Magnificent horse riding in the Nelson Tasman region

The Nelson Tasman region is one of the sunniest parts of New Zealand and also a great hub for art and creativity as well as being home to three national parks. I spent a week in the region with my housemate Schele, where we explored Nelson, visited two National Parks and enjoyed lots along the way.

Choosing a ride in Abel Tasman 

I hadn’t come on this trip planning to ride as I thought we would be hiking/doing something every day – which we were. However, during our stay at Abel Tasman Lodge, we did two days of hiking and with the third day forecast for rain, I decided that I would rather do a ride.

It also didn’t help that the absolutely stunning lodge overlooked a field of horses, very tempting. So anyway I was totally unprepared and hadn’t brought my riding boots or hat with me, and I set about trying to find the best place to ride in this area at short notice.

I had seen a few signs in Nelson when we were down there but up in the Abel Tasman National Park region the options were slightly more limited. The three that I found were Abel Tasman horse trekking, Marahau horse treks and Hack’n Stay at Hack farm. 

I picked up these adverts from the Abel Tasman Centre in Marahau, and called all of them to see if they had availability for Saturday morning.

1.     Abel Tasman Horse Trekking 

A bit difficult to get hold of. No answer on their number, left a voicemail and didn’t hear back. By chance on late Friday afternoon I bumped into a nice man who was out walking and happened to be the father of the lady who ran this place, and he gave me her personal mobile number (very kiwi). I sent her a text and she replied explaining that they didn’t have any guides available due to sickness.

The google reviews for this place online look quite reasonable though, it sounds as though this place would be good for beginner rides and if you wanted to ride a horse at a steady and safe walk on the beach. It doesn’t sound like there’s options to go faster than at a walk or whether you are able to go off the beach track into the forest or national park. 

Unfortunately, due to New Zealand being locked down recently with Covid, it appears that they have had to temporarily close for the time being, but I hope that they will be up and running again soon. You can find out more information on their website.

2.     Marahau Horse treks

Again, super difficult to get hold of the guy who runs this place, Brian. Joce and Scott who run Abel Tasman Lodge had warned me that it is notoriously hard to reach people around here, which was quite frustrating. I had tried the usual route of calling the numbers on the advertising card and also sent an email through. Scott gave me Brian’s personal mobile number and I left him a voicemail, he replied to me on late Friday afternoon and we arranged a ride for 9am on Saturday. 

He doesn’t have a website, but there is a Facebook page - but be prepared for some slight eccentricity at this place :) - more to come on this later.

3.     Hack Farm

This place looked great, they have a very responsive website and the phone was answered the first time I rang them. I would have loved to try going for a ride here, but it was about 1.5hour drive from Marahau and I didn’t feel like driving in such heavy rain. So I can’t really comment, but if you are passing through then definitely check this place out if you have time as the website looks great, they have a lot of different types of rides available and you can do everything by booking it online – which I learnt from the super friendly lady on the phone, who I think runs the place. 

Given another chance, I think this would probably be my first option if there was an opportunity to spend some time here and it wasn’t so far - probably would be best to plan in advance so you can arrange it properly.

My experience at Marahau horse treks

I am not 100% sure where to start. I had a brilliant ride and again it was a highlight of my trip (I think I would have cried if I went on another day of hiking out in the rain) and I really enjoyed that post-ride feeling of coming back, showering and sitting down to have some hot tea.

I had been told by the very hospitable couple I mentioned earlier (Joce and Scott) that Brian was a bit of an eccentric character, and they couldn’t have been more right - though he was fantastically Kiwi and charming. At one point I asked him for the time, and he pulled out a small clock from his pocket and held it up behind his back, and it was an hour behind. Not only that, but he also insisted on riding bareback and even offered me if I would like to as well, which I politely declined.

I probably would not rate his place particularly highly on safety, but if you are a confident rider and fancy a bit of an adventure, you might like to give the place a try.

 I had called Brian before I left Abel Tasman Lodge, and he had provided me with instructions to get to the yard, it was only a 5 minute walk from the lodge.

After the initial excitement of finding the place, I was slightly dismayed when Brian offered me a damp riding hat to wear, but still I thought I should persevere, and I thought it was an interesting little place and I had already committed to going on a ride. I did consider abandoning ship, but given I had no other plans, I thought I should at least give it a chance. (Still, I do not think there is any shame in not doing something you are not comfortable with, especially when it comes to riding - it is still considered an extreme sport, and for good reason.)

