Once again I am back in New Zealand, and once again I'm primarily here too see my family rather than tourism. This time around it's not only me and my wife visiting my parents, but my sister also came over from Colombia with her husband, so spending time with each other was our main focus. Also, I believe I already covered all the interesting tourist attractions the first time I was here. However, the deeper you dig the more you find, and as it turns out, there are still more cool activities in the area. Going horseback riding is one of them.
Though my parents were not too interested in this kind of outing, the rest of us felt that it would be nice to go on on a horse trek. Neither of us had too much riding experience, but all of us have ridden horses at some point in our lives, some quite recently, others many years ago. In the end, however, it didn't really matter. The program we went on was suitable for even those who have never even seen a horse in their life.
The Nikau Valley Horse Farm
Only a twenty-minute drive from my parents' house in Whakatane is a place that offers excursions into the local forest on horseback. Named after the Nikau palm tree, the only palm species in New Zealand and the southernmost palm tree in the world, the Nikau Valley Farm is an unassuming location situated among steep hills covered with native vegetation. Arranging the trek for the next day for four people seemed to be the simplest matter, costing us just under fifty bucks per person.
The brief drive there took us through the picturesque Kiwi landscape made up of huge fern woodlands and rolling green hills. When we arrived John was already waiting with his four horses ready for us. He was the owner of the farm, manager of the horse business, trek leader, and riding instructor all in one. His personality was marked by relaxed patience, coupled with clear communication, and a slosh of good natured humor mixed into it. A perfect mix not only for dealing with the horses, but also with us who would be riding them, because before we even got on their backs he would make sure we knew what we were doing.
A Crash Course in Horsemanship
Sure, all we were looking for was an hour of riding, but before we could do that we had to learn a bit about horses. First of all, the fact that by nature these herd animals were looking for a leader, meaning clear instructions on what to do. Since they were so eager to follow, it was also important to stop telling them what to do once they were already doing it. We learned that horses had a horrible sense of logic, which was made up by an excellent memory. So reward and punishment were not the means to get them do what you wanted. Instead, simple communication using the reigns (all of them without a bit in their mouths) and a gentle squeeze with our legs would be enough.
After getting the feel for them by leading them around for a while, including going forward, backwards, and even sideways, they were saddled up and we were ready to go. It was really as simple as it sounds, as long as we assumed the same relaxed yet stern attitude John was taking in instructing us. Once all of us were comfortable in directing our mounts, we were ready to head out.
Exploring the Land from Horseback
John led the way on a narrow dirt path, winding itself up the hill and into the woods. Driven by their nature and directed by us as we had just learned, the horses followed. After a while we got used to the rocking motion of sitting in the saddle, and a bit later John explained how it was not necessary to hold on to the saddle but instead use our feet in the stirrups to maintain our balance. Soon our attention shifted from the horses to the surrounding bush and the views that peeked through occasionally.
John supplied interesting information on what we could see on the way: the Whakatane river valley, Te Urewera forest, or the amazing view over Whale Island and White Island out in the Bay of Plenty, past the town of Whakatane. Occasionally he would also remind us of the animals we were sitting on, and how much they needed our leadership. "Was it you decided to send your horse into a trot," he would ask, "or did you just let it do it?" Apparently, they were much happier to be told what to do, and wouldn't complain about our decisions.
Towards the end of our excursion we were getting quite comfortable with steering our horses into various directions, letting them speed up to a trot, only to slow them down again, or bringing them to a complete stop. When we got back to our starting place, we felt like we could continue this all day. "You'd be cursing me tomorrow if we had gone on for another hour," said John, referring to inevitable soreness this would bring about. So we paid him for the experience, and offered the horses a few pieces of carrots we had brought with us.
After biding farewell to John and the horses, we made our way back home, discussing how much we had learned on this short outing. Not only were we treated to some fantastic natural sights, but we got to know quite a bit about the nature of horses, and how to handle them. There sure is difference between just sitting on a horse and actually riding them. And all of us agreed that so far this was the most insightful horseback riding experience we have had.
