The World's Most Spectacular Horse Ride


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April 8th 2010
Published: April 9th 2010
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"Mountain Loop" Through Paradise


It had been an eventful day from the start.

After four straight days of the most spectacularly clear, sunny, cool autumn weather, I decided this week would be a perfect time to splurge on the all-day horse trek up in Glenorchy and Paradise (about 45 minutes up the road from Queenstown). Honestly, I'll find any excuse to drive up to Glenorchy, as it has to be one of the most beautiful places on earth, completely unspoiled by human activity (the town has a population of 320 people, if that gives you any idea). Not to mention the winding road alongside Lake Wakatipu to get there is like having your own personal 48-kilometer go-cart track to fly around! Blare some good music, roll the windows down, take in the mountain scenery...it's a good drive, even in our pitiful little Toyota Corolla that can barely make it up the hills. Sigh...where's my Mustang when I need it?

Anyway, I called up the horse trekking company and was thrilled when they had an opening for their "Mountain High, River Deep" full-day trek. Then I fairly bounded out of bed at 7am yesterday (I can assure you this NEVER happens) to discover that the temperature had plummeted to -2 degrees!! (Celsius, that is, in Fahrenheit I think that's about 25 degrees). At any rate, it was COLD. So I bundled up under about 6 layers, a scarf, and gloves, left the warm sanctuary of our hotel room, and headed out. The roads and grass were covered in thick frost, so I didn't drive quite as rambunctiously as I usually do on the Glenorchy trek, but it was still a good drive. Until I almost hit a cow.

Yes, folks, you read that right. Coming around a blind curve, I happened upon four cows on the side of the road, and one of them had decided right at that instant to trot into the middle of my lane. Thankfully I managed to slam on the brakes and swerve into the other lane, missing the massive creature by a matter of inches. It stared at me for a minute, and I stared back at it, trying to calm my pounding heart, before it snorted and lumbered back off the road to join its buddies. We've always kind of laughed at the cow and sheep signs they have along the highway...but I suppose people do occasionally hit them. Needless to say, the cow would have completely totaled our little Toyota. Doubtful I would have fared much better. So when driving in New Zealand, be on the lookout for attack cows. They could be hiding around any blind corner.

At last I arrive at the ranch, only to find myself in the midst of more animal drama. Apparently, one of their horses had managed to flip upside-down and get trapped in a narrow creek in one of their pastures, and they were trying to get the poor thing out before it froze to death. Half the town of Glenorchy had shown up, I think, to assist in the efforts, and luckily they managed to extract the horse from the freezing water. (As we learned later from our guide, this tends to be a common occurrence, rescuing animals from frozen creeks and "quicksand"-like mud along the rivers in the valley). So, needless to say, the wranglers were quite behind in getting the horses ready for the morning rides. At this point, it's not even 9am. It was going to be a long day...

Lots of people turned up for the 2 and 3-hour morning rides, but it was I and a lone woman named Jean from the North Island who were braving the all-day trek. They got everyone else away first before introducing us to our horses. It was love at first sight for me and Zack, a lanky chestnut Thoroughbred-Arabian gelding that stood a staggering 17 hands tall (this is almost a foot taller than my little Jon San Bo back home). Zack's nickname was "Doughnut," as they figured he had a hole in his head...the polite way of saying not much between his ears. As I'd owned an Arabian for 13 years, I knew exactly what they meant. They're brilliant horses, really, but usually high-spirited, flighty, and skittish. Again I found myself thinking, "It's going to be a long day..."

Our guide, Carol, was riding an ex-racehorse named Brego (yes, like Aragorn's horse from LOTR), and the other guest Jean climbed aboard Oden, a stunning black off-the-track Standardbred that was just used in a film coming out later in the year here. So off we three girls went, on two ex-racehorses and an Arab-cross, into the wilds of Glenorchy. We crossed a massive (and freezing) river and trekked for a while on the valley floor. About an hour into the ride, once Carol sees that we're both competent riders, she gives us the option of a "trial" run up a brand-new trail they're going to be offering guests for the next summer season. Apparently they'd been trying to get access to this property for some time, and last month finally did, and they've been clearing it and getting it ready to use in their treks. She warned that it would be a strenuous and challenging ride, and we would have to dismount and walk alongside the horses for about a mile coming back down the mountainside, as it was too steep to ride down. Without hesitation, Jean and I readily agreed to give it a go.

