Cardrona High Country Pub Trail Horse Trek (Intermediate level+)
Recommended by 100% of travelers
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Wanaka, New Zealand
- 3 hours 30 minutes (approx.)
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
Saddle up and explore New Zealand’s rugged wilderness on this half-day Cardrona High Country Pub Trail horse-riding trek. Learn about historical locales along the winding mountain trails from your guide. Pass through a working cattle farm, traverse choppy rivers, and enjoy panoramic views. Stop at the historic Cardrona Hotel for a complimentary drink, then return to base along the Cardrona River. Best suited to riders with at least intermediate-level experience.
- Small group trek ensures a personalized service
- Trek with a guide to keep you safe and on the trails
- All tuition provided but this trek isn't suitable for beginners and kids
- Includes drinks and the use of riding helmets
What's Included
- Beverage
- Professional guide
- Use of helmet
- Souvenir photos (available to purchase)
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- 2125 Cardrona Valley Road, Cardrona 9382, New Zealand
20 minutes self drive from Wanaka, 50-55 minute self drive from Queenstown. Look for "THE CARDRONA HORSE TREKS & QUAD TOURS" and the famous 'Bra Fence’ Please note WE CANNOT WAIT IF YOU ARE LATE!! Please arrive on time for your tour, refunds will not be issued for late arrivals/ no shows.
End point
This activity ends back at the meeting point.Operating hours.12:30 pm
What To Expect
1
The Cardrona
2
Cardrona
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Not recommended for travelers with back problems
- Not recommended for pregnant travelers
- No heart problems or other serious medical conditions
- Travelers should have a strong physical fitness level
- Children must be accompanied by an adult
- Operates in all weather conditions, please dress appropriately
- **PLEASE SPECIFY YOUR HORSE RIDING ABILITY UPON BOOKING SO THE APPROPRIATE HORSES ARE SELECTED FOR YOUR RIDE**
- THIS RIDE IS NOT RECOMMENDED FOR BEGINNERS OR SMALL CHILDREN - see "The Gold Discovery Trail"
- WE CANNOT WAIT IF YOU ARE LATE!! Please arrive on time for your scheduled tour, refunds will not be issued for late arrivals/ no shows.
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 7 travelers
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Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Featured review
Jena_C
I had a lovely time on Stu! He had a personality and kept everyone in line. The trek is through mild hills with lovely scenery- sheep, deer (a baby was born during our trek!), cows, and lupins galore. Truly a beautiful and memorable experience. The horses were ready for the trots/canters in designated safer areas to do so, which was fun. Also, the horses looked happy and well cared for. Our guide was also super nice and informative. I highly recommend this experience!
Reviews
5.0
based on 271 reviews
Charles_R, Dec 2025
Absolutely wonderful time. Sasha and Phoebe were great guides. You’ll have a great time if they are leading your group. The horses were the best - so sweet! Def an amazing tour!!!
Jena_C, Dec 2025
I had a lovely time on Stu! He had a personality and kept everyone in line. The trek is through mild hills with lovely scenery- sheep, deer (a baby was born during our trek!), cows, and lupins galore. Truly a beautiful and memorable experience. The horses were ready for the trots/canters in designated safer areas to do so, which was fun. Also, the horses looked happy and well cared for. Our guide was also super nice and informative. I highly recommend this experience!
Gordon_C, May 2025
What an amazing ride. Our guide Summer managed a group of 6 whose riding skills ranged from none to experienced. She did a great job of keeping us together while telling us of the history of the area. Due to our group skill (or lack thereof) we had less gallops than we would have wanted but she was able to get us riding fast once everyone was comfortable.
This was a beautiful ride in a beautiful, historic area!
Michelle_H, Mar 2025
Ashleigh did an outstanding job giving us a wonderful experience through the beautiful landscape and farming sections. Horses were in terrific condition and a joy to ride! Lots of areas where we could trot and canter.
Leslie_R, Mar 2025
Perfect experience , very well kept horses and the guiding was informational and we felt safe the whole time.
Jenny_J, Dec 2024
Horse riding is definitely the most wonderful and unforgettable experience for me. All the coaches are very nice and responsible. Multiple Landscape views are truly beautiful. Thanks very much Kel and all other lady coaches to provide such amazing opportunities to us!
Torsten_K, Nov 2024
Our tour guide, Marley, was delightful and knowledgeable. She catered towards our novice riding skills and displayed great patience. Our horses, Pat and Willow, were perfect for our situation.
