18 of us set off with our driver for the next few days, Al, on a half-sized Kiwi bus to explore the east bit of the North Island. It was really nice to take a break from the bigger buses and get a bit more up close and personal, plus it was far more relaxed and chilled, with late morning leaving times etc. Unfortunately the guy to girl ratio was heavily in favour of the 5 guys, but I got to know some of the girls quite well so we'll be traveling together on and off for the rest of my time here which is cool. We stayed in Gisborne the first night, where I met up with a friend I met in Europe (Anthony the kiwi vet) for a bbq, about 200m down the road from our Chalet Surf hostel, overlooking the beach! 
The next night we stayed at Eastenders Farmstay, in the middle of nowhere, but also very close to the eastern-most point of New Zealand, so in the morning we all got up early and trekked up the hill to be one of the first people in the WORLD to see the sun of the new day!
That afternoon we all went horse-riding, but the tide was too high so we couldn't go on the beach :( I rode Tyson, who as you can imagine is made pretty much of 98% muscle!!
We had some nice gallops up the hills on our own (nobody else could keep up!) until I got to a spot where I wasn't sure where to go so decided at the last minute to try and stop him, pulling a heavy left and swerving sharply into the gorse bushes! I flew off over the side and had a cushioned, if not soft, landing, and am still finding thorns in places you might or might not want to know about... jokes but I did pull one out of my bum cheek in the shower the other night!
I decided to go again the next morning to try get another shot at the beach. I rode a different horse, East As, who is very young and only follows other horses which was a bit frustrating. I decided to be a little less cautious than the day before and go a bit wild, and so before we had even hit the beach I was galloping on the grass flats chasing cows. Of course she had to follow some other horses so swerved sharply without letting me know and once again I flew over the side and managed to find some form of pricklyness. I landed on my right side/back on the hard ground with my helmeted head in a thistle bush! But this time I didn't bounce back up, cos I was winded and in shock! I couldn't get back on so the others continued the ride and Al had to take our horses back and come and get me in the bakkie! So I lay for an hour in pain, surrounded by grazing cows and persistent miggies. They took me to the doctor, a south african (!!), who gave me painkillers and anti-inflammatories, so for now I've gotta take it easy which is frustrating cos I want to do the Tongariro Crossing and other walks, activities etc...
I did time it well though, cos our next stop, Te Kaha, was a nice house on the sea, with a very homely feel and dogs and cats and nice people etc.. so I decided to stay there 2 extra days, and so did some of the other girls (my slaves!). Everyone was so nice to me and helped pack and carry my bags (and carry me!) so I felt very well looked after!
Now we're back in Taupo for 1 night, and then off to River Valley for 2 nights of more chilling.
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