Sorry for the delay in posting this last update, as it has now been a week since we left New Zealand (sob, sob). However, I haven't been at my computer since Thursday and I didn't have the photos on my phone to post from that! Ahh, technology. How we rely on it now!
When I last wrote about NZ, we had spent Saturday morning sea kayaking and had a delicious lunch in Queenstown. At 1pm, Billy and I walked up to the visitor's center area and he joined me on the High Country Horses bus to Glenorchy, about 45 - 50 minutes outside of Queenstown. There ended up being 5 other people heading out for the afternoon horse riding trip with me, but luckily there was still enough space for Billy to come on the bus, even though he wouldn't be riding. We sat in the front row with a girl from Holland who is travelling for 6 months. Love it.
I rode a horse named Keg and had a great 2.5 hour ride. There were 6 guests and 2 guides - a good group. Two of the girls had a lot of experience and four of us were "beginner/ intermediate". Two Brits, a Canuck, an Aussie, a Dutch girl and a Bahamian. Quite the mix! Unfortunately, quite early on, the girl from Canada, who had only ridden once before, was thrown from her horse when he was spooked by a wasp. She was fine, but shaken up although she got back on and finished the ride. As a result though, the intermediate group only did about three short trotting sessions, when the Canadian girl could be taken a different way with one of the guides. The two experienced riders did quite a few canters off on their own, which looked like fun. By the second trot, I had remembered the motion and how to control it etc and we even turned it (inadvertently), into a bit of a canter at the end. Otherwise, the ride was a bit slow although the scenery was beautiful. Glenorchy is Lord of the Rings country and they pointed out different areas where scenes from the movies had been filmed. Part of our ride was through the same area where Frodo rides to escape the Nazgul in the first movie, and is rescued by the elves etc.
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| We're in the country now... |
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| These boots are serious business. |
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| The paddock |
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| Is it my turn yet?? |
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| May I introduce you to Keg? |
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| Does this horse make my butt look big? :) |
Billy hung out at the barns by himself, and I was quite worried about him, but as usual, he made friends. He met the owner of the ranch and spent some time chatting to him. He also made friends with his dog, Havoc, and the other farm animals! :)
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| Every good farm needs at least one cat and one dog. At least. |
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| Havoc!! |
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| Havoc is a bit camera-shy |
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| The trail riders return |
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| "How do I get down from this thing?" |
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I'll miss you, Keg!
The drive to and from Glenorchy was quite narrow and winding. I was very glad we weren't driving ourselves, but our driver drove like a madwoman. Apparently she has to do that trip two, sometimes three times a day, so she knew all the twists and turns like the back of her hand. Which didn't make it any less hair-raising, but at least she knew what she was doing!
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| On the drive home |
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| Goodbye Lothlorien! I mean, Glenorchy! |
Time for a hot shower and a good meal for our last night in Queenstown! Sadly, this is how my fitbit met it's death, as I forgot to remove it from my smelly horse-riding pants before throwing them in the wash. I was anxious to clean them so they wouldn't have to go in my suitcase dirty, but bad things happen when you rush! Never mind. Billy and I then took the shuttle into town and ended up at the Botswana Butchery for dinner. We met some fun local girls at the bar, all dressed up in 70's disco outfits, as you do! It was a good evening with a great meal, but we forgot out camera, so no photos, I am afraid! Billy was probably relieved to be able to just eat his food, without a camera lens stuck in it first!
Last NZ post to follow on our last morning. Sniff, sniff. (How has it been a week already!?!?!)
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