A TRIP CALLED PERSE-VERANCE
Wilderness WALK 1200km
100km
MOST of my childhood was spent in the rural town of Bright-water, 20km southwest of Nelson. I walked to school with the peaks of the Richmond Range in front of me and, in time, Richmond Forest Park became my first tramping playground. The park map was the first I owned, the first to become graffitied with black lines as I marked off completed tracks.
I spent hours poring over that map. One possible trip stood out as the ultimate: a complete, solo traverse of the Richmond Range. I envisaged starting at Mt Riley, walking south along the range's spine and finishing down the Red Hills Ridge near St Arnaud.
When I first started dreaming about this trip I wasn't skilled in off-track navigation and I hadn't done any solo tramping. Over the years the goal remained but for various reasons, it was never a priority. Then, 30 years later, I rediscovered my old map. Now, I had the necessary skills and experience, and my passion to embark on this life-long goal was reignited.
The Richmond Range is largely forested with just a few peaks above the bushline. The ridge is undulating with lots of altitude gain and loss but mostly stays above 1000m. The traverse would involve
