Salties to Bushies
Ed & Maria's 10000km Horse Ride on Australia's National Horse Trail (BNT)
Related Links:
BNT Webside: http://www.vicnet.net.au/~bnt
Australian Trail Horse Riders Association Webside: http://www.athra.com.au
Healesville
Cairns, February 99
It was pouring with rain and floods were a real threat. Ed and I were sitting in our tent Dying to keep dlY and
our saddles, packsaddles, saddlebags etc were in another tent. All that was missing was the horses. We had
put ads in the newspaper - "Wanted 4 horses for Bic. Nat. Trail, must have friendly characters."
I was thinking of our beautiful home, a l2m yacht we had built ourselves which was now in drydock for an
indefInite length of time. We had raised two children on that boat, educated them with the excellent Queensland
Correspondence School and sailed around the world. I pushed aside a feeling of worry and guilt, it was not
going to be forever, we would soon see our home again. That night we received a phone call from Keith Veivers
in Kuranda which was to change our lives from old salties to old bushies.
Dear, gentle and patient Keith, who gave us as much advice as he could and we were able to absorb in two
months, who told us that the indents above a horse's eyes weren't some strange disease, but quite natural!
"Go on buy that horse if you're so keen."!
We were so lucky to meet him and often when making a decision we would think, "What would Keith do now?"
We were lucky indeed for people who had been horse riding two hours in our lives on hired horses, to end up
with such a great team of horses. The horses were very patient with us and as time went by they taught us
exactly how it should be done and showed us where the best paddocks were.
I won't say we didn't have our little mishaps here and there, but the longer we were on "the road", the more we
enjoyed ourselves. After two months on the Trail we had to
George's Creek
buy another horse. We called him Gunnawarra, as he had no name, after the station we bought him from.
Unfortunately being an ex-racer Gunnawarra wasn't able to cope, even just walking along. In Ogmore Lynne and
Carl Rackemann offered our poor Gunnawarra a home, which was gratefully accepted. The latest reports were that
he was doing fIne, put on weight again and made new friends. We are very much indebted to these great people.
We were down to four horses again and we were going to be very careful buying another horse. By the time we
rode towards Bouldercombe the grass was pretty dry with very little value. We decided to ask the Bouldercombe
Trail Riders Club if we could spell the horses for awhile to give them a real break. Val Brown and John Thing of
the Club made us very welcome and they supplied us with all that was needed. These people were always ready
for you if you needed anything, nothing was too much. Their kind and generous hospitality was a boost to us
and our horses. We both had lost a lot of weight on the Trail and fInally put some back on again. Tania Goodman
supplied us with a food dehydrator so we did some meat and vegies whilst at Bouldercombe and that helped a
lot as it was very light to take on the Trail. After three weeks we were off again, with regrets to leave new fiiends
behind, but excited to be moving again. Mt Kroombit Station, which meant to us the Kroombit Tops, "for
experienced trekkers only"! We looked at each ther and burst out laughing. ''We'll be alright," Ed said. I nodded
and knew it was true. We were made welcome by the
amily Rideout, and we enjoyed a very social time with them, a time that went by much too quickly. We met Eva
Lohmann in Biloela, who had done the entire Trail by herself and we admired her tremendously because
Ayton (Bloomfield)
we knew it wasn't always easy, to say the least. It was time to go, advice from NeiL Alan and lsabel ringing in our
ears,we were off. Dear lsabel who looked after our photos as if they were hers and Alan who was so passionate
about the Tops and without his markers it would have been impossible. The Kroombit Tops were tough and rough
but impossiblypeaceful and remote. Our packhorses did so very wel occasionally I felt sorry for them, but they are
tougher than you think and the Kroombit Barracks paddock was a welcome reward. We all enjoyed the peace and
quiet of that precious area and all too soon we were nearing Cania Gorge and Monto, where we were to meet up
with the family Goody. They as well as the Rideouts treated you like family. And it was here we met with Blaze
Malakoff .We were on the lookout for an extra horse and Girlie Goody offered to sell us one of her horses. This
was an excuse to stay a bit longer in the area, the horse had to settle in and see whether he was going to be
accepted by the other horses. This gave us an excellent chance to explore the area and Tom Goody was only
too happy to show us around and introduce us to the locals.
