We drove to Whakahoro to Blue Duck Lodge where they have a big conservation project taking place to preserve the Blue Duck which is an endangered specie. Unfortunately it was raining when we arrived so we had a cup of tea whilst we listened to Dan the owner talk about the history of the area and the work he is doing.The lodge is a working farm so people could try out goat hunting, clay pigeon shooting or go on a safari.Due to the weather most of us opted to chill out.Due to the size of our group we had to split between two buildings to sleep in.We were a short drive away in what resembled an old fashioned cottage.It had a working fire so we lit it and sat and read girly magazines under blankets for the afternoon and then when some of the group were due to do clay pigeon shooting we wandered up with them to watch. Devon looked like a proper hunter with a gun in his hand and there was a bit of friendly competition between the guys participating. We then walked back and posed with some real hunters' guns and looked at all the horses in the fields.

Devon, Catherine, Sarah and I cooked dinner and then a group of us from the lodge chatted over a glass of wine.