Six Day Horse ride in Kosciuszko National Park Part 1

Horse riding isn’t just for the girls, although being the only guy in a tour group, other than ride leaders, can be a bit daunting. I wondered how I would fit in with a group of 9 females, and was a bit apprehensive to begin with. It was my suggestion to Ann that we did this ride. I had spent time in this region in my younger days but mostly skiing and working. To come back and do something completely different was a bit of an unknown for us but totally exciting. After all we have ridden motorcycles in Cambodia, Kyrgyzstan and Nepal. How hard could it be riding a horse in Australia’s high country. Bring it on!

DAY 1

We arrived at the campground at 4:20 PM after driving in rain all the way from Canberra. It seems our first 3 days will have a few wet ones in there if the weather forecast is any indication. We met the crew, had a few nervous Nelly drinks and some nibbles, and met the rest of our tour group. The rain didn’t seem to be letting up so sitting around the fire all singing Kumbaya wouldn’t be happening.

 As the afternoon transitioned into evening the rain settled to a light drizzle and eventually stopped. We all moved the chairs around the fire and sat and enjoyed the moment. Slowly the numbers began to decline as riders called it a night. 

Back in our tent we had a camp stretcher each. Ann and I shared a tent and it didn’t take me long to settle into bed and go to sleep.

DAY 2

We were up at 7am ready for a heart starting coffee and breakfast. After a serve of scrambled eggs, bacon, fried tomatoes, fried potatoes and some beans we were ready for our safety briefing. With that all done we were introduced to our trusty steeds for the day. I drew the gypsy Cob ‘Baby eyes’ AKA Django. Ann had Joker and Frances had Blizzard. My horse, being a Gypsy Cob, has feathers on his feet. Before we leave, we all make our own lunches from a selection of salad vegetables, meats and wraps. They are put in zip lock bags with our names on them and stowed in the saddle bags on the trusty pack horse Apple.

After a brush down we saddled up and got them ready to go. A short familiarization walk around the yard and we were on our way. We all had Drizabones on in anticipation of getting some rain. Slowly the flat turned into a slope and then a steep incline until we reached the top of the hill. The view over the valley was breathtaking, and the rain in the distance was moving closer and closer to us. We could also see a small herd of brumbies in the distance, and we were feeling privileged that we had seen them. One of the obstacles you need to be aware of in this part of the world is there are a lot of bogs and boggy ground. The lead rider checks the bog before we all cross and it is important that we follow the lead. Any deviation from the path (or pad) could end in disaster with a horse being badly bogged. The bogs are a charcoal grey mud and Django’s feathers went from white to black in an instance. We pushed on, and as sure as the sun sets in the west, the rain started. It didn’t hang around for long, just enough to annoy the hell out of you. We were on our way to our lunch stop ‘The Gavel Hut’. This is a picture perfect spot for lunch, and in a matter of minutes Hoff (one of the tour leaders) had a fire made and the Billy on for a tea or coffee.

It was also a good spot for a toilet break for the ladies with a lot of low shrubs. After having our lunch, a billy tea and toilet break we mounted up for the ride back to the base camp. The ride back was over similar terrain as the morning. All up we rode around 16 km and coming back to camp my mount picked up his pace. We had a few trots along the way and it took me a bit to get used to his trot. Being a larger breed horse, it is a little different to the thoroughbreds and Standardbreds I have been riding. I wasn’t ready to get him to a canter just yet. He is still getting to know, me and I am getting to know him.

Back at camp we took off the bridles, breastplates and saddles and took the horses down to the waterhole for a wash down with an electric pump and hose. Django was predominantly chestnut and white when we started but came back with very black feathers. There was no way we could get then back to white and it would have been futile anyway as we would encounter more bogs during the week.

Feeling a little bit sore everyone migrated to the fire and settled in for some nibbles and drinks before dinner. The crew do a great job at meal times and this night we had selection of vegetables and porterhouse steak. We all passed on dessert and opted for few drinks before retiring for the night. The night was cooling down and the sky was clearing. It was going to be lot cooler than we had the previous night.

DAY 3

I slept well considering my aches and pains, and could feel to cold morning air as I emerged from my cocoon. I didn’t want to get out but knew I had to. Eventually, braving the elements I made my way to the camp kitchen, come meeting area. I was the first one up so didn’t feel so bad about my aches and pains. These aches and pains are the result of long standing injuries from my time in the army. I have learned to live with them but they do give me some grief at times. I am not letting them get in the way of me enjoying life like this.

After another great breakfast, we saddled up the horses and prepared our lunches. All packed and ready to ride we mounted up and started out on our trek. It was an immediate uphill start through some thick bush. I was at the back of the pack and the girls in front had lost track of the leaders so called a stop. We eventually caught up and continued on our way. As we were coming down the slope, a herd of brumbies raced down the hill into the plain. The brumbies in the park are a controversial topic. They need to maintain around 3000 for heritage reasons. These are supposedly direct descendants of the horses from the first fleet. (Or something like that) The method of counting them is antiquated and new methods using thermal imaging and AI put the numbers at around 2500. Hopefully the new methods will be adopted and they will be saved from the cullers rifles.

We ventured out onto Boggy Plains and saw a few more herds of horses in the distance. As soon as they saw us they whinnied and raced off. We continued on to our lunch spot on the other side of the underground waterfall. This is Brads name for this as you can hear the water but cannot see it because of the rocks on the top of the creek line. Horses were tied up while we had lunch and a cup of billy tea. One of the horses spooked when I came back from a walk and broke off the tree it was tied to. It was a job to get it settled and the tree removed.

With lunch finished we started our way back to base camp. Django must have sensed we were heading home and muscled his way to the front of the pack. It was another climb up the slopes after a few creek crossings. One obstacle you have to look out for is wombat holes. One hole collapsed under Django and he went down with me still on his back. He recovered quickly but the fall caused my saddle to move to the side. I had to dismount and reset my saddle. We continued on and eventually arrived back at base. With the saddles and tack off we took our horses to the creek for a sponge down. Django was more interested in eating than having a bath. We put the horses in the long paddock after their bath and made our way to a well earned camp shower. Todays ride was around 25 km and both horse and rider deserved a good break.

The camp shower is a dedicated shower tent with a 12v water pump. The hot water system is a beer keg on the open fire with a pipe that takes water poured from the top to the bottom of the keg. An outlet at the top allows the hot water out. This is a design I am familiar with from my Army days. After a quick hot shower we settled in for the evening and another great meal.

We sat around the campfire for a while contemplating the days ride. In all it was a great day but tomorrows forecast wasn’t looking good. A possibilty of up to 20mls of rain might dampen the ride. As I retired for the night it had started a light drizzle. The rain seemed be increasing as the night closed in. Around 12AM the thunder started and by now the rain was pretty heavy. Suprisingly it was a warm night, and during the night I had to open the sleeping bag and take off my shirt that was now soaked in sweat.