One could spend years on the BNT, alas we had to go. Eventually we ended up' near the NSW border, but not
before making a stop at Murphy's Creek, Lynn Andrews' place. Lynn kindly offers trekkers a place to camp.
She has that certain magic that makes you stay longer than you intended With winter coming on we decided to
agist the horses for awhile and leave Killamey again in August so we found good paddock near Gatton with
friendly people. We have been on the Trail for a year now and would like to thank all the people we have met who
were so very kind and gave us that special feeling. Our thanks go to the volunteers of the BNT without whose
help it would be impossible to do this trip. Our special thanks to Ricky, the sensitive one, Beau, the obedient and
worried one, Blue, the one who looks after himself; Barney Boy, the baby and loveable one, and of course Blaze
Malakoff the gentle fiiendly one.
Blue Mountains
After our winter break we found our horses in A 1 condition with beautiful shaggy winter coats. We were
extremely grateful to our dear friends the family Robinson who faithfully counted heads every day and fed
them extra just when they needed it. Luckily the horror stories never came true. Our horses didn't run away
when they saw us again, rather they sniffed and pushed and shoved us welcoming us back in the pack again,
like brothers gone too long.
Brumby Hill
At that particular time Queensland was battling 0 drought and bushfires, as was part of NSW. If we were to
continue our trek, we had no choice but to make food drop offs at least well into NSW, which we duly did. It was
a tearful farewell and only with the promise that we would be back, we got away.
After such a long break it was strange to be back on the road, but it didn't take us long to get used to the peace
and quiet of the bush. What bliss. And how good it was to have the feed when we needed it.
It struck us that travelling in NSW was totally different to Queensland. Where in Queensland you will find
kilometres of the same sort of country, NSW scenery would change dramatically from flat country to mountain
terrain with cool rivers running and green, lush flats. We enjoyed it to the full. The Boonoo-Boonoo River area
and the Mann River made big impressions on us and we also enjoyed the huts along the way with their historic
backgrounds, most of them still in very good conition. Again we made many friends along the way, too
numerous to mention, but we will always be thankful for their support. They live the Trail with us and
understand the good times but also the bad times. Such a bad time was our trip through the Guy Fawkes River,
a stretch we had looked forward to. We had not done any major rivers before. In Newton Boyd we were
approached by Tom Armitage, who told us we could not go into the Guy Fawkes because of fires and culling
ofbrumbies, but he was not an authority so we went to Keith Watkins of 'Silvanella' who kindly offered to
ring NPWS for us. We got the all clear to go in but were told it was true and Keith sadly said he had heard
so as well. We could not believe it! Here we were, opening the Olympic Games with 120 horses and proud
of it and 6 weeks later' killing all the brumbies in the most cruel way one dares think 'of! Not only that, they
also killed some s'ort of heritage, after all these horses' ancestors had helped build up this country. To say
we were shocked is putting it mildly. For a few days we spent time in the Guy Fawkes River, but it was too
quiet and the atmosphere didn't feel good. We had not come for this. We saw 30-40 dead brumbies just
lying there, but the saddest part was the poor black brumby, staring into space, standing in between his
dead mates, not even moving or acknowledging us when he saw us. Now there are a lot of opinions about
culling brumbies and other non-native animals and one could go on forever about it, but there was no need
to be so cruel and barbaric, not in this day and age. We are always so keen to take the American example, well
let' s do it and put aside a massive piece of land for the wild horses of Australia, just as the Americans have done.
Old Field Hut
After our long tiring climb out of the river valley we arrived in Ebor where the people listened to us full of
understanding, just what we needed.
