Lou McNutt has led a life jam-packed with adventures.
From working with reindeer in Alaska, cougars in Canada, snow leopards in Mongolia, Siberian tigers in Russia and wolves — her particular favourite — in the United States, she has a passion for wildlife conservation, particularly large carnivorous animals.
And the adventures show no sign of abating as the gutsy 30-year-old tackles one of her biggest challenges yet; riding the length of New Zealand on horseback.
Embarking on such an ambitious journey has been a long-held dream and it has finally become reality as she treks up the country with ponies Pedro and Koru.
During a stop in Omarama this month, Ms McNutt said there were a few reasons behind the 2500km trip.
As well as having the courage to undertake such a big dream, she wanted to inspire young people to chase their own dreams.
"For me, I had this dream. It took some time to have the courage to do it," she said.
Finally, she decided she "just needed to make it happen".
"Really, it was just time to ... do it, rather than dream about it."
People needed to do things that challenged them, made them happy and pushed their limits so they could grow as a person, she said.
Stories she read as a child of explorers fuelled her passion and interest to do things in the outdoors.
She was keen to explore the country, horses were the perfect mode of transport and she also wanted the challenge of planning and preparing for such a journey.
As an added challenge, she wanted to "be a bit different" and use Kaimanawa horses to show the wild horses could make useful ponies. She is also raising money for a volunteer-based kiwi conservation group.
Brought up riding ponies on a sheep and beef farm near Waipukurau, in Hawke’s Bay, Ms McNutt has a master of science degree in applied ecology, with honours, from Norway. She has been involved in international fieldwork, working and volunteering as a research assistant in Mongolia, Russian Far East, Myanmar, Pribilof Islands, Norway, Italy, Canada, Alaska, Minnesota, Montana, New Zealand and, more recently, Kenya.
She said she loved travelling and enjoyed working with large carnivores, particularly in places "off the beaten track".
She also enjoys working with local people — including a group of about 30 Masai people in Kenya — and learning about their culture.
Initially, Ms McNutt was overwhelmed by the scale of her latest adventure, so she had to learn how to break it down into manageable chunks, such as what she was going to eat, or learning how far a horse can trek in a day.
She set off from Bluff last month and, in the first two weeks, travelling on both highways and back country roads, the ponies encountered "every type of vehicle" — from dirt bikes to Harley-Davidson motorcycles and combine harvesters.
Despite Koru only being seven months out of the wild, both ponies had coped "amazingly" and taken the traffic in their stride.
She said she usually took a day’s rest after three or four days’ riding. She aimed to carry about 10 days’ supplies and be self-sufficient and she had not been planning to have a support crew.
However, having her friend Simon help out over the summer had been "super helpful", as he stocked her up with supplies and would be there to help out when she crossed Canterbury rivers such as the Rangitata and Wilberforce.
Otherwise, she was not bothered by spending so much time alone, saying she always enjoyed her own space.
She has had to "chop and change" her gear along the way as she figured out what worked. Other things she had learned included how to pack and secure her load, repair her gear, splice ropes and correctly trim hooves.
Each leg of the trip had its different challenges — it was traffic in the first week and, as she got into the high country, it would be the weather, rivers and high passes, she said.
Getting riding fit had been a challenge for Ms McNutt as, while she was fit, she was not used to spending six or seven hours in the saddle a day.
"I ended up with quite a sore backside to start with."
She said she had encountered "amazing" hospitality throughout the journey and was hugely grateful to generous landowners for allowing her on their properties.
She spent the nights in either a tent, woolsheds, shearers’ quarters or back country huts.
Based on other riders’ experiences, such a ride usually took about eight months. She hoped to have the South Island leg finished by the end of March.
Pedro, her main riding horse, was bought as an unbroken 5-year-old, and his dam was a Kaimanawa mare. Koru, now gelded, was a 7-year-old stallion caught in last year’s wild horse muster. Kaimanawa horses were tough and hardy, made good riding ponies, and she wanted to highlight that.For Koru, it was like he was "going on his own adventure" rather than coming out of the wild and being enclosed in a small space.
"I’d like to think hopefully it’s not a bad life for him."
Growing up, Ms McNutt had heard of large stations like Nokomai and Erewhon and to be able to pass through those places, or see them, was "pretty special".
She was grateful for the "huge" support from sponsors. She had budgeted on the trip costing about $15,000, although it might end up closer to $20,000.
Rather than carrying heavy shoeing gear — and she was not confident she could do a good enough shoeing job — the ponies wear slip-on hoof boots to protect their hooves, which were "fantastic".
Safety is a big focus and she carries a satellite phone and a personal locater beacon.
Ms McNutt was often asked what she was going to do when the trip was finished. She said there were plenty of other adventures she would like to tackle, including a camel adventure, and a pack-horse trip in the United States.
She did once try a "normal" job but she found it "so boring".
"Being stuck inside was not good," she said.
Always, the horseback trip was in the back of her mind, and she thought she would never settle until she got it done.