T’S BEEN NEARLY 15 years since I last visited this part of the country. Memories of tripping around in a campervan with my travel agent buddies, going gold-panning, enjoying good old west coast hospitality (and lots of beer as it happened!) in the local pubs and just relaxing in one of the country’s most beautiful spots came flooding back.
   The west coast on New Zealand’s South Island has a couple of airports, Hokitika and Westport (both less than a couple of hours’ flying from Wellington or Christchurch). However, because the flight schedules are more regular, we decided to fly into Nelson instead, hire a rental car and drive the three hours down through the Buller Gorge to Westport. For much of this drive you wend your way along beside the mighty Buller River, home of the wonder­ful brown trout and a great spot for fishing, river rafting and other adven­turous pursuits.
   We stopped at Buller Adventure Tours (www.adventuretours.co.nz), just 10 minutes out of Westport, to see if there was any chance of joining a horse trek that afternoon. As luck would have it, we were just in time to join in with another group of international adventurers who were doing a "Kiwi Experience" tour. We signed up for a two-hour trek in the Buller Gorge, with some trepidation on my part as it has been about six years since I last rode a horse and I wasn’t sure what to expect when I hopped on old Walter.
   After some initial difficulties getting Walter to cooperate (he was more interested in showing his fellow nags who was boss!), our wonderful and patient guide, Anna, came to my aid: she made sure everyone was comfortable and catered for everyone’s different level of experience. The trek took us in amongst verdant native bush, along sandy riverbanks, through pristine rivers and all miles from any civilization. You could almost imagine being the only few people on the planet; there was also plenty of opportunity for the more seasoned riders to flex their skills as Anna took them trotting, cantering and galloping across a large open field. I used this opportunity to placate Walter by giving him a chance to have a feed by the river!
   Just before heading back, Anna provided us with a quick photo opportunity, incorporating the beautiful scenery as backdrop. As it happens we were only a stone’s throw from where part of The Lord of the Rings was filmed!
   It was hard to leave this exhilarating part of the trip behind but it was getting late, so we headed into Westport to pick up some groceries and then drove down to Punakaiki, about half-way between Greymouth and Westport. We had decided to stay at one of four gorgeously stylish and comfortable self-contained holiday cottages owned by some local Coasters.

CONTINUED

We signed up for a two-hour trek in the Buller Gorge, with some trepidation on my part as it has been about six years since I last rode a horse and I wasn’t sure what to expect when I hopped on old Walter

TOP: At Punakaiki’s Hydrangea Cottages, the view from the Rata suite. ABOVE, FROM TOP: Horse-riding on the west coast. The Rata suite at the Hydrangea Cottages. Scenery from near the Pancake Rocks (photographed by the author). BELOW LEFT: Joining the Punakaiki Horse Treks. (Photography courtesy Hydrangea Cottages.)