Day 98 | Camp at km 1105
19 January 2023 | 23°C | 23km
“The Richmond are hard but beautiful” many hikers say that crossed our way. “Hard in which way?” I ask back. “It’s just very slow. Two steps forward and one back” as a fellow Swiss hiker we know from the north island described it is probably one of the best descriptions.
Little moving stones and almost sandy ground require many little steps in order to not slip forward or backward. The terrain is ondulating, many small climbs but nothing major all day until we reach Hunters Hut at around 4pm.
It’s a bit tempting to stay here, nice little hut with a porch all around it overlooking the surroundings but as it’s still “early” and some southbounders show us saddle we would cross (visible from the hut), I am keen on tackling that one as well.
After the descent from the hut the climb is steep and we move up quickly. I notice some flat spots sheltered by trees further up which gives some hope that we would find something similar for camping on the other side going down.
Once at the top I am squinting: is that the ocean far in the distance?
