A Dangerous Business

Date: 18th January 2024

Start: Red Hills Hut (km 1947.1)

End: Alpine Lodge, St Arnaud (km 1967.9)

Distance Travelled: 20.8 km

Total Distance Completed: 1807.8 km

Song Currently Stuck in Head: Don’t Tread On Me by We The Kingdom

Hitchhiking Success: all time low

I… I did it. I finished the Richmond’s. And I did it a day faster than I had planned. 8 days without seeing a town or anywhere to buy more food than what I already had packed behind me. I’m just gonna take a moment to admire that. It’s not a big deal for more seasoned through-hikers veterans, but for me it is considering I hadn’t done anything past 5 days before Te Araroa.

Well technically I’ve still got to get to St Arnaud, can’t exactly say I’m done when I’m still up at Red Hills Hut. Speaking of which, the rain arrived in the night. I didn’t hear it but I did see the aftermath: a wet deck outside. Admit it, you thought I was going to say something like Matt’s tent got washed away. Yeah, sorry to burst your bubble, the TA isn’t always that dramatic.

It was raining, however, and none of us really felt like walking in it all that much. Good news: there’s a shortcut down to the highway. A 4WD/mountain bike track leads directly down the mountain instead of heading up yet another hill which is what the official TA route does. As I figured it should be easy getting a hitch into town, I went with the shortcut. The other three just didn’t want to do anymore climbing.

The rain was light but in case it got heavier I had packed my phone away so no photos from the track today, sadly. Not that there’s much to report from it. For the most part it was a very kind descent that we could get a mean pace going on. Oli suggested it was so good someone in St Arnaud should start up a food truck to head up the mountain to service that night’s residents. Thoughts of good town food flooded my mind and motivated me to get to the source of said food as quickly as I could. Further down the hill we entered a forest and had to navigate through a multitude of mountain bike trails where orange arrows were hard to come by. Then at long last, we could see asphalt. Mount Richmond Forest Park was completed. Now it was just a case of waiting for a car to come by and pick me up whilst the others walked.

That would work if any cars actually came. Within half an hour, maybe 3 cars drove past in the right direction, none of whom stopped. Waiting with me were another Aussie (albeit from WA) named Leeuwin and French-Canadian couple Felix and Valentine. I gave up and started walking in the hopes that someone would eventually stop and take pity on a poor wet hiker. Not a great strategy, made worse when Leeuwin drove past early into the walk.

Well, guess I’m walking to St Arnaud. At least it’s paved and the rain is light. Time to get moving, helped along with my lovely light backpack… and that’s the last noticeable thing to happen to me before I got to St Arnaud’s general store. At last, “healthy” town food and proper espresso. One bowl of kumara fries and a toastie later, I spent some time meandering through the shelves for more snacks. If the Richmond’s taught me one thing, it’s that I need to pack more snacks. More muesli bars, more lollies, more chocolate. Beyond the extra energy they’d provide, it’s also a good morale boost knowing at any time I have a bit of food at my disposal.

Keeping the food train rolling, we went across the road to the Alpine Lodge for lunch where I just opted for a garlic bread and a tea whilst sussing out what I’d get for dinner. Then it was time to check-in and grab our boxes. Ah, it was more food than I remembered. No matter, I’m fine with carrying the extra weight for a couple days. For the rest of the afternoon, I frantically ran around completing a bunch of little tasks that needed doing, especially laundry and having a shower. Good grief did I need a shower. When it came time for dinner, instead of opting for the traditional fare of burgers and pizza I chose a salad with lamb. Great choice. Not just because I hadn’t had vegetables since Havelock, but also because it was bloody tasty. To help it digest, we took a walk down to the shore of Lake Rotoiti.

Back at the hostel, it was time for a classic hostel procrastination session where I stay up way too late doomscrolling because I’m Gen Z and addicted to the internet. Give me a break, I haven’t had reliable connection for a week and I’m about to lose it again for 5 days.

Right, about the next section: shorter, but with two major mountain saddles/passes to traverse. The rain is expected to continue tomorrow and into the day after which could impact my ability to cross over Travers Saddle. Thankfully it’s looking better for Waiau Pass. Guess we’ll have to do the same thing as in the Richmond’s and the entire trail for that matter: one day at a time.