Sixth Update from Paul

Hello supporters,

This latest update is being sent to you from the lakeside village of St. Arnaud, gateway to the Nelson Lakes National Park I just crossed. As you can tell from the map, I have made it pretty far up the island. In fact, from here less than a quarter of the tramp remains.

Over the last week or so I have spent most of my time on rough forest tracks. At lower elevations I wandered through grassy cattle flats (including a walk across one of the country's largest farms) and occasionally the track took me above the bush-line to reveal the vast extent of the island's ranges and some of the most beautiful lakes I have seen so far.

It finally rained yesterday for about 10 minutes, which prompts me to say something about the weather: Mother Nature has been excessively nice to me over the last few weeks. In fact, believe it or not, I had not encountered rain since leaving the Young valley, which is an incredible 700 km away from here! I have not experienced substantial rain since I was at Mavora Lakes, which I visited another 200-300 km prior to that. And the Sun was again there for me when I needed it at Waiau Pass 2 days ago. The forecast also looks great as I head into the seldom-visited Mount Richmond Forest Park.

I am unable to send pictures from my current location but some should be posted soon. I have been well looked after by the people at the Alpine Village Store here and feel ready for the next leg of the journey. Next time I write I will be entering the final stretch of this 1500 km hike.

Off to escape the sandflies...

Thanks for your interest and contributions to an important cause,

Paul