Only 20 minutes inland from the historic Hurunui Hotel on the way to Hanmer Springs, Island Hills Station is tucked into a peaceful hidden corner of North Canterbury.

The Island Hills Station horse trail is a lovely ride through a diverse range of landscapes from open pastures to bush clad hills with breath-taking views into the towering mountain peaks of the Organ Range.

Bring your own horse and self-guide along a well marked private trail. It is true station riding, with varied terrain and lots of hill work. Although there is plenty of easy wide grass track to canter through, there are also plenty of challenges including, creek crossings, rock/shingle surfaces, narrow single trail goat tracks, over hanging branches and plenty of gates to open and shut. We highly recommend that horse are shod.

Open from the 1st week of October until mid- March. For larger groups or bookings outside of the available dates please contact shaun@islandhillsstation.com 

The ride starts with arrival at the Cook House (shearers quarters) accommodation the evening before starting on the trail. Your chosen booking date refers to the evening of your arrival. You can arrive any-time between 5:30pm and 9:00pm. There is float parking, sheep and cattle yards, a horse paddock and options to tape off an area to accommodate your horses over night. Arrival to the property involves driving 9 km of gravel road and crossing a ford with your float or truck so please keep in touch with the track manager if heavy rain is likely. The ford is used regularly by stock trucks, bee keepers trucks and 4 wd utes. The ford is about 1 km from the accommodation and there are options to leave floats parked there if necessary. 

The over night accommodation at the Cook House is a converted shearer's quarters built in 1914, she has electricity, hot water, fully serviced kitchen, BBQ and dining facilities, bunk beds with pillows and fresh pillow cases provided. You must fully clear out of the cook house before you depart on the first day of riding. There is also a quirky farm museum which will provide you with a sure memory of your childhood and a glimpse into high country station life many years ago. There is no cell or internet reception on the property. The huts have VHF radios for 24 hr call in to base.

The ride begins at your leisure the morning after the first night's stay, however your horse feed, tack gear, food, chilli-bins and bags containing your sleeping bag and belongings for an over-night stay will depart from the Cook House at 8:30 am to arrive at the Valley Camp Hut by 10:00am.

The first day of riding covers about 18 km and has an average ride time of 5 hours.

You will arrive at the Valley Camp huts where your gear will be waiting for you. The area has a horse paddock with stream water and space to erect tape fences if required. It is recommended that you bring insect repellant for your horses and give them plenty of space to move about, as the sand flies will harass them at times. 

The Valley Camp is a well equip lodge style accommodation facility with fully serviced kitchen, BBQ and dining facilities, bunk beds and plenty of privacy. The luxury of hot showers, super comfortable beds, pillows and solar lighting makes for a neat hut experience.

The second day covers about 12 km with an average ride time of 4 hours to return via some different trails back to the Cook House car park.

There are options to short-cut back to the car park at any time during the ride by connecting onto the main arterial farm 4 WD tracks that run along near the trails. Most 4 WD utes and floats could operate along the main farm tracks to recover injured horses.

Dogs are welcome on the track, please check the requirements on the Island Hills Station website https://islandhillsstation.com/dogs/ 

By the time you have finished this Island Hills Station trail riding adventure you will feel like you have experienced high country life and learnt a little about the history while travelling through a very beautiful part of our back country.

Payments/Cancelations/Transfers/Refunds policy; Payments are to be made in full at the time of booking, however 25% deposits are acceptable for large group bookings that are reserved more than 3 months prior to start date. Those who have selected to pay by bank transfer must have deposits paid within 3 days of booking. Full payment must be submitted within 30 days prior to the start date or the space will no longer be reserved and will become available for others to book.  Full refunds will be allocated to the purchaser for any reason up until 7 days prior to start date of the ride. Within 3-6 days prior to start date the purchaser can opt either for cancelation of the booking with a 50% refund or to put the booking on hold with no extra charge for re-scheduling a later date (re-booking start dates are subject to availability and must be advised by e-mail to the operator).  Cancelations within 48 hours of start date/time of the ride will not be able to be refunded or rescheduled. Any booking rescheduled within 30 days of the start date will not be eligible for future refunds and will not be eligible for further rescheduling. If the facility is closed by the operator for any reason full refunds will be allocated right up to the start date of the ride.

Check the booking calendar below for availability, your booking date refers to the evening of arrival prior to the first day of riding. If your preferred space or start date is not available we will still be able to arrange something to suit your group so please contact shaun@islandhillsstation.com