Waiopoa Station Horse Trek

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As a newbie to horseback riding I was gung-ho, all guns a blazin so to speak. Had no point of reference as to the difficulty of this little undertaking I had signed up for. One of the guys at work lives on the station, about an hours drive inland from Gisborne and mentioned this fundraiser that the station school was having. A camp out, some good feeds (including a traditional Hangi) and a 6 hour horse trek were something I couldn't resist. So I dragged my flatmate Claire along with me and out we went.

Lets just say, she's been riding all her life and said that this was the most difficult ride she's ever done. We were climbing steep banks, going down waterfalls, meandering through tricky creek beds and along narrow paths which were sidelined by sheer 500m + drop offs on either side - It was fabulous. Sat down to have lunch with a beautiful view and had a whole smoked fish thrown on my lap to nibble on. Classic. By the end of the day my ass had been tortured so brutally by Blue boy's (my horse) love for the trot that I couldn't sit down, and quickly understood the cowboy swagger, that leaves your legs looking like you're permanently on a horse. Well, I loved it, I'm hooked, and I'm going back.

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Photos

Claire and I
An amazing view, and I won't mention the sheer drop on either side of us on a track no wider than 2 feet.

The Hangi Pit
A hole is in the ground and a fire is set in it. Once the wood burns, the coals fall in the hole. Meat and root vegetables are put in the hole and cooked underground. This is an all day affair, and a traditional Maori way of preparing a big feed for their Whanau (Maori for family)