Three men, four horses and a mule called Bruno.
"Three wise men soon arriving from the north," said my email to friends who already knew the trio was in the company of four horses and a mule.
Mike and Karen Smales were to provide grazing while the farmer and I hosted the horsemen, one of whom is his cousin.
They'd set off from Cape Reinga about 10 days earlier and were headed for Piopio in the King Country.
When Mark Verry had phoned to tell us about their planned jaunt, I had questions and so might you.
A horse truck took them to the Cape and by now it will have met them at Kaukapakapa and taken them through Auckland's traffic nightmare to Pukekohe.
Now they'll be clip clopping along back-country roads and farms as they head for home.
Bruno the mule is enormous - 16.2 hands - and while even tempered, he sometimes stops when it suits him. Once persuaded to get cracking, he's quite likely to halt again - or not.
The idea for the jaunt came from Jon Nelson who lives near Piopio and has a whim for adventure. He easily hooked Mark and David McKenzie from Dannevirke into the mission.
They've slept in sheds, beds and under the stars and have been so generously fed and watered by Northlanders, their supplies aren't depleting at the expected rate. Best not to tell Bruno.
On day one they went to Te Paki Station then downstream to Ninety Mile Beach and a scrub camp.
Near the beach they saw wild horses and on the beach they had a splash in the sea and met tourists on buses.
A German woman wanted to know how to book on their trip.
On day three they reached Ahipara and had encountered 18 land yachts.
Then through Broadwood and a ferry trip across from Kohukohu to Rawene, where they got lots of attention from tourists and locals, many of whom had never met a mule before. Nor had I.
Further south and after a day off, they reached Twin Bridges and Parakao where friends had organised accommodation in a bach.
After a hearty cafe breakfast (as you do when you're trekking), they were back on the back roads.
Crowd-pleaser Bruno enjoyed his third day off from carrying the packs. Each morning they're weighed with a spring balance so the 60kg is equally loaded.
Tangiteroria, Omana, Waiotira where a kind lady offered them a cuppa, Taipuha and to Maungaturoto for a rest day.
From the Smales, their destination was Hakaru so last Sunday, with Mike Smales as the guide, I joined the group along with the Kaipara Hunt's huntsman.
The farmer drove a horse truck to bring us home. We were expected to arrive at 4pm - and we did, after riding a total of 32km.
This accuracy was impressive given our route: farms, road, farms, road, farm, forestry, then, after a breath-taking trot along a short stretch of the State Highway One race track, more road to the lush paddock that awaited the horses.
The patience, kindness, waves and big, bright smiles of all the drivers we encountered was worthy of five stars.
A cool drink later and we were heading home - hot, happy and tired and just a bit pleased not to be doing it all over again the next day.