great friends n great huntin

Ted invited me on another hunt this weekend. This time, a 2-day hunt in Central Otago.  Saturday, Erin, Lindsey, and Katie came up to be my cheering section.  (I have the greatest friends ever!)  They rode around in the emergency (aka booze mobiles) cars with some old folk all day.  

Got to ride my favorite of ted's horses too! Had a couple of good kills (nothing like the first hunt though) and lots of great runs. And being a holiday, we joined forces with a couple of other hunt clubs, which made for an even bigger crew out in the fields. But it was nice to meet and ride with some new faces!

first things first - shots to warm us all up

huntsmen and whips leading us out of the gates

paparazzi through the window

steamy horses 

my noble steed: Cruise.
wish i could bring him home

saddle bags put to use: carrying beer

fav pic.
lynley charging the fields from behind the wheel

lead huntsman for the day: Charles

old englishman Robert. used to be a huntsman back in the day

coming back in from a great day out in the fields

GLOM huntsman

feeding time for the hounds

The girls headed home for our program's farewell dinner.  I stayed with Ted and enjoyed the feast post hunt. After much needed showers and warm food, we moved into the tack room where things got rowdy. I sat there mostly in shock, trying to take it all in. Who knew such old farts could get down and dirty dancin. There was some stripping. climbing in the rafters. drinking games and the likes. it was great. A night to remember for sure. and bonding at its finest. 

the only pic i can provide. planking on stools.

The morning brought hail, freezing temps, and quite miserable weather in general. That was no excuse to stop these brave souls! Geared up with many layers and an oilskin trench coat, I didn't let a little rain and frozen extremities keep me out of the pack.  Sunday's hunt was quite exciting as the terrain and quick pace quickly diminished our starting herd. By the end of the day, only about a dozen of us had made it through all of the brutal wind, full bar, barbed wire fence jumping and bog crossings that deterred people from staying out, but Cruise was still rearing to go (despite a bloody mouth from my efforts to control the train) so we kept on keeping on. 

What better way to celebrate the Queen's birthday?!

tom cat

Erin's boyfriend, Tommy came into town! She's had all sorts of visitors (mom and gmom) the past few weeks, and now Tommy. I feel like I already know him so well from everything I've heard and our brief skype sessions.  In an effort to show him a bit of Dunedin, we decided to take him to Sandfly Beach at sunset to watch the penguins come in from the sea. 

erin's usual stance

Tommy's handstand

Erin's new BFF

watched the big moon rise over the sea with a cold beer in  hand

funday quote

in honor of another hunt this weekend: 

"There is a passion for hunting something deeply implanted in the human breast."

- Charles Dickens

tramping circus

The GGG had our last trip just the 3 of us (for now!) this weekend to Stewart Island – the 3rd island of NZ.  We drove south, jumped on a ferry, tied up our laces, and hit the Raikura track. We stayed in a hut with some nice people from Belgium and enjoyed dinner of pre-made tortilla wraps.  

unloading the cockroach

so ready!

takin my special dog for a walk. they wouldn't let me have a real one

in bed at 6 pm...

Then it was a long 11 hour hike done in 8 hours back to Oban for a nice real meal and bed! 

mud, mud, mud

we did it!

We spent Monday morning site seeing Oban and enjoying the Stewart Island life including fancy crepes, the maritime museum, beer and pool, and puppies, ponies, and whales!

we love oban! 

pool shark

just tied up outside the crepe place! 

"do i have dirt on my face?"
"just a little..."

And our video of the weekend:

catlins

So we had a girls' weekend in the Catlins this weekend. It was lovely. No wonder everyone talks about this place! Sunday morning we woke all groggy from the rugby game and night out the night before and hit the road south for the Catlins. Only a couple hours later, we were standing at Nugget Point:

gotta love self timer shots

when they actually work

{Not sure if I've iterated enough that I want to be a lighthouse keeper some day...}

the nuggets

Then to make the most of our short time here, we headed to see some waterfalls and other sites:

Boo and the waterfall

 Following an itinerary set by a friend, we then stopped at this odds n ends shop called Curios only to find that it closes for the winter :( horse.shit.

very cool

life on the road allows for copious amounts of PB & J sandwiches

 Next? A nice hike to McLean Falls.

For sunset, we headed down to the coast again for some penguin watching.

doing hoodrat stuff with my friends

 It was a great success! They were so cute.

After such an epic sunset, we found a nice dolphin-themed hostel for the night and decided upon a sunrise watch from the southern most point of the south island of New Zealand- Slope Point. It was just us and a field full of sheep to welcome the day. 

Even more activities before heading home... Cathedral Caves. {Cathedral COVE was in the north island.}

for our album cover

Then it was home again, home again for another (nearly final) week of school...