Response from Host, Nov 2024
So glad you both enjoyed yourselves! And I’m glad you found out that horse riding wasn’t so bad after all ;-) we love to look after newbies here, see you next time!
Sylvie_F, Oct 2024
Great guide, good ride 😃 horses were fit and did behave well. Could have been a bit more canter, but it was very nice to walk with the horses through that nice nature.
DawnMarie_K, Apr 2024
We had a great day riding in the Cardrona Valley. Great staff, and beautiful horses. We are beginner riders and the staff was really helpful in picking out the right horses for us.
Beverly_P, Mar 2024
Superb ride through the high country around Cardrona. Horses were well-behaved but lively, easy to ride. Great fun to canter through the fields, great views, past cattle and deer. Fun stop at the historic Cardrona Hotel for a beer or beverage.
maryanne_s, Feb 2024
I was surprised that we were going to ride in the drizzle and was a little nervous but Emily was great. She offered me some waterproof clothes, helmet and off we went. She was a great equestrian and excellent communicator. Took a real interest in us and I was very grateful because I hadn't been on a horse in years!
Catina_K, Dec 2023
This was such a great trip! My daughter’s (20 and 11) and I did this trek and it was great. My 11 yr old and I have never been on a horse, Emily was so helpful and careful with my daughter. She was scared to keep going after the first time we started trotting, Emily got off her horse and help my daughter feel more comfortable and ran her back and forth twice so that she felt more confident and we continued the trek. I definitely recommend 10/10!
Bradley_D, Nov 2023
Never expected to ride horses In New Zealand but my wife and I were in Queenstown looking for things to do and came across this trip.
Easily one of our top highlights of New Zealand. The weather was great and the views were absolutely stunning. The group wasn’t large which made it really nice just getting to enjoy the ride.
Our guide was Summer and she did a great job making sure we all had a good time and she was very knowledgeable of the surrounding areas.
We rode Pete and Pat and we fell in love with them. They were so well trained and made it extremely easy to ride even though we hadn’t ridden horses in over 10 years.
If you’re near Queenstown and want an unforgettable experience then definitely do this ride. They’ll pick your horses based on your experience, so there’s no need to be nervous if you have never ridden or haven’t ridden in awhile.
Grant_S, Sep 2023
Well behaved horses. Beautiful scenery. Good guide. High country tracks. Not for feint hearted. Nice beer at pub.
David_P, Mar 2023
Amazing experience!! Great views all along the way! Kelly was informative on the tour while riding, but we also did a decent amount of trotting and cantering. Would definitely recommend this tour!
CarolJean_S, Feb 2023
Had an absolute blast on this trek! My husband and I enjoy horse rides every now and again, and this is the top of the list. It was a significant and beautiful trek around a mountain and we got to do a little trotting and cantering on the horses. Emily was a great guide and made sure we were all had fun and were safe!
Sophie_B, May 2022
Such an amazing trek. The views were absolutely stunning and the horse riding was amazing. It’s so good for all skill levels, Kelly who guided us made those of us with minimal skill feel compete and safe and those on the trek who were quite experienced had so much fun too! It was such a great experience being able to tie up your horse outside the pub and go for a drink, I’m not sure if I’ll ever be able to do that again! Highly recommend this trip to everyone!!
Caitlin_M, Feb 2022
Lovely horse ride together.
Loved the place they went as each rider had different riding experience.
I loved the horses eating willow tree on the way home.
John the horse likes to get your feet wet in the river with his high stepping.
Great tour guide too
Sam and I enjoyed this on our honeymoon
Steven_H, Feb 2020
Guide was excellent and made sure we had the appropriate horse for our level of experience! The route we rode on was lovely and had good views of the Cadrona Valley!
Brian_S, Apr 2018
Really nice tour with interesting info about the history of the area. Ally was great at talking to everyone and making them feel comfortable and matching them with a horse. There were 4 in our group: one had never been on a horse, one had only ridden twice, and the last two of us had a little bit of experience. Ally gave great instructions and made everyone feel comfortable and confident. We had a nice ride up into the hills with her giving us some interesting details about the area and history. The stop at the historic hotel was a nice break the cider was very refreshing, and then we finished with a canter back to the stables.
Tip: There isn't any shade along the ride, so make sure to put on sun lotion!
From $410.79
per personup to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
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