Horseworx' easygoing mounts know the route and which beach to stop at for a refreshing wade. Photo / Supplied
Horseworx' easygoing mounts know the route and which beach to stop at for a refreshing wade. Photo / Supplied
A Waiheke horse trek involves a sun-drenched lunch, wine, with a paddle in the saddle on the ride home, writes Donna McIntyre.
Did you park your horses in the car park, the French waiter at Cable Bay asks as he learns we have arrived on horseback at the picturesque vineyard restaurant on Waiheke Island.
I find the idea of "parking a horse" amusing, but Jonatan isn't too far out with his query.
Our horses, including my trusty steed called Mercedes (but not Benz) indeed are "parked" in the paddock across the road from The Verandah outdoor restaurant at Cable Bay. Watered after carrying us up the hill from Blackpool Beach, they are so blissfully content they are almost somnolent.
We're in the experienced hands of Karina Wallace, who runs the new boutique riding operation, HorseWorx.
She brings experience from horse trekking and tourism operations in Taranaki and Canada, leading groups of four customers on one- and two-hour treks. She has ambitions to increase horse numbers and the durations and routes of rides.
Karina can pick you up from the ferry, if needed (or you can come by water taxi), and the rides go through bush tracks and along beaches where possible.
On our return ride from Cable Bay we even go stirrup-deep in the sea, which is refreshingly enjoyable - for riders and horses - after a few hours in the saddle.
We start the ride at a Surfdale farm, opposite Te Huruhi School, where we are matched with our calm-natured, station-bred horses: steady Mercedes for me and Shaman for my husband.
Also giving us a huge welcome is samoyed-border collie cross Pixie, one of Karina's growing menagerie, as she offers younger customers pony rides and farm animal petting. Also riding are Karina's helpers, Graham Brown and Jade Coxhead.
We are riding equine celebrities as some of the horses have appeared in films. Shaman worked on 10,000 BC and was ridden by dwarf king actor Richard Armitage in the Hobbit movies. Karina says you can tell which horse is Shaman in the films as she hated the shaggy suit she wore and would move her head to show her irritation.
Horseworx Waiheke. Photo / Supplied
We head off, quickly going off-road to ride to the beach where the tide is out, along The Esplanade's gravel to Blackpool Beach, past the marae and up the hill to Church Bay.
Today, our vineyard stop is Cable Bay for pizza, marinated fish, salad, pita bread and a glass of reserve chardonnay in the outdoor dining area. On the lawn visitors chill in bean bags while appreciating the sea views across to Auckland.
Karina also takes riders to Mudbrick, which, like Cable Bay, has a "paddock park" and water for the horses. The ride/wine/dine takes around an hour each way with an hour allowed for the meal. (You can elect to ride one way.)
Karina suggests riders limit themselves to water, one glass of vino or a tasting so they can enjoy the award-winning wines but won't be intoxicated for the ride back.
On our ride we keep to an ambling pace after describing ourselves as minimally experienced and nervous riders. But, if you're more experienced and confident, Karina will include a canter along the beach.
"I ask riders if they can rise and fall to the trot and I can usually work out by their answers how experienced they are," she says.
The horses have been well schooled and react quickly to the subtle rein commands Karina shows us, but the reality is the horses know the route so well all you need to do is settle into the saddle, follow the leader and enjoy the ride.
