Australia's
Premier BYO Horse Travel Site
Australia's
Premier BYO Horse Travel Site
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e-news May/June 2006 |
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Welcome to our May/June newsletter …We’re
still busy researching BYO horse travel information for all you horse
enthusiasts out there - and letting you know what’s happening around the
country. Have Horse … Will
Travel continues to grow and we’re almost at the one year mark.
Do we have some great give-aways lined up for you when we turn one
in July - keep your
eyes out for details in our next e-news on how you can win ‘presents’
from many of our supporters including Pet’n’Vet Direct, Zilco, Green
Pet, Kingstons, New Pet, and Dust’n’Boots just to name a few.
ATHRA
– what is it? Today ATHRA boasts
115 clubs nationally with a membership base of over 3260.
ATHRA is structured to optimise the benefits to its members.
It has a National, State and Club based management. ATHRA is primarily
a leisure trail horse riding organisation that provides to its members the
ability to ride anywhere that permits horse access and with any ATHRA
club. What this means is, once you become an ATHRA club member, you belong
to a national organisation. This
effectively opens up the whole of Australia to our members and wherever
they travel with their horse, they’re sure to be welcomed by the local
club and enjoy the riding and hospitality of that area. The organisation
provides to its members a comprehensive set of benefits that include but
is not limited to;
Clubs normally
arrange at least one ride per month sometimes more - this could be a day
ride lasting around 3-6 hours, weekend rides covering the entire weekend
or longer periods - ATHRA NSW’s Snowys Camp in February lasts up to 10
days. Of course you don’t have to ride the entire time, you can elect to
just stay in camp and relax. ATHRA is a way of
life for the whole family, it provides access to the most remote and
beautiful places most people only dream of!
What’s stopping
you? Join a club today, Visit www.athra.webhop.org for additional information. Railtrails Australia Railtrails Australia is a national not-for profit organisation
that promotes the preservation of old rail corridors for alternative
public uses. They liaise with a variety of groups to promote the rail
trail concept. They publish a quarterly newsletter, books, brochures and
maps. At present there is in excess of 1500kms of rail trails
throughout Australia, with a further almost 5000kms planned for
development. These trails are most prolific in Victoria and Western Australia
although there are plenty for development across the country.
These trails link communities and preserve our
history and natural heritage. While some rail
trails currently allow horses, many don’t (often because of lack of
horse rider input during evaluation). The Lilydale -
Warburton rail trail east of Melbourne is probably the most popular rail
trail and its committee allows horse riders on the main trail, providing
facilities such as horse yards and water troughs. It is believed
there will be a trend to seal the main trail surface of well used sections
of most major rail trails over the next few years, which may exclude
horses unless side trails are developed.
This is because, to date, the development of rail trails has been
pushed mainly by walking and, particularly, bicycling enthusiasts. The horse riding
community is significant and greater use of rail trails will lead to
improvements on existing rail trails and justify the development of more
trails. Many rail trails
are developed and run by voluntary committees of management and voluntary
friends groups. Even those fully managed by local authorities still rely
on community input and may have voluntary friends groups. Railtrails
Australia urges horse riders to assist in the development and ongoing
maintenance of rail trails through participation in management committees
or friends groups. Railtrails Australia also has no horse
enthusiasts on their committee at present – they would like to see
this change. Horse rider participation is obviously most important in trails being
developed or seriously investigated such as the Riverina Highlands (NSW),
Tarana Oberon (NSW), Goulburn River (Vic), Adelaide Hills (SA) and
Brisbane Valley (Qld) – see information under individual states below
for more detail on some of these trails. There is also more information available on these and other trails at www.railtrails.org.au. If
you want to see these trails developed for horses, please contact
Railtrails Australia and advise them of your interest – they are keen to
hear from all horse riders! Buying or selling a Horse –
use
the link from our home page … Buying or selling a Horse –
use
the link from our home page … Mid
year break The next School Holidays are scheduled for mid year so start planning now …
Whatever you decide to do, wherever you decide to go … make
sure you make the most of travelling with your horse by supporting the
properties advertised on
www.havehorsewilltravel.com.au.
