Horses!

Kia Ora all!

Phew! Alyse and I just got back from the South Island (now officially recognized by its Māori name, Te Wai Pounamu, as well), and I have to study for a final I have tomorrow after this.
Ergo, short post this time.
While we were on the Coromandel, we found a ranch that did horse riding tours. We were picked up at our hostel, drove over to the ranch, and saddled up. It was an interesting challenge to take pictures with my SLR while trying to steer the horse.... some of the photos are a little shaky as a result and didn't make it to the internet. The process of taking pictures was made even more difficult by my horse's propensity to bite the butt of the horse in front of it – I had very little time to see it coming each time, and Alyse's horse was a little irked by the end of the ride.
The scenery was, of course, spectacular. I tried to get a few shots that would do justice to the views we had and of all the various farm animals we passed (you'll note the Volkswagon-sized hogs in the background of a couple).
It looked very near rain all day, but except for a couple drops the weather was kind enough to hold off its downpour (there was definitely a downpour) until we got back inside the hostel.
Horses are always fun, so it made for a pretty awesome day. Coromandel remains one of the prettier places I've been.

Okay, that's it for now.

Cheers!

--David