Sarah Down Undah ([info]sarahdownundah) wrote,
2010-11-26 15:35:00
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Pakiri Beach Horse Rides

Pakiri Beach Horse Rides is about an hour and a half north of Auckland. My friend Jenny worked here for several months last year, and talked a lot about how wonderful the place was after she returned to Canada. So, I just had to come and see it for myself! They operate both tourist horseback rides here (featuring rides along their white sand beach) and an Arabian stud.

After navigating some typical twisty-turny NZ back roads off of the main highway, I arrived and I recognized the first horse I saw! It had to be Bubbles, the beautiful Arabian stallion Jenny was in love with. :)




The welcoming committee consists of Buzz the Fox Terrier and Austin the Dalmation.










After introducing myself to Sharley, Jenny's boss, I was told I could go wherever I
wanted to take pictures, and I knew where I wanted to go first... to see the BABY!




















Then I went over to have a better look at dad!






This is their other stallion, whose name I am unsure of.


I had a quick poke around the yard.




Then I went for a walk down to the beach.
I loved this carpet of flowers.












The cabin on the right is where I got to stay.


The next day, I took some pictures of some Arabian yearlings and two year old fillies.








This older mare is in with the girls to keep them in line. :)


"I'll scratch my back if you scratch mine."








Rosella parrots... are not supposed to be here (they are from Australia!).


This guy belongs here. Swamp Hen, I think? Love the big feet!


Some non-Arabian faces -- part of the herd of riding horses for the treks.


I caught everyone during nap time. :p






Back to Arabians. If you can't tell, grey/white is a common colour!














I then went back to visit the fillies again, this time armed with brushes. They LOVED the attention and all stood while I prettied them up, including combing out their manes strand by strand.

The day after that, I went on a ride to the beach! I rode Des, a gelding who definitely knew where he was going and would have liked to do far more cantering (and galloping!) than I let him, haha! There was only one other person on the ride besides the guide, and it was nice to have a small group so we could talk together (even if Des was convinced he would simply die if he was not in front the whole time!).





Parody of those Old Spice commercials, in case anyone doesn't recognize the joke... :p




The other lady on the ride crossing the river on the way back, with the guide looking on.


I didn't have internet access at Pakiri, so this is my first time online since leaving Auckland. I'm at a library in Warkworth, the largest nearby town. I'm now off to the Coromandel Peninsula, an area I missed last time I was here. I probably won't be online again for a few days, so see ya when I see ya!
Tags: horses, photo post, riding

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  • 24 comments

[info]el_corbinism

November 26 2010, 03:22:17 UTC 1 year ago

That baby horse closer to the top is so cute.

I mean manly.

[info]erincalenear

November 26 2010, 03:47:14 UTC 1 year ago

The horses are all so beautiful. And you know, even though we have parrots and that in the wild, I still haven't seen any! I love the pukekos though, the lovely blue guy sitting on the fence. :)

[info]vanraf

November 26 2010, 03:58:47 UTC 1 year ago

zomg the picture with mom, baby, and the duck?! LOVED it!


also love loved the landscape shots you got down by the beach :) it's always been my dream to ride on the beach, and I still haven't gotten to. *sigh* someday...

[info]maggies_lens

November 26 2010, 05:28:13 UTC 1 year ago

squeeeee at hover-foal ;)

[info]ruric

November 26 2010, 08:03:33 UTC 1 year ago

Those cabins looks lovely and I think I'll be adding Pakiri to my places to visit when I get out to NZ!

[info]blur_kiwi

November 26 2010, 08:16:55 UTC 1 year ago

Great photos as ever. :))

The swamp hen is known as a pukeko and is, without doubt, my favourite New Zealand bird. They look like they got into the wrong queue when legs were being handed out!

[info]kiwi_stories

November 26 2010, 10:21:53 UTC 1 year ago

Pukako

The 'swamp hen' is a pukako. They are in the yard at the sleep-out. There are babies next door at David's that are extremely funny in their gawky, gangly, big-footed, long-legged way.

