KEY POINTS:
Deep in the Southern Alps there are landscapes few are privileged to see. It's a wilderness really, farmed by tough men who still use horses to round up sheep in the backblocks and, at the end of the day, there is always a cold Speights waiting and something good roasting in the oven.
For five challenging and exhilarating days I rode through this wild and beautiful place, over the saddles of the mountains, beside the braided rivers and clear lakes, marvelling at the emptiness of it all and hoping, like the farmers, that Speights and a roast would be at the end of my journey.
My guide was Heather Naden, of Hurunui Horse Treks, based in North Canterbury beside the foothills of the Southern Alps. Heather and her husband Liam have a herd of about 40 horses and run riding adventures from October to May.
These rides are not for total beginners. Although the horses are sure-footed and well schooled, the terrain is steep and there are river crossings and tracks that run beside steep gullies.
Neither, as I very quickly discovered, are these treks kind to those who may have been a bit slack about keeping up their personal fitness. You may get to ride up the mountains but, in true South Island style, you walk down them to give your horse a break. It's a real work out for the legs, particularly after you've spent hours in the saddle.
The truly hardy carry their belongings in saddlebags and camp out at night. But after a long day on horseback I was glad I'd opted for the Station-to-Station trek and was staying with the station owners. Not only did I get to enjoy comfy beds and lashings of home baking but it also gave me a fascinating insight into a life that has not changed much for generations.
Dave and Rosemary Gunn of Lake Taylor Station live 40km from their own mailbox. We reached them by riding through the daunting Boulder Gully, which was like nowhere I have ever been before. It's an ancient beech forest with a stream running through it and a stony track that winds up and down steep banks strewn with boulders. It was a bit like a rollercoaster ride on horse back, equal parts thrilling and terrifying, and I was thankful my horse Hui was an old hand who'd been this way many times before. I hung on to his saddle and let him know he was in charge and he didn't let me down. I would have loved to have stayed in this enchanted place for a while but there were more mountains to climb before we reached the shearers' quarters on the 18,000-acre Lake Taylor Station and the longed for cold beer.
The next day we rode closer to the Main Divide, following the southern branch of the Hurunui River. We picnicked at Lake Mason, where on warm days trekkers can find the perfect spot for a swim.
Then it was on past Lake Sumner and a canter along the flat paddocks towards home. Eight hours in the saddle in all, a test of my endurance. But sore bottom and stiff legs aside, I wouldn't have missed a minute of it.
My own biggest challenge came on the fourth day of the trek when we walked along a ridgeline leading our horses behind us. The views on either side were astounding but so was the steep drop and I was very busy being terrified. It was a buzz though and by the time I'd scrambled down the side of the mountain in the most ungainly fashion imaginable I had that adrenalin-soaked feeling of being truly alive.
And on the final day when we rode out of the high country and down on to the Canterbury Plains I took a long look back over my shoulder. I was going to miss the simplicity of life where the traffic doesn't roar, there is nowhere to go shopping and the loudest sound you hear is your horse's hoofbeats.
- Detours, HoS
