Riding at Poronui

Monty is Hungry......I guess we can stop now?

Ellie and Samantha's Christmas Present. 

Monty is in the mail.... Your daddies said it was okay. 

Over looking Poronui

First time adventures.

On Saturday, i went with Jane and Amber riding. This was my first, real riding experience. We saddled up and headed out on the property. What was meant to be a leisurely stroll for a couple of hours and a picnic on top of the hill, turned into an intensive day of riding. My horse, Monty, beautiful and calm was also pretty random. Probably a perfect horse for me, the beginner. The interesting thing was to try and stay on the horse when he went from a trot to a screeching halt, dipping his head down to eat a bit of grass. I almost went off the front of him several times. Luckily, i stayed on for the entire 3 1/2 hours. I was soooo sore. We did get to see a lot of the property that you can't see from the road. plus, all the wild life in a more natural setting. When i got into the lodge to cook that night, our clients laughed their heads off upon hearing about our day and how worn out i was. That night i received a call from Eve and was told, one of our guests had treated me to a message from Nancy, a Maori Princess and our resident Massage therapist. It was an incredibly fun day. Photos to follow.
I do work with some special people. Today is the anniversary of my mother's passing. In honor of my mothers life..... and the very special relationship that i miss.... my boss gave me, Jane and Amber the day off together. I planned to go on a hike or take off and go sight seeing, but i was surprised with a rafting trip. They had heard i had never been and wanted to do something special for me. It was a great experience and more than that, i really appreciate the hearts of my new work family. The Kaituna River is a 7 meter drop and 45 minute long trip. Our guides were great and made the trip a blast. Luckily i stayed in the raft, but swallowed a lot of water. They got some very funny pictures of us along the way. We were wearing the funniest clothing and not a big help in the rowing department. I looked like we should be shot out of a cannon rather than rafting. Since none of us fell out, they tried to liven up the experience by steering us back into the mouth of a rapid to get dunked. I kept my head down, but Jane and Amber looked hilarious in the pictures.
Tomorrow i am back in the saddle, so to speak. I will have 14 guest for the next 6 days and then have a three day break. We have a staff Christmas party one of those nights, but i am going hunting one of those days with Mau and Ben (our hunting guides). I am learning to shoot right now and really liking it. They are the ones who get me all my yummy meats from the property and i am thankful they are involving me so much in it all. I will get some pictures of that next week.
Thanks to all that have written me updates, i do miss you friends, great to hear about your lives.
Love always!