shared (even if we had barely slept a wink in that arrangement the previous night). Funny thing, we realised that we had walked as far in that one day as the others had in the last two… 18 hours, according to the official timings. Shortly before sunset Amélie and Stev arrived too, having made the same decision as us, but sadly now having to make do with the floor. At least there were no sandflies here, so we could leave the windows open and had a very pleasant hut temperature. Only a mouse had made itself comfortable inside and nibbled its way through my pack mesh into our bag of nuts…
The next day the good weather was over. The light drizzle as we set off developed on the summit into an icy storm and lashing rain that felt like hail. On top of that we were so deep in the clouds that several times we could not spot the next waymarker!
Soaked to the skin we arrived at Hunters Hut. The other five from the previous hut had already gathered here as well, having set off early to catch the good weather window before the forecast rain. Luckily this was an 8-bunk hut, fitted out not with individual bunks but with a sleeping platform. That makes it easier to squeeze up, so we all found a soft, warm spot to dry out and rest, and spent the afternoon in the hut.
The next day we walked as far as the small holiday village of St. Arnaud. So we needed only six days instead of the estimated nine for the Richmond Range. Six days without a shower was quite enough, mind!
In St. Arnaud our first food parcel for the following section was waiting for us. Now we will have to see what to do with the food left over from the last section. There is a small burger place here and an all-you-can-eat barbecue buffet on Sunday. That is a great deal more tempting than eating non-stop ramen noodles with tuna, couscous with tuna or instant mashed potato with – no, not tuna – peanut butter…