And wasn't 'I'm on a horse' on the horse BACKWARDS?

[info]sarahdownundah

November 27 2010, 02:36:14 UTC 1 year ago

Re: Pukako

Aww! I bet the little ones are super cute!

And no, the Old Spice guy is right way around! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owGykVbfgUE

[info]aquarius_galuxy

November 26 2010, 13:15:06 UTC 1 year ago

awesome pictures! I especially liked the one with the horses and the duck just sitting there XD as well as the carpet of flowers, and the beach pictures. =p Those horses are lucky, I'd love to live in a field of flowers!

[info]blitzen_

November 26 2010, 14:05:42 UTC 1 year ago

great photos, as usual. love the flower shots, especially the bougainvillea (i think?). i used to eat nasturtiams - how crazy.

ponies are delightful. glad you got to ride. i intend on doing more riding stuff next time i travel.

[info]skyhuntress

November 26 2010, 15:00:18 UTC 1 year ago

Jealous.

[info]harnessphoto

November 26 2010, 15:46:04 UTC 1 year ago

I want your life. Seriously. And the stallion warning photo made my day.

[info]patty1943

November 26 2010, 17:33:30 UTC 1 year ago

I still eat nasturtiums. The flowers are edible and so are the leaves and buds. Peppery.
Love the long legged bird and all your photos. Glad to see you back online.

[info]neo_phoneix

November 26 2010, 20:55:04 UTC 1 year ago

Disclaimer: I know nothing about horses. At all.

Question: Why aren't you allowed in with the stallion? Will he try and eat you?

[info]sarahdownundah

November 27 2010, 02:43:29 UTC 1 year ago

Stallions can occasionally be aggressive depending on the circumstances -- as far as I know, Bubbles is well-behaved, but since this is a tourist place, they don't want people going in with him to pet him and getting hurt if something should happen. :)

[info]k7point5

November 26 2010, 22:07:32 UTC 1 year ago

that is one beefy stud! I love him!

Anonymous

November 27 2010, 01:43:55 UTC 1 year ago

Love the Photos Sarah

Especially thought the one of the horses with the duck was so cute. I am sure Jen is pining for Bubbles! Warmer here today so took the rugs off the boys and spent about 4 hours hanging out with them. Jen is still 'waiting' for the big event. I'm sure she will be out to ride in the next couple of days if the weather and the baby cooperate. Happy adventures. Denali

[info]ghymoreids_mum

November 27 2010, 14:06:43 UTC 1 year ago

just beautiful.
I've ridden on a beach. so different.
have fun!

[info]yaya_wr8t3r

November 28 2010, 01:04:37 UTC 1 year ago

These are absolutely amazing! I'm so jealous you got to ride a horse by the sea side. Oh, I just love horses ♥ they look so happy too :)

[info]celticravenwolf

November 28 2010, 07:54:45 UTC 1 year ago

As usual, your photos are awesome. You should be a photographer or something. Oh wait... good thing you chose the right career path!

Props to the Old Spice dude totally made my day.

And... BIIIIIIIRDS!!!!!

[info]fiercekitty

November 28 2010, 16:17:16 UTC 1 year ago

Oh wow I miss NZ!!! I have relatives in Warkworth (actually they have a farm outside of Warkworth)...beautiful photos of the horses :) Whenever I visit horses they have flies bothering them, especially around their eyes - why don't these ones?

[info]sarahdownundah

November 28 2010, 21:41:26 UTC 1 year ago

There were definitely flies around, but they're more common in areas where there is manure, and most of these pics were taken in big pastures where any manure was spread out quite a bit, so less flies around I suppose. It just depends on the day, too... if there is a breeze, it keeps the bugs down! :)

[info]catku

November 30 2010, 02:38:45 UTC 1 year ago

wow just...wow!!!!!!!!!!!! every single shot.

[info]truckersgirl

December 19 2010, 06:20:43 UTC 1 year ago

Wow those are awesome photos (as usual!) looks like that was a lot of fun!!
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