When the next day we picked up our mail at the post office there was a copy of Tracks 2000 and we werre
absolutely flabbergasted to see Brian Gilligan's face on the front page. We do realise the BNT needs to liaise with
NPWS but this was not a very tactful thing to do so quickly after the event and knowing that most BNT members
are horse and donkey lovers, we felt betrayed.
I would like to end this partly sad story with a translation of an Arab poem, as an ode to all horses in the world,
sick, poor,
dead or vibrant and alive,
He created the horse and said
You shall be without an equal
You shall fly without wings
You shall combt without a sword.
Ed & Blue in Cooktown
The Macleay River had a mind of its own and made us wait for 12 days. Some of the crossings were still a bit high but we
made it. This was pristine country and made you feel so good to be alive, although it was rough at times finding a way
through. At Yarrowitch Shane Carey showered us with goodies one only dreams about whilst on the Trail and Sue and Max
Cross paid us a surprise visit one night carrying cold beers and healthy snacks.
Christmas was just around the corner and the locals in Nowendoc invited us to their annual X-mas party which was
gratefully accepted. Heather Stackman and Lynn Henderson of Nowendoc Country Motel took us around the forbidden
area of the Curricabark and drove us to Tamworth to buy supplies.
But it can't be all fun and games along the Trail. At Sandy Hollow my poor Beau had developed colic and a vet was duly
called in. Early detection made for a quick recovery and Beau was soon out of his misery. Living with your horse surely has
the advantage of you knowing if something is wrong. Then, not long after, I got word my Mum was very ill: the person who
loved what we were doing. While 1 made arrangements to fly back to Holland she died. Ed and Philippa GemmellSmith rode
the horses to Taralga whilst 1 paid my last respects to my Mum and family. Is there such a thing as a favourite place in this
beautiful country? Sure, what we had seen so far and then the Blue Mountains, Snowies and Kosziousko all had a beauty
and fascination of their own. We felt privileged that our four-footed friends had been able to bring us there. Against all odds,
we DID like Canberra and its inhabitants (we never
met any pollies, thank God!) And we spend a full week sightseeing. All too soon Omeo loomed. Omeo is Arlene Loveland.
Arlene has done the entire Trail and is forever trying to make her section better for BNT trekkers. As we wanted to buy a
new packsaddle so we could carry food for the horses she insisted we take one of her horses, Missy, a tough old cookie of
20 years and one of her packsaddles to try to make the last section to Healesville a little easier. Reluctantly we agreed.
Maria & Beau in Healesville
The Victorian Alps are rough' and tough and the days were long and tiring for all of us.
A lot of the Campsites are now victim to 4WD camps or taken over by blackberries. Many times we were forced to carry
on in search of feed and we often had 12 hour days. On one such a day Missy had an accident and could not be used anymore,
and that same night Ricky fell down the river embankment, but luckily got away with some minor cuts and scratches.
Anybody who" is going to do book 12 (except in a good season) should do so with a support vehicle. It is
just too hard on you and your animals.
Marysville, and the kindness of John and Jo Kasch of Narbethong who only understood too well and took us under their
wing. Two nights of their company and we were ready to go again. This was the last leg and a sadness crept into my heart.
We had no knowledge of horses before we had started out and now I could not imagine not being on the Trail, telling Beau
off for nipping Blue on the bum or not to worry because it was only a kanga that he had heard! The tiny figure of Linda
Meerman was spotted in the distance. She had walked the trail a few km's to welcome us all to Healesville and congratulate
us on the event. That night she cooked us a beautiful dinner and we felt thoroughly spoiled!
. We would like to thank all the people involved with the BNT, without whom there would be no Trail, all the friends we
have made during this trip and our vets: Paul Sheedy, Jan Spate and the Vet Clinic in Denman. Our particular thanks go to
Arlene Loveland for looking after our boys.
Ricky,Blaze,Barney,Beau & Blue
Yacht "White Pointer" in Futu Hiva
