Yesterday was the day we left River Valley for good! Although we're over the moon not to be slaving away most of the day it was very sad to say farewell to the gang.. They were such a hilarious, friendly and interesting lot that, and I can speak for both of us, it'll be a surprise to find a similar bunch ever again! We made an occasion of the finish to our slave days by doing the dreaded and infamous 'River Run' - a potent combination of Vodka, Sambuca, Drambuie ...

This morning I finally went on my horse trek! I wasn't too sure what to expect after the guide spoke to me the day before and to judge my ability she said 'basically, can you really hold on?' but I told her I could and was so glad I did! I had the biggest horse out of the 3 of us called Rico. He was a bit mischievous at first but I soon managed to tell him who was boss! We went trekking for about 2 and a half hours in total and saw some incredible scenery (it's k...

After hours of intense washing up, sweeping, keeping the fire roaring and sorting out bedrooms I finally managed to do my first activity 5 days in. I went white water rafting with Dave, a mate from River Valley, in a two man raft down the Rangitikei River for a few hours. It's a Grade V river which basically means a lot of nasty rapids to tackle along the way! After 10 metres into it I was having one of the best times yet in NZ.. Was great fun getting some surf.....

Hello! Yesterday we arrived at River Valley Lodge and here is where we will be working for 2 weeks in exchange for...free accommodation, 3 meals a day, free wifi, free laundry, free use of the spa and one activity (horse trekking or white water rafting) per week! Last night we were really spoilt and got given the nicest room in the whole lodge! Today we had a very long day of work though, deep cleaning all the rooms, showers, toilets, common area (which is huge) ...