If you want a real outback adventure, saddle up and shout yourself horse.
It’s thirsty work riding horses in the midday sun. So when someone suggests stopping for a drink after an invigorating canter, horses and riders relish a break under a shady tree, or perhaps by a cooling mountain stream.
But our leader has something else in mind. Emerging through a grove of eucalypts, she leads us to the most welcome watering hole of all – a quaint country pub, wooden verandah resplendent with climbing honeysuckle. Hitching our horses to the pub fence, Western-style, we dismount and proceed to down an icy cold draught beer, the quintessential Aussie thirst-quencher.
Experiences like this are part of exploring Australia on horseback. There’s no better way to get into the spiritual heart of the nation, literally off the beaten track, to an Australia where the people are brave and courteous, the horses surefooted and true, and the beer always cold.
Natural wonders abound and never fail to astonish. Dingoes howling as they trot down a riverbank; a brumby stallion emerging from the mist like a phantom, teeth bared in defiance; or a huge grey roo on a riverbank, defending itself against a mob of wild dogs, fending off its attackers with its razor-sharp claws.
There are the simple pleasures of being a participant in the landscape – the embrace of a starlit sky as you huddle around a roaring campfire, or watch the sun descend behind fiery escarpments. Add to this the physical pleasure (and pain) of hours spent in the saddle, the absence of technological interruptions, the camaraderie of man and beast, and you’ve got one of the most memorable holiday experiences imaginable.
When a bushfire reached Helen Packer’s retreat The Willows (at Anglers Rest in the Victorian High Country) on Australia Day 2003, only her mud-brick house, some historic cottages and her horses survived the inferno. But the bush is as resilient as the people who inhabit it. Within a year the blackened gums had sprouted fluffy green pompoms and the charred ground was covered in a carpet of wildflowers. It’s all part of the inevitable cycle of life in the bush, which Packer is eager to share with visitors to her isolated patch of paradise.
Accommodation at The Willows is more than adequate. Luxury touches such as Egyptian cotton sheets and gourmet home-cooked meals (including smoked locally caught trout) complement rustic cabins lit by kerosene lamps. A huge open deck off the main house affords incredible views, the perfect place to relax with a drink after a hard day on horseback. And for those who like to socialise with the locals, what could well be the best little pub in Australia, the Blue Duck, is just down the road, offering great food and refreshing ale.
Packer’s stable of stock horses, warm-blood crosses and even the odd brumby, are surefooted and hardy, particularly as they begin the exhausting climb above the tree-line to the Bogong High Plains. Once dotted with brown-and-white Hereford cattle, this open expanse of alpine grasses and wildflower-strewn heath is fantastic riding country, perfect for a gallop. On a clear day you can see the distant ridges of the NSW Alps. The cattle are gone, but there are many reminders of the old days with tin shacks and post-and-rail livestock yards adding to the ambience.
While the High Country holds the honour of the highest altitude in Australia, arguably the most physically demanding – and perhaps terrifying – ride is found in the New England region of NSW.
“We ride where the man from Snowy River gets off,” boasts Bill Upjohn of Harlow Park, a horse-trekking establishment at Uralla. A bold claim indeed – but as I perch on my little pinto pony, staring down into the abyss, I realise he isn’t joking. Upjohn’s ride into the Macleay Gorges is truly the most harrowing experience I’ve ever had on horseback. It’s a genuine adventure, not for those of a nervous or faint-hearted disposition.
Basically, it involves sliding down a vertical scree for 600m – a seemingly impossible task and one that requires absolute trust in your mount. The trick is to sit bolt upright and let the horse pick its own way down with no intervention by the rider. Fortunately, Upjohn’s horses are old hands at this game. Born and bred on these slopes, little Patches descends in style, oblivious to the debris cascading beneath his hooves. I hold my breath the whole way down.
At the bottom of the cliff lies an achingly beautiful valley, verdant grasslands and the bubbling Macleay River. Eucalypts and tea-trees cast shade over the pebbly riverbank. Sandstone cliffs loom behind.
A three-night trek in this valley offers a real taste of pioneering days. Guests sleep in swags under the stars, the bathroom consists of a spade and whatever bush you choose and the river provides ample fresh water for washing and drinking purposes.
As well as being a dab hand with the frypan, Upjohn is an accomplished bush poet and storyteller, entertaining guests with rhymes from Banjo Paterson and his ilk. His favourite character is Captain Thunderbolt, a notorious bushranger said to have hidden out in these gorges in the 1860s.
Campfire tales are also an essential element of riding in the Kimberley, in the far north-west of Australia. The stories you’re likely to hear under the starlit canopy are ancient visions of Wandjina, dreamtime spirits who control the rain and seasons, shaping this harsh and beautiful landscape.
The palette is best showcased at sunrise: fiery red, aubergine, russet and apricot sandstone escarpments coloured as the first rays strike. Morning mists disintegrate to reveal a cobalt sky dominating the golden grasses, rolling hills and red soil plains.
Waterholes and creeks brim with birdlife and crocs; termite mounds stand proud, facing magnetic north; and curious “upside-down” boab trees spread finger-like limbs over bulbous bodies.
This is the final frontier for the horse enthusiast; a tough, raw environment, as close to the Wild West as you could imagine. Days in the stock saddle are long and hot, tempered by the promise of a cooling dip in a billabong – unless there’s a croc, of course, in which case the shower consists of buckets of water, thrown liberally on sweaty riders. Guests tuck into stockman fare around a campfire – freshly caught barramundi or slabs of home-cured corned beef washed down with billy tea. Sleep comes easily under a moonlit sky, snug in your swag.
Kimberley Pursuits offers two- to seven-day rides through this amazing country from Digger’s Rest, a cattle station 30km out of Wyndham. Following stock routes and river systems, you’ll traverse the magnificent Cockburn Ranges and pass through world-famous El Questro station. Following the Pentecost and King River courses, absorbing the scenery, this is a fair dinkum stockman experience. Treks are only available during the dry season (late April to early September) and – sensibly– the daily route is determined by available water sources.
While the pace is not always furious, the long hours in the saddle make this a ride unsuitable for beginners. Princesses and wimps also need not apply. This is as outback as it gets – the real Aussie deal. And at the end of the day there’s always a cold beer to make the sweat, dirt, heat and head-spinning adventure that much more satisfying.
Horse Sense
Harlow Park Horse Riding
New South Wales, Australia.
+61 2 6778 4631.
Kimberley Pursuits
Western Australia, Australia.
+61 8 9161 1029.
Packer's High-Country Horse Riding
Victoria, Australia.
+61 3 5159 7241.
Source: Qantas The Australian Way July 2007
Updated: July 2008