Hurunui Trails & Adventures

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The Wanderer

Novice Intermediate Advanced

"Its a bit fresh!!!"

Itinerary

"Over the rise"

"Two by two"

"The Wanderer"

The Wanderer includes one nights' luxury accommodation with owners, 3 course dinner with wine, bed, breakfast, packed lunch and two days trekking in the high country and rivers.

Day 1:

The day begins at our base at The Peaks, between the Hurunui and Waitohi Rivers in North Canterbury at 9.30 am

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 and ride up and over the foothills and through the Kanuka saddle, dropping down into the valley through native bush with the sound of Bellbirds and Tui, where we stop for lunch. We follow a trail 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, until we reach our destination for the day, the lower paddocks of Seven Hills station. Here we feed, water and clean down our horses and turn them out into the paddock for the night.

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 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. We leave the valley of the Hurunui, following a trail through native bush and climb up onto Windy Ridge and enjoy even more spectacular views, looking back down the Hurunui river. We take a trail that leads us down to the Waitohi river where we enjoy our lunch. After lunch we ride down the river and follow the valley through the bottom end of Mt Mason heading home.

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.

The emphasis throughout is on quality, in luxury accommodation, open fires, terrace, good food, wine and a great riding experience with very knowledgeable guides.