Hurunui Trails & Adventures

The Adventurer

Novice Intermediate Advanced

The Adventurer includes four nights' luxury accommodation with owners, 3 course dinner with wine, bed, breakfast, packed lunch and five days trekking in the high country.

A unique opportunity to meet the people who own the sheep and cattle stations along the way and experience the culture of the New Zealand high country.

"Under the Rainbow"

Itinerary

"Lunch Break"

"Rising Up"

"Pete looking over Esk Head"

"On top of the world"

Day 1:

We begin all of our treks with a short introduction on how we handle our horses on the ground, this is done individually in our round pen where you experience “Join Up” with your mount and understand how we ride our horses, so you can ride safely, enjoying good communication and leadership with your horse; we train our horses through respect and trust.

When everyone is happy we leave our base at The Peaks on our first day´s adventure following the Waitohi River we stop in the shade of the willows by the river and enjoy our picnic lunch. If the weather is suitable we take a swim in one of the swimming holes on the river. Then we move on following the beginning part of the historic gold trail over to the West Coast to Seven Hills Station. At the end of the ride we clean down our horses, feed, water and turn them out into a paddock at Seven Hills for the night.

You can enjoy a cold beer (or your favourite drink) whilst your horse munches its much earned feed before being turned out into the paddock for the night. Then you will be transported back to our base where you are spoilt for choice – take a hot shower, have a soak and pressure massage in our new hydro-therapy spa, just enjoy the tranquillity of our garden, and relax in one of the hammock chairs with a chilled Sangria or wine to drink on the deck with views of the mountains all around you. Presently, your dinner is served ‘al fresco’ beside the pit fire in our river stone walled garden, the delicate scent of the herb garden permeating the air.

Day 2:

After a hearty breakfast, great coffee and your saddle bags packed with a tasty lunch you are taken out to Seven Hills Station where we catch and saddle our horses. Today we ride through Mt Mason Station following the Waitohi gorge climbing up over a high saddle, stopping for lunch and enjoying the spectacular views. After lunch we climb a little higher over the saddle and then walk down the other side meandering through the valleys of the Virginia area, to Double Tops Station and your horse´s accommodation for the next two nights. (approx. 5.5 hrs riding)

At the end of your days ride you can enjoy a cold beer (or your favourite drink) whilst your horse munches its much earned feed before being turned out into the paddock for the night. Then you will be transported back to our base where you are spoilt for choice – take a hot shower, have a soak and pressure massage in our new hydro-therapy spa, just enjoy the tranquillity of our garden, and relax in one of the hammock chairs with a chilled Sangria or wine to drink on the deck with views of the mountains all around you. Presently, your dinner is served ‘al fresco’ beside the pit fire in our river stone walled garden, the delicate scent of the herb garden permeating the air.

Day 3:

The third day we ride through Double Tops station, stopping at the quaint Tommy’s Cabin under the willows and then following Tommy’s Creek through the valley with the delicate scent of the native bush. We climb high onto the Double Top ridge where if the weather is kind we have an amazing view of the sea and Christchurch Bay and surrounding area; whilst we enjoy our picnic lunch. On the long trip down we travel through another valley, then climbing up and over another ridge returning to the woolshed at Double Tops. You are greeted with a cold beer or beverage, after you have untacked, groomed and fed your horse they are turned out into the paddock for a well earned rest and you are driven back to your accommodation at the Peaks again for the night. Where; you can look forward to a soak in our Hydro-therapy Spa pool before your evening meal. (approx.7 hrs riding)

Day 4:

After breakfast and your saddle bags packed with another tasty lunch you are taken out to Double Tops Station where we catch and saddle our horses. We go through the Virginia valley following a trail through the bottom end of Mt Mason Station, with beautiful creeks and pine trees. We cross the Waitohi River into Mt Noble Station, where we stop for lunch by the babbling river and if it´s hot we can revive our feet in the cold spring water. In the afternoon we climb up onto Windy Ridge where you get your first glimpse of the Hurunui River and follow the trail down through the native bush to the Lake Sumner Road. The horses spend the night in the lower paddocks at 7 Hills Station.

Then you will be transported back to our base where for the last time you are spoilt for choice – take a hot shower, have a soak and pressure massage in our new hydro-therapy spa, just enjoy the tranquillity of our garden, and relax in one of the hammock chairs with a chilled Sangria or wine to drink on the deck with views of the mountains all around you. Presently, your dinner is served ‘al fresco’ beside the pit fire in our river stone walled garden, the delicate scent of the herb garden permeating the air.

Day 5:

On our last day we ride along the banks of the tranquil Hurunui River, under the impressive Hooligan Range with Mt. Mizar, Ben Cliberick, Phyllis Fell and Mount Catherine on the opposite side of the river. We lunch below Mt. Self beside the Hurunui, after which we ride across country again, up and over the Kanuku Saddle (approx. 850m) with its panoramic views of the Amuri Basin, down to our base where we unsaddle, unpack, wash the horses down and then enjoy afternoon tea. (approx. 5.5 hrs riding)

We generally arrive back at approx 3.30 pm giving you plenty of time to either return to Christchurch or carry on with your journey North.

We use a Four-Wheel-Drive vehicle to transport our gear, which allows for a ride with a more varied pace and in which you can experience the true freedom of the high country on horseback.

Our gear and refreshments await us after the horses are taken care of at the end of each day's ride. The emphasis throughout is on quality, in luxury accommodation, open fires, terrace, good food, wine and a great riding experience with very knowledgeable guides.