Tramper, Muhammad Farhan, found safe in Marlborough

The tramper thought to be lost in Mt Richmond Forest Park has been found safe after his four-day trip took longer than expected.

Nelson student, Muhammad Farhan’s four day trip planned to start and end on the Nelson side of the Richmond Range took him longer than expected and saw him end up in Marlborough.

A Marlborough Land Search and Rescue (LandSAR) spokesperson said on Tuesday night that Farhan had “turned out this side of the mountain! Safe and well”.

LandSAR had been monitoring the situation after Farhan’s host family contacted the police.

A Nelson LandSAR spokesperson said people often underestimated how long it took to complete the planned circuit through the Richmond Range, as there were a lot of slow slogs between huts.

“Unfortunately, there’s no way of letting people know they are late unless they have an InReach device.”

Farhan’s friends had posted about him on the Tramping in New Zealand Facebook page earlier this week saying they had grave concerns he had not yet returned from his hike.

One of his friends, who posted on this Facebook page, said it was “good news” and a “good learning” situation for him.

They said Farhan had only been in New Zealand for two months and did not have experience hiking in New Zealand conditions.

He was told by his host family not to hike by himself and chose to ignore that advice.

A police spokesperson said on Tuesday that Farhan had “very good gear” on him, and it was likely he had just been delayed.

Trampers on the Facebook page had responded to Farhan friends' post saying they had met him between Middy Creek Hut and Mt Richmond early on Sunday afternoon.

Farhan’s itinerary for his trip included plans to spend Saturday night at Mt Fell Hut and Sunday night at Rocks Hut. The trampers’ accounts from the weekend suggested Farhan had been a day behind his plans.