So onward we rode, first circling up a large hill over the Rees Valley (if you look up at the loop on the map, it's on the right side). There we had a spectacular view of the rest of the day's ride...back down the hillside, across the river, over to Diamond Lake for a picnic lunch, and finally up, up, up Mt. Alfred (the huge mound on the left side of the map). Were we up for it? You better believe it!

Once back down on the valley floor, we reached a long grassy stretch where we really opened up and let the horses fly...Zack had the most enormous lumbering strides I've ever felt, something akin to riding a giraffe, I'd imagine. But despite his reputation he behaved quite well, aside from a few playful bucks. Then we trotted for a while through lush farmland and finally reached Diamond Lake at the foot of Mt. Alfred, which we crossed. Yes, we actually swam across the lake on our horses...carefully holding our cameras out of harm's way, of course!! Then we fairly collapsed in a pasture full of sheep and devoured well-earned sandwiches, apples, and jumbo chocolate chip cookies (I shared half of my apple with Zack). The view was absolutely stunning. In four months, we've not once had a calm enough day to see a mirror reflection of the mountains in any of the lakes. Well, yesterday there was not a breath of wind, and the majestic peaks of Mt. Earnslaw and countless others shone against the crystal clear waters like a perfectly painted backdrop. We never wanted to leave that lakeside by Paradise.

And speaking of Paradise, by the way, I finally heard the story of what exactly it is. It was one of the first settlements in the area, back in the 1800's, and supposedly was named for the Paradise Ducks that lived there, not necessarily because it looks like paradise (though it certainly does). The old man had no one to leave his farm to, so he advertised it for sale for ONE DOLLAR to see how much interest there would be. The tiny town of Glenorchy decided to purchase the property and keep it forever as a pristine, untouched original settlement. Apparently you can camp there or even stay in the old farmhouse, which we might do one of these days before we leave here...

So anyway, after lunch and giving our horses a break, we turned and looked at the steep, winding trail up the side of Mt. Alfred. And up we went! It was a good 45-minute climb up and up and up until we had an unbelievable view of the Rees Valley, Diamond Lake, Paradise, and even a distant view of Lake Wakatipu in Queenstown's direction. After another rest for our lathered horses, we dismounted
Our RouteOur RouteOur Route

We descended this hill, crossed the river on the right side, circled back around and climbed the mountain on the left.
and led them on foot all the way back down the steep, rocky trail back to the valley floor. At last, around 4:30pm, we crossed our final river and arrived back at the ranch. The owner asked how we liked the new ride, and we conveyed that we absolutely loved it and would highly recommend it to anyone, so long as they were fit and experienced riders! I gave Zack a very grateful hug and headed wearily for the car. It was going to be a long drive home...



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9th April 2010

Seriously
I am so so so jealous!
9th April 2010

Paradise!
You've commented on the what seems to you to be less than gourmet food in NZ. When you see the unspoiled beauty of this land and this ride you've taken us on today, perhaps mediocre food is the NZ way of ensuring that the world doesn't move in and spoil the place as has happened in so many other beautiful places. One almost has to hope that this place doesn't become 'discovered.'
9th April 2010

I enjoyed your NZ post. I have always wanted to go there. My blog is looking for travel photos, stories, accommodation reviews, and food reviews. If you have the time and have some to share, email us at dirtyhippiesblog@gmail.com or check us out at dirty-hippies.blogspot.com Continued fun on your travels, Eric
10th April 2010

How inspiring.
I loved reading about your horseback riding adventure. I am so glad you are getting to do all those adventures. We miss you, and say hi to Jeremy.
21st April 2010

Thank you and a quick up -date.
Hi, I am the owner of High Country Horses and thank you for a great story. We think you captured your day well. Just on a up-date "ALMO" the horse who slipped into the creek was retreaved from the creek, and rubbed down until he was dry. After you left for your big adventure ALMO recieved a home brewed warm meal and was wrapped up in blankets. He re-covered well and didn't even have a sniffle :). It is great to read other comments on our new ride as we can taken in all the suggestions to help improve our products. Oh and by the way our lunches are beautiful even the breads and cookies are hand made daily.

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