We have both agistment and accommodation listed so make the most of
your time off!
Rail Trails - Lilydale –
Warburton (in service) Located in the Yarra Valley, 40km east of
Melbourne, this 38km rail trail provides a backdrop of mountains following
the Yarra River valley. There are plenty of good places to stay and good
things to consume in the region’s cafes, pubs, wineries and restaurants.
Horse yards and water troughs are provided along this trail.
For further information see www.railtrails.org.au.
queensland
Kilkivan Great Horse Ride Well – the 21st Kilkivan Great
Horse Ride has been and gone. Held
on the 8th of April, it attracted 1124 riders on the 5
separate trails from far and wide. The
next ride will be on 14th
April 2007 – so put it on the calendar – it is a must!
Ride Report Annual
Outback Muster and Drovers' Reunion
In an age of helicopters and road trains, it was necessary to
recognise and capture some of the stories of these men and women whose
lives comprised of many lonely miles in the saddle taking stock through
the harsh Australian outback along stock routes such as the notorious
Murranji Track. To honour their contribution to our unique pioneering history,
outback workers, drovers, stockmen and women were invited to attend the
reunion. It has become an
annual pilgrimage to the home of the ‘stockman’ each year since. The reunion gives them an opportunity to reminisce of days gone
by about tales around the campfire, the camaraderie of the drovers’
camp. For visitors to the
Hall of Fame at reunion time it is a unique opportunity to experience
the living history of our legendary drovers. Sounds like a fun event - we’ll let you know the dates for the
17th reunion when they are to hand!
Visit www.stockmanshalloffame.com.au. The
Tick Line … For further
information on entering the “Protected Area” and arranging inspection
please contact: Please – do your bit to keep Cattle Tick out of NSW Tom Quilty
Gold Cup
Brisbane Valley (Qld) rail trail Queensland
Transport have, at this stage, banned access to the undeveloped sections
of the railway. The line reached
Esk in 1886 and Yarraman in 1913. The line closed to Yarraman in 1988 and
to Esk in 1993. Express your
interest in this trail being further developed with www.railtrails.org.au - they are keen to have horse rider input. Inaugural
Trans Tasman Style Competitive Trail Ride Noosa
Hinterland Horse Market
Oakbank - Mount Pleasant Rail Trail (under
evaluation) This former railway
is in the jurisdiction of the Adelaide Hills Council, which in 2003
commissioned a feasibility study into the best use of the land. The report
recommended it be converted to a rail trail (which the council agreed with
but consider it beyond their means to do so). They are hoping that a state
government department will take on the task.
Railtrails
Australia believes a local community group is required to get this trail going, please contact Railtrails Australia
www.railtrails.org.au
if you would like to see this trail developed.
new south wales Ranges Ride (Annual
Trail Ride) Even though there is a huge amount of work involved, all of it totally voluntary, there is a huge amount of enjoyment involved, not only with the spectacular rides across properties not usually available to the lone rider, but also socialising with the many riders who take part in this event year after year. There is also a great deal of satisfaction after the event in knowing that we have supported a very worthy cause with a healthy donation to the Hunter’s Westpac Rescue Helicopter Service. A full report on
this year’s ride will be provided in the next ‘Have Horse, Will
Travel’ e-news. Information
provided by Thanks
Jackie – we know you’ll have had a ball
– and we can’t wait to see the photos!
Ed King of the Ranges
Stockman’s Challenge  The 3rd Challenge is being
held at the Rosedale Equestrian Complex and Rodeo Grounds in Murrurundi.
The inspiration for the challenge was Archie "Bung"
McInnes who was known throughout the Hunter Valley and northwest as
"King of the Ranges". His
ability to track and catch wild brumbies and cattle in the ranges was
second to none. This event
showcases Australia's top stockmen as they compete in whip cracking,
packhorse, bareback obstacle, cross country, shoeing, stock handling, and
finally a brumby catch and stock saddle buckjump. The event