A thru-hiker's diary from days 67 to 71 of Te Araroa, New Zealand's end-to-end walking trail, offers a raw window into the Richmond Ranges — widely considered the most demanding section of the entire South Island route. The hiker, Sigrid, entered the range after a four-night rain delay in Marlborough wine country (complete with a biking vineyard tour and a new favourite Sauvignon Blanc from Wairau River), then spent five days climbing over 2,000 metres in a single 30km day, sleeping outside a full hut in near-freezing temperatures, and scrambling up slanted rock walls with one heel level with her shoulder.
The account captures the rollercoaster of long-distance tramping. Day 68 was grim: heavy pack loaded with seven days of food, mud, rain, and a night camped outside Rocks Hut because the shelter was packed with three people sleeping on the floor. Day 69 flipped entirely — sunshine, technical ridgelines, water cold enough to cause brain freeze, and views good enough to prompt plans for British Columbia's Spearhead Traverse next. By day 71, with the sun finally holding, came river swims, meals eaten outdoors, dry clothes, and a trail reunion with two hikers she'd last seen in Oregon on the Pacific Crest Trail.
For anyone weighing up this stretch of Te Araroa, the takeaways are practical. Wait out the weather: the hiker credits the Marlborough rest stop with turning a miserable tramp into a memorable one. Hut space in the Ranges can't be relied on — carry a tent and expect to camp, and know that exposed sites may need improvised wind barriers. Resupply logistics matter too; she carried seven days of food to cover the crossing. And pace yourself mentally: her trick of walking 'marker to marker' in bite-size chunks is classic advice for the relentless ups.
The story also settles a terminology debate worth knowing before you go. This isn't hiking, the hiker insists — it's 'tramping', the New Zealand word for backcountry travel over steep, rooty, loose, wet ground. The Richmond Ranges are the point on Te Araroa where that distinction stops being semantic.
Who is this for? Not casual day-walkers. But if you're a fit hiker dreaming of New Zealand's long trails, the Richmond Ranges are the crown jewel — brutal, beautiful, and, on a sunny day, the kind of walking that makes people cry happy tears at 1,900km. The source is The Trek.
