Paradise Valley Ventures Horse Trekking
Finalist in the Westpac Rotorua Business Excellence Awards 2007
We only had two days in Rotorua, and we knew we wanted to go horse trekking. We didn’t have a car, but the staff at Paradise Valley Ventures were able to pick us up from our hotel in their courtesy van. As we were driving into Paradise Valley, I was thinking it was an entirely appropriate name for this gorgeous valley that winds around Mt. Ngongotaha. The mist was clinging to the forest clad hills and cliffs over the pastoral scenery, reminding me a lot of the 'Lord of the Rings' scenes that has made New Zealand so well known.
We crossed the bridge over the source of the famous Paradise Valley Springs, and carried on another two kilometres to find the entrance to the stables and office of Paradise Valley Ventures. The staff greeted us and before long we were getting our horses from the stables and saddling up Piwi, Nike, Coastie, Scooter, Tobacco, Deano, and Jake (don’t you just love those names!).
I am quite a beginner at trekking, but the staff were very professional and caring, and gave me a great introductory lesson and made me feel very safe and comfortable on my horse. My friends all had much more experience, and the staff made sure they had horses that suited their ability as well. Soon we were heading out across the 700 acre sheep and beef property, where we could see the owner mustering some of his 4,500 ewes, with his working dogs doing a great job, just like at the farm shows, but for real!
We crossed the first bridge over the stream, full of trout splashing in the pools, and made our way up to the ridge where we started to get our first spectacular views of the valley and Mt. Ngongotaha. We started to get an appreciation of how big the property was, and our guide was full of information about the three ancient Maori settlements that were once here, local history and even geological information about the land formations. As we reached the second ridge and the bush line, we started to get a panoramic vista of Lakes Rotorua and Rotoiti, and felt like we were on top of the world. We came back across the plateau which used to be a “foot highway” for the Maori before roads were put in to the Waikato, and heard about the legend of the taniwha (monster) that lived in a cave on the mountain above us, that was tricked into marrying the witch, so that they could pass.
We carried on through the farm and felt like we were absolute best mates with our horses by now. It was the best ride I’ve ever been on and wished it would never end. When we got back to the stables we relaxed in the landscaped patio area and collected some cool photos the staff had printed for us while we were out on our ride. We also got to look at some beautiful artwork in the office, as the owner is a well known painter, and part of the Rotorua Arts Trail.
Staff also told us about some of the other options available to visitors at Paradise Valley Ventures including trout fishing on the 2km of private stream, a stream walk, horse shoe throwing, barbecue area and campervan sites.
Open 9am to 5pm seven days a week, they also cater for groups and can organise corporate events after hours.
It was an awesome time and a great memory to share with my friends. Truly the ultimate riding experience!
Contact details
- Contact:
- Shana Carlan-Riddell
- Phone:
- +64 (7) 348 3300
- Address:
- 679 Paradise Valley Road
RD2
Rotorua
New Zealand - Email:
- info@paradisetreks.co.nz
- Web:
- www.paradisetreks.co.nz
- Inquiries:
- Direct to operator via email
- Affiliations:
