I decided to take two rest days in Nelson where dad and Janeen have been staying in a motel here. One day was not going to be long enough to get everything done that I needed to. I had all my blog posts to catch up on, planning for the next section, resupply of food, remove and replace some items of gear, posting things home, and spend some time catching up with Katie and the kids on FaceTime.

Dad booked me a sports massage which was really good and just what I needed to loosen up all my tight muscles. I have been eating only good healthy meals with lots of vegetables and eating plenty of fruit too. Subway, Thai stirfry, Turkish kebab, Sushi and tonight we are having Vietnamese. We did have a nice bottle of Pinot noir though but I needed the antioxidants 🍷 My trail diet consists of toasted muesli in the morning with a spoon of milk powder and water, trail mix during the day when required, tortilla wrap with cheese slices and peanut butter or tuna sachet and dehydrated Back Country meals for dinner.

I have lightened my pack considerably by removing a few pieces of clothing, a smaller gas canister and refining the amount of food I need. I probably won’t need my tent for this next section as there are enough huts however I still do need to take it just in case the huts might be full. It is very unlikely I will need it though.

I have sent two of my synthetic hiking shirts home and replaced them with one merino long sleeve shirt. I have another one the same and found they are excellent for hiking in hot or cold conditions and are generally more comfortable. The long sleeves keep my arms protected from the sun so I only have to carry a small amount of sunscreen.

The next section takes me through the Nelson Lakes National Park from St Arnaud to Boyle. This should take me five days. It starts out on the very popular Travers Sabine circuit but veers off after Travers Saddle up the Sabine river on another track to Blue Lake, Lake Constance and then Waiau Pass. Dad and Janeen will start with me to John Tait Hut for the first day and then continue on a different track back around the other side of Lake Rotoiti and back to the car. They will meet me in Boyle and we will stay in Hamner for the next rest day.