In 1863, the early settlers of Puhoi came from Bohemia, an area of what is now the Czech Republic. After a long voyage the settlers arrived in Auckland before being taken by sailing cutter to the mouth of the Puhoi River. They were transferred to Maori canoes for the last four miles of their 124 days long journey.The settlers were dumped in a wilderness vastly different from what they had expected and felt despondent and let down.One woman said, on seeing their new home, that if she could walk on water she would return to Bohemia. Each adult had been given 40 acres of land and any children 20 acres. They had not been expecting to find themselves in the middle of a forest.
Initially firewood was the sole trading commodity. It took a lot of effort for little gain but they had no choice but to take what little was on offer. By 1870 there were several hundred head of cattle which provided them with meat, hides and bullocks for coupling together to move logs and for general haulage. The work of clearing the land to make room to grow crops was back breaking but they managed to do it and today many descendants of the original settlers still live in the area.
The Puhoi pub is one of the last historical pubs left in the Southern hemisphere. The interiors filled with the remnants of past and present memorabilia is enough to fill one with a sense of nostalgia. Even though the pub is such a famous place these days many of the customers are obviously local and the pub has not lost it's character. Many of the customers are local and there are usually several bikers and their high powered machines partaking of a bite to eat as they sit at the outdoor tables.
After lunch we visited the small but oh so interesting museum where we easily spent a couple of hours before driving into Auckland to pick up Danni and Jonny.
Danni was booked in to ride at 10.30 so Jonny and I dropped her off before we went into Warkworth to do some shopping. We got back to the stables to see her do some jumping in the paddock and then hear her story of a wonderful hours ride.
Back home for lunch and then in the afternoon Danni baked a chocolate cake and Nigel and Jonny went for a walk down to the river. There are 2 families staying in the house this weekend and whilst chatting to them it turned out that although they now live in New Zealand the husband of Kathy, the lady who booked the house, is from the Bradford area in Yorkshire as am I. What a small world. Even more interesting is that they keep 2 horses at the pony club near where Danni lives and that there may be a chance of her being able to use one of the ponies there. Kathy and I exchanged e mail addresses and will keep in touch and hopefully take Danni there next weekend. Rob and Julie came for dinner - another roast and Yorkshre pudding one!
On Sunday morning Rob took Danni and Jonny back to Auckland and we had a quiet day at home as it started raining in the afternoon.
Monday was another day at the stables. I say stables but that isn't quite the correct description as in this climate the horses are kept out in the paddocks all year round and rugged up in the winter. We had 2 rides one in the morning , one in the afternoon and when I got there the horses had been brought in and saddled up and their rugs replaced until it was time to get their riders mounted. As there had been heavy overnight rain the rugs were pretty wet and heavy. I was introduced to a French girl, Emma, who is to be working there for the next month. Another small world experience as she comes from Dax which is about 30 miles from where we live in les landes. When the students - all Korean- arrived we bridled up the horses and led them out one at a time so that the students could get on at the mounting block. It was only a small group in the morning so after walking around the low track we ended up in the paddock where the students had a photo shoot which gave Emma and I the chance to have a canter around the sand track there.
I chatted with Emma over lunch and asked her if she knew of anywhere near Mont de Marsan/Dax where I can carry on going out for a hack. She said that most places would be nearer the coast, which is too far to go on a regular basis, but that when she returns I can go over to her and ride with her.
We had more riders in the afternoon and it rained quite heavily so we were all pretty wet when we got back. I helped untack the horses, rug them up and put them out in the paddocks before returning home for a welcome shower and some dry clothes.
We had heavy rain overnight on Monday and most of Tuesday. Late on Tuesday afternoon we went over to Rob and Julie's for dinner. Rob had recorded the Olympic cross country eventing so I was able to watch some of that before we ate. It had been a day off for Rob so it was he who had prepared our meal which was very good.
Wednesday I was back at the stables again for a morning ride and an afternoon ride. Lunch was snatched on the hoof as there wasn't a lot of time between rides. The riders were Japanese this time. Although they are here on a language course they do different activites to give them a taste of life in NZ which is why they come to the stables.
Another horsey day on Thursday and the weather looked pretty iffy. It had rained heavily over night and Roger told me that we had had 50mm of rain. First ride was supposed to be at 10am but due to the coach driver getting lost it was 11am before we set out with a group of 24 Japanese students. Thankfully the rain held off but the ground was very muddy and the streams running down the hills on our ride were full. Due to the delay of the first ride the next lot arrived as we got back and whilst they were getting on their wet weather gear the heavens opened. Luckily by the time we got them all mounted the rain had almost stopped so it seemed that the delay earlier had been fortuitous. After taking the bridles off and giving the horses their feed I left for home and a late lunch. It was sad to say goodbye to Leonie, a German girl who is leaving tomorrow.She has been there for a couple of months and I have got to know her well.
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