[Sydney, New South Wales Escapade with HTC EVO 3D] – Horse Riding, Parasailing and Dolphin Watching

October 23, 2011

4 minute read

The second day of my Sydney escapade with HTC EVO 3D, hosted by Destination New South Wales, started early in the morning at 8am.

Willy, Eunice and I checked out from Oaks Pacific Blue resort after a quick breakfast and were on our way to Nelson Bay for horse riding, parasailing and dolphin watching.

I am not much of an adventure traveler usually, but after the quad biking and sandboarding experience the day before, I find myself game for more! In fact, towards the end of the trip, I actually regretted not signing up for sky diving like Willy did!

Amazing what a few days down under can do to a geek like me.

There's a pool right outside my room at Oaks Pacific Blue, pity I didn't get to use it — There’s a pool right outside my room at Oaks Pacific Blue, pity I didn’t get to use it

View from my hotel room's back door — View from my hotel room’s back door

Nelson Bay is a suburb of the Port Stephens Local Government Area in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia. It is a major tourism centre, particularly for dolphin and whale watching, surfing, diving, fishing and other recreational aquatic activities.

I love the sea and water sports. All the listed activities were up my alley. As for horse riding, I have not try it before other than those lame “sit-and-pose-for-picture” kind. Our guide, Duglass assured us our horse riding experience won’t be of this variety. Duglass herself has rode horses from a young age and was happy to share tips with us on our car ride.

When we arrived at Nelson Bay, the sun was shining brightly, with a gentle breeze blowing. Perfect weather for all our activities.

First up was horse riding with Allen, the owner of Sahara Trails Horse Riding and Farmstays.

The horses we rode on are all trained by Allen himself. He strikes us as a country person through and through. Someone who really enjoys working with animals.

Allen leading out his horses which we will be riding on

Allen allowed us to trotter the horses a little. This was much tougher than I thought; I cannot imagine how difficult it must be to GALLOP the horses! Now I know why equestrian qualifies as an Olympics sports. There’s so much skills involved, communicating and bonding with the horses as well as timing your body movement with that of the horse’ strides to avoid injuries.

The horse I rode on was called Brave. He is a greedy horse, straying from the formation occasionally to feed on patches of grass. I found it quite amusing, riding on something that is alive and has a mind of its own as a mode of transport.

Eunice's horse taking a feeding break — Eunice’s horse taking a feeding break

A horse riding video I captured, riding behind Allen. I am sorry about the shakiness, but it well reflect how bumpy it was to ride on a horse:

[youtube url=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhRgk3nhleg&”]

Willy's ride on the left and my ride, Brave, on the right — Willy’s ride on the left and my ride, Brave, on the right

Allen getting ready to demonstrate a gallop to us

Eunice in a parting shot with Allen and the horses

After horse riding, we head off for parasailing with Port Stephens Parasailing. We got on the speed boat quickly and were ferried into the sea in no time, ready for parasailing.

Whale spotted... an inflatable one — Whale spotted… an inflatable one

The speed boat which will be taking us on our parasailing attempts

Eunice and I went up first in a pair, with Eunice above and me below to add weight. Willy went up alone as he was tasked to do a video recording on the HTC EVO 3D.

The view up in the air was fantastic. I felt like a bird in the sky. With the wind blowing into our faces and gently rocking us side to side as we rest on our harnesses, I felt on top of the world.

Willy showing us the special water proof casing he made for the HTC EVO 3D

Slowly dipping Willy into the sea... — Slowly dipping Willy into the sea…

Eunice using her HTC EVO 3D to take a shot of Willy

When it was Willy’s turn, the coxswain cheekily asked if we would like him to dip Willy into the sea when he lands to get him a little wet. Eunice and I knew Willy came all prepared, decked in water proof clothing from head to toe, of course we answered a resounding yes. Check out Willy’s video to witness the prank:

[youtube url=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9srQeY5VXc”]

Bringing Willy in after we have dipped him into the water

To round out our adventure at Nelson Bay, our last stop was dolphin watching with Moonshadow Cruises.

Lunch was served on board the cruise ship itself. There were both Western and Asian fares, much to my delight. The meal is included as part of the dolphin watching cruise package, quite worthwhile for the price.

The Moonshadow cruise ship we will be boarding for dolphin watching

Eunice's healthy leafy lunch — Eunice’s healthy leafy lunch

This was the first time I came into close proximity with wild dolphins. It was an absolute delight watching them speed through the water with grace and some playfulness.

You can swim with the dolphins in the this net

Fellow passengers watching dolphins from the upper deck

Visited the ship control room and spoke to the coswain — Visited the ship control room and spoke to the coxswain

On the cruise ship, heading back to the dock

I captured a 3D video of the dolphins in action with the HTC EVO 3D:

[youtube url=”http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSMFrbnLkM4″]

After all the excitement in the first half of the day, we embarked on a 3 hour car ride back to Sydney city for a Crave Sydney International Food Festival event at Hyde Park in the evening.