John picked up Alex and I at 11 and took us to Nelson where he was going to do a few hours of work. Gave us a chance to complete our resupply for the next section.
The good people at Number one shoes even replaced my hiking shoes that had a seam failure. Awesome service as I hadn’t kept the receipts. They easily found the transaction on their computer from their Wellington shop 3 weeks ago.
We were glad to get out of Nelson at the end of the day. Too many people.
We also dropped into the DOC visitor centre to check our planning. We are a bit worried about 2-3 days of rain coming up but plan to rest again tomorrow then leave on Saturday morning.
What do I think of the Richmond Section?
It was without doubt the most difficult and challenging tramping I have ever done. On 6 of the 8 days I climbed 1000m or more. That is hard work.
In addition some of the tracks, although well maintained, were really sketchy where 2 free hands were required to scramble up, down or over rough places sometimes with big drops if it went wrong.
The rewards for the hard work in getting to this remote part of the world and especially the open tops was stunning views. From some of the high points I literally felt like I was sitting on top of world. The views went forever in every direction.
By contrast the river valleys had a special quality of their own. Some of them had limited vegetation and a raw beauty of their own. It is indeed a special area.
The only sign left by man apart from the well trodden path, the track markers, swing bridges and huts was the Wilding Pines. A real shame to see them encroaching into such splendid wilderness areas.
So in summary it was hard but worth it.
Would I do it again? No way. It’s too hard.
Busy? Nelson Street 
Alex chilling at McDonald’s 
Pack all fixed with dental floss
