Horse Riding

Second day of the trip - still not feeling great! This morning I took more notice of my surroundings and the Chalet Surf Lodge was a really nice place even though there were no locks on the bathroom doors! The people that own it are really typical surfer people! They have a gorgeous 2 year old daughter called Daisy who I spent a couple of hours playing with! The lodge is opposite one of the best surfing beaches in NZ, the break is amazing, just like you see in surf adverts!

We headed to a place called Rangitukia and the Eastender Farm Stay. This was about as basic that you can get! We were in the middle of nowhere! Again not feeling great so this wasn't my favorite place! We went horse riding in the afternoon, bearing in mind that I hadn't been on a horse for a good 10 years!

I was fine riding along the beach and Reg the guide was teasing me about the English way I rode the horse! We were meant to be riding western style, but my old teachings came back! I cantered a few times but didn't have the guts to get into a full gallop! It was really cool riding along the beach!

We then went into the hills, this was really steep and I got nervous, when we got to the top Ma (our driver) took the reins whilst I got off but the horse started rearing backwards - scary! So I had to sit alone for a bit to get myself together! When I went to get back on the horse I couldn't do it! I fell the second time I tried! A bit embarrassing to say the least! But I got up on the third go! Well you know what they say! I went slowly down the hill but had a bit of a canter along the last bit. Everyone thought it was cool of me to get back on again! I was seriously considering walking down with the horse though!

Back at the farm stay I went in the shower and it was cold, another thing to make my day! Then we had a hangi (Maori style food) for dinner but it was dreadful! I went to bed!