Glenorchy

Glenorchy.  How do I describe Glenorchy?  The best way to put it is New Zealand won my heart in Glenorchy.  It’s a town about a forty-five minute mouth-dropping drive west of Queenstown and boasts fewer than a thousand residents.  It is nestled between soaring mountain faces that, if they were alive, would bear semblance to Titan gods.  Beneath their watchful peaks is the Dart River, weaving in and out of itself along the shallow sands like a braid down a maiden’s back.  In the forests that line the river are numerous songbirds and even quite inquisitive deer, having lost their innate fear of humans due to bans on hunting.  This place is a mountain paradise, a fact not lost to Peter Jackson who used Glenorchy and its surrounding areas extensively in the Lord of the Rings films.

As with all picturesque LOTR filming locations in New Zealand, the locals have learned to capitalize on their beautiful backyards with guided tours.  Dart Stables is one of Glenorchy’s biggest tourist attractions and leads trail rides through the filming areas.  They also offer other rides that cater to different levels of riding experience, which is so rare to find in a trail riding company.  I love horseback riding but it’s hard for me to justify spending so much money if all I will be doing is sitting astride a lumbering horse whose sole mission is to keep its nose within inches of the horse's tail in front of us.  Such lack of command is not putting over a decade's worth of my riding lessons to good use.  But Dart Stables, unlike many trail guiding companies, does offer fast paced rides for the experienced horseman.  Perfect.  Though I desperately wanted to go, I knew that trail riding would be much easier to sell to my not-so-equine friendly brothers with a little LOTR persuasion.  Piece of cake.  I was able to spend all morning cantering through open fields and along the Dart River while they hiked and then met up with them for our beginner-friendly 'Ride of the Rings' through breathtaking landscapes actually featured in the films.  Riding all day was perfect and most likely one of the reasons why Glenorchy captured my heart. 

Drive from Queenstown to Glenorchy.  Not bad.

Glenorchy is surrounded by these massive imposing mountains.  None of these pictures do them justice.

Once we arrived, we went for a walk down to the lake.  It was a beautiful evening.  Don't you think Garrett agrees?

The coolest little house in the world.

Connor the horse whisperer.  Actually, this horse is a Hollywood star, having played in both Lord of the Rings and the new movie Tracker.

This'll be our next Christmas photo. 

Yay!!!!!!  Horseback riding.

Connor and Garrett getting mounted up.  Don't they look super stoked?  Remember that Garrett is allergic to horses and, yes, he did start to have some alergy symptoms by the time we were done.  

I don't think Mom's enjoying herself at all.

The braided Dart river.

These two were made for each other.

You might see this scene in the up and coming "Hobbit" movie.

Kitty...

Some pictures Connor took of the Glenorchy marshes during his walk in the morning that I went riding.  He's getting to be pretty handy with a camera.