Hooray! Your adventure in New Zealand is about to begin! This morning you’ll be picked up from your accommodation in Taupo at 9.30am and driven to River Valley Lodge. Your host, Nicola, has lived in River Valley her whole life, and her family has been running the business for five generations. Along the way you’ll have the chance to purchase any last minute supplies, and alcohol if you’d like.

Once you reach the stables, you’ll meet your guides, be introduced to the horse that will be your partner for the next week, and get a briefing on the trip ahead. Today is about getting to know your horse, building a connection, feeling comfortable with one another and understanding the principles of riding your horse in a rope halter. To begin with, you’ll spend some time working together on the ground, then you’ll ride out over River Valley. After a beautiful day’s riding, you’ll feel connected and confident in the saddle.

Over a sumptuous dinner of home-grown meat and vegetables, you’ll enjoy the relaxed atmosphere of River Valley Lodge and get to know your guides and fellow guests. By now your comfortable, cosy bed will be calling – make sure you get plenty of beauty sleep tonight, globetrotters!

After packing your lunch and filling up on a hearty breakfast at the lodge, everyone will head out to catch, groom, saddle and feed the horses. This hands-on time strengthens your relationship with your horse and will form part of your trip each day (don’t worry, there’s always help on hand should you need it). Mounting up, you will explore the beautiful countryside around River Valley for a full day, with a lunch break in a beautiful spot along the trail. Crossing Pukerimu Station, you’ll ride some big hills and patches of native bush.

Tonight you’ll savour more family-style, locally grown and home cooked fare, al fresco if the weather permits. Before bed this evening, you’ll pack what you need for camping for the next 4 days, leaving anything you don’t need at the lodge – it will be there when you return on day 7.

Getting into the morning rhythm, you’ll pack your lunch and enjoy a filling breakfast, then prepare your horse for the day ahead. Today’s ride is a picturesque journey through the local farmlands, crossing seven private properties before reaching Moawhango. Moawhango is a small country settlement with a rich history. Here you will get to meet some of the locals from both European and Maori cultures, who will share their love of the land and their ancestral stories with you.

Tonight you will be staying on the community’s marae {pictured}, or meeting ground. The marae is the focal point of Māori communities throughout New Zealand, who see it as tūrangawaewae – their place to stand and belong. As a group, you will be officially welcomed onto the marae and experience the warm hospitality of the Maori people as you’re treated to a hearty Maori meal.

This morning you will wave goodbye to Moawhango and journey on for an adventurous day’s ride through the high country. You’ll cross Maunganui Station, as well as two more farms. This is private land where few tourists ever get to set foot, so lap it up, globetrotters! On top of that, you’re riding right on the edge of wild horse county, where the wild Kaimanawa horses roam. Finally, you’ll pull up at your first campsite and untack and turn out your horse. Then you’ll settle in beneath the magnificent volcano, Mount Ruapehu, for another feast courtesy of one of River Valley’s legendary cooks. As the stars twinkle high above, you’ll snuggle down inside your tent and rest up for another epic day in the saddle.

After breakfast, you will saddle up and ride out for the day to the Shangri La, a private piece of land on Makokomiko Station. This land is owned and farmed by Maori people and it is a huge honour to be permitted to ride here. Your journey takes you through picture-perfect farmland with views out to the Kaimanawa and Ruahine Ranges, and swathes of young Manuka bushes planted by the Maori people, who have invested in their property for future generations to produce the unique honey that comes from the bees that pollinate these native plants. And if you’re tempted, here is your chance to swim your horse in the beautiful Rangitikei River! Relaxing on the banks, you’ll eat lunch and (hopefully!) laze in the sunshine.

On your return to camp, you’ll find that the locals have been preparing a feast: a traditional Hangi. You’ll get to see what’s involved in ‘putting down’ the Hangi, watch it being lifted out of the ground, and then relish the incomparable flavours.

As usual, the day will begin with a delicious breakfast and time spent bonding with your trusty trail horse as you prepare for the ride ahead. The journey continues for the first part of the day over high country farmland, where there will be ample opportunities to give your horse its head and feel the wind in your hair. Then, after a picnic lunch, you’ll descend into the beautiful Rangitike River Gorge. Nimbly crossing the river, your horse will find a trail through the long grass on the opposite bank. This is a very special area for your guides, who grew up here and will no doubt have more than a few tales to tell.

Your destination tonight is Tarata Lodge, a spectacular property owned by Steve and Trudi Maddock. Based high on the cliffs of the Rangitkei River, it boasts stunning views over the water. Dinner will be prepared by one of your amazing crew members, and enjoyed out on the deck as the light fades softly over the gorge.

Today gets off to an easy start as you enjoy the delights of Tarata Lodge, before saddling up and riding back down into the spectacular river gorge. Heading upstream, you’ll ride through the river and up over two magnificent hills, Pukekaka and Pukeokahu. Pukeokahu translates to ‘hill of the hawk’, and you’re more than likely to spot one or two as you clamber up its exhilarating slopes. This sacred place is believed to have been a play area for local Maori for at least 400 years. On a clear day, the hilltop offers views of all of the North Island’s volcanos! Finally, you’ll arrive back at River Valley for one last night together with your fellow riders and crew. Plenty of laughs, stories and memories will no doubt be shared!

Today will be a day to explore the bond you’ve made with your horse, or if you would prefer, take a trip on the river with the rafting guides! Your day concludes with a picnic to celebrate the journey you’ve undertaken, and at 2:00pm you’ll say farewell to the River Valley team and take a shuttle back to your accommodation in Taupo. The trip takes roughly two hours, so you’ll need to book a night’s accommodation in Taupo this evening so the group isn’t rushed getting back into town. You can depart for your onward travels anytime the following day.

Transfers to and from Taupo are included in the ride price. To avoid travel delays, we ask that all guests arrive and stay in Taupo (at your own expense) the day before the ride begins, so you’re ready to be collected from your accommodation at approximately 9.30am on day one. And please also book another night’s accommodation in Taupo on the final day of your ride, so the group isn’t rushed getting back into town. You can fly home the following day.

**Please note that if you’re flying into Auckland International Airport, give yourself a three hour buffer to clear customs {especially with horse riding equipment – helmets, chaps} before your regional flight directly into Taupo. Our travel agent can assist in booking your international and regional flights as she’s familiar with this ride itinerary.