The beautiful autumn colours along with the misty morning made it worth it to get out of the lodge and get some fresh air. Brian explained to me about his interest in Clydesdale horses and his preference for an off-grid lifestyle. Since I had mentioned that I was working in the inpatient psychiatric unit at Hawkes Bay Hospital on the North island, he was off cracking jokes left, right and centre… :’)

Brian tacked up my horse, and left his bareback. It concerned me slightly when he mentioned that he had not had any customers come by for the past 3 months due to Covid, as hacking / trail-riding horses need to go out fairly regularly in order to stay safe and reliable.

Unfortunately, I am sure that this is the situation for many riding stables that operate based on tourist interest.

After tacking up, I took my horse into the small pen next to where she is tied up in this photo, and walked her around to get a feel for her. She was much better on one rein (i.e. walking round in one direction) and did not seem to pay much attention to me on the other rein despite lots of strategic aids and leg. Some horses are like that, but it is generally much more safe to have a responsive horse that listens to your commands, especially when going out on a hack in a new place. Sometimes this needs a little bit of warming up and so I thought she might get a bit better as the ride went on.

Safety-wise, this is probably one of the very few hacks I have been on where I have remained in walk and trot only, and not requested an opportunity to canter. I think it is important to be careful when away from home and far from hospital services, especially if you are not 100% sure about your horse. The horse was absolutely fine and lovely but I just felt that with the lack of control I was feeling with regards to her responsiveness, it wouldn't be a sensible idea to go off at speed without knowing whether she would listen to me asking her to stop or not.

 We started off by riding out onto the road and taking a left out of the yard, into Old Macdonalds Farm, which was a campground and holiday park. We went through it and ended up in this forest, which was really overgrown and my feet and stirrups kept getting stuck on branches, which was a bit scary at times.

Brian said that he wouldn’t have brought me into this section if he ‘didn’t think I could do it’, but I was still quite relieved when we emerged out and crossed a shallow river to get to the next section.

Brian saw a loose piece of hosing in the water and jumped off to retrieve it, leaving his horse there, who was quite happy to just munch on some grass in the meantime. I feel like these things highlight some of the differences between the British way of following all the rules and the more relaxed kiwi attitudes. I think both have their plus sides, and I’ve always enjoyed learning about new cultures, it seems the animals are as chilled out as the people.

The scenery and landscape is so varied, around every corner is a mesmerising new view, there is no way you could get bored riding in a place like this.

Sporting the very flattering damp white riding hat.

Here is the moment that I asked Brian for the time, and he whipped this out of his pocket to show me… It was actually 10.30 not 11.30. I live for these moments.

We headed towards the beach through this river for at least a good 10 minutes. It was murky and I sort of liked the wildness and rawness of the route, as it was obviously not a well-trodden track that thousands had done before.

The mist on the land in front of us was breathtaking, it made me really appreciate the rain as it had made the whole place look so moody and atmospheric. I rarely end up on rainy rides when I am away (they are all too common at home in England) and it was quite enjoyable to see the landscape in a different tone.

There was a sudden downpour on the beach and we got even more soaked than we had been before. I was definitely looking forward to going back and having a nice hot shower by this point.

Walking back on the home stretch. The whole time I marvelled at Brian’s confidence in riding his horse out on a trek without a saddle.

The poor sodden horses looked so miserable by the time we had gotten back! They were so relieved to have a rug on and go and start eating some grass and hay. I started my short walk back to the lodge with a plan to stop by the cafe on my way back.

I passed over this river on my way back, there was something quite serene and calming about it.

Finally… back at the lodge and with another pot of tea. I loved watching the pukekos (Australasian ‘swamp hen’) walking past. Schele returned not long after and we were both very grateful to be back indoors on such a wet day!

 Another brilliant memory for me, is this beautiful wall hanging that Joce and Scott from Abel Tasman Lodge ordered for me. They had them in the rooms at the lodge and they just looked so fantastic, I am so happy to have it in my bedroom at home in England. It was probably my favourite purchase of my trip to NZ and I was happy that it was made in New Zealand too. If you like it, you can order it at 100 Percent NZ.

I hope you get a chance to try out a ride at one of the places mentioned in this post, do let me know if you get to!

Don’t forget to have a look at my post on my favourite 10 things to do in the Nelson Tasman region, so that you can plan your trip to this beautiful area, and make your non-riding companions happy too!