With my food parcel strategically sent forwards to St Arnaud, I was to carry enough food for 9 days to get me from Richmond Ranges to my parcel then carry on walking a further 8 days to my next food box at Boyle. After many days my request to join the facebook Te Araroa group was approved, and the first message was alerting me to the fact that due to high fire risk the entry points to the ranges are closed. I called the DOC office and a kindly woman advised it was still possible to enter from Pelorus River, but this is quite difficult to get to from Nelson (probably possible though- everything is) and once on the trail, all exit points are closed. She said if a fire starts in the valleys below I would be trapped. I don’t know what “closed” actually means, I guess a sign nailed to a fence post, but I feel like it would be churlish to ignore this advice. There is nothing that appeals to me about burning alive, I feel it would be quite horrific. To the rescue, it seems, is “nearby” (a 35km gravel road suitable for 4 wheel drive from Motueka) Kahurangi National Park. NZ’s second largest NP. Nobody ever talks about this place and it seems there is little info online about it. I figure they don’t just make national parks for the fun of it. But there is a 9 day walk – Leslie-karamea/Whangapeka track which will end with me on a desolate road 83km from St Arnaud. This makes me nervous, as I am carrying no tent or shelter, but I figure if darkness approaches I can retrace my steps to the last hut? We’ll see what happens. At this rate the South Island may very well sink into the ocean such is this insane summer weather.
I await the arrival of my new backpack today, If it doesn’t show up I will be bitterly disappointed. The journey starts from Whangarei at 6:30am tomorrow.
Josh walks south 