Blazing Saddles

The following day we drove to the Cardrona Valley. I wanted to take Christina horse trekking, as a thank you for hiking the Kepler Track with me and for not complaining (except maybe once or twice!). In winter it is one of New Zealand’s premier ski areas, but in summer the expansive valley is ideal for horse trekking. I ended up on a black steed called Geoff, and Christina a somewhat smaller Appaloosa. We both had a good time and were able to go for a bit of a gallop and enjoy the beautiful views. According to the owner of the operation, it was once possible to do much longer multi-day treks over private land, but much of the land is now in foreign ownership (most famously Shania Twain) and the opportunities are now greatly restricted. I think this is a sad thing for New Zealand. It would be great if the public had more access to ‘private’ property, as they do in Switzerland and Scandinavia (Allemansrecht), for example .



Horseriding in the Cardrona Valley (Cool CHIPS helmet, huh?)