HORSE TREKS IN THE HILLS BELOW THE SKI FIELDS

Press, 26 February 1977, Page 13

HORSE TREKS IN THE HILLS BELOW THE SKI FIELDS

NANCY CAWLEY looks at a new Canterbury high-country venture. Seen under the sign, the proprietors of the horse treks are Cameron McDonald (left) and Greg Taigel.

Their first year completed as partners and co* organisers of Castle Hill Alpine Horse Treks, Greg .Taigel and Cameron McDonald have feelings of tentative optimism.

Patronage has been steady, especially during school holidays. some riders returning for a repeat trip in the limestone country of the Castle Hill Basin.

Berth men are New Zealanders in their midtwenties with a real love of horses. They are making a living doing what they both enjoy.

The mountain setting — rolling paddocks and bare hills topped with limestone tors — is important to them. It is difficult to imagine the men running an urban horse trekking centre.

Greg Taigel does most of the talking, speaking softly after thoughtful pauses.

For a year before coming to Castle Hill he did

leatherwork at the Artists’ Quarter, Christchurch, specialising in plaited bridles and belts. The craft seems a natural extension of his association with horses.

Now he is continuing his leatherwork at Castle Hill as a lucrative sideline. Articles are sold to riding customers, much is sent away to retail outlets, and there is a steady demand from local sheep stations for his heavy-duty harness gear.

Greg is looking forward to repairing the four gigs that are lined up against the fir tree shelter-belt. He envisages rides round the old Lake Lyndon road in winter being an attraction for day trippers.

Cameron McDonald came to Castle Hill from a farming job near Wanganui. He is especially inter* ested in breeding from their horses and has a mare just back from stud.

Winter is a quiet time

at the trekking centre —

the rigorous back-country winter mostly allows riding only from about November to May — so Cameron spent last winter on the staff of a local skifield.

Like Greg he is friendly and calm.

On the point of taking a novice rider out Cameron remembers his two dogs. The .horses move off with the newly-released dogs cavorting behind.

The men have several long-distance rides around the country to their credit. One of Greg’s longest trips was from Invercargill to Nelson on his horse Strider.

Cameron and his dag and black mare, Annabelle, have been completely round the South Island.

The men first met appropriately enough on. horseback. Their paths crossed at Haast when they were both on riding trips.

Greg and Cameron take a pride in being seif-

reliant. They employ no extra staff and maintain the gear and horses themselves. Shoeing the horses is just part of their work.

The Castle Hill sheep station covers 11,450 hectares. It recently changed hands and is now owned by Mr Max Smith. (At the moment there appears to be little likelihood of the holiday village, for which previous owners were pressing, being built on Castle Hill land.)

The trekking centre leases the large shepherds’ quarters and has the use of four hectares of grazing land for its nine horses.

There are four ski-fields nearby and during the winter the trekking centre offers accommodation for skiers. There is bunk space for 10.

This side of the business was successful last winter, skiers bringing and cooking their own food and paying $2 a night.

The sheltered Castle Hill Basin is in the centre

of perfect riding country — isolated, scenically beautiful and mainly without side roads.

As they said in a recent Monty Python show: “It’s the sort of country you can ride through for weeks without seeing your auntie.”

Bounded by the Toriesse and Craigieburn ranges, the area has a complex of rivers with broad tussock terraces that permit easy travel. It is also far enough away from the Main Divide to miss the nor’west weather. Rainfall is about 750 mm per year (30in).

In a day one can ride out to the Waimakiriri Gorge and back, or to Flock Hill station and thesettlement of Avoca.

The most ambitious trip that Greg and Cameron offer is a six-day ride to the Glen Wye Station at Hanmer. This is along part of an old packing route that runs from Hanmer to Blenheim*

It is possible to do the whole trip both ways in 12 days, or, with bus connections at each end, to do it one way from either end.

During such lengthy trips two pack horses are used; and the party, equipped with tents and cooking gear, is complete 1 y self-sufficient. Stays are also made at mustering huts along the way.

A year is not very long in the proving of such a venture, and neither of the men feels complacent. There are unavoidable expenses.

Oats and horse pellets must be bought round the year; with snow on the ground for much of the winter and hay at 80c a bale, feeding-out in the winter costs $5O per month. A new horse costs $250-$3OO and suitable horses are hard to find.

The men have ordered several new saddles and these wil) cost over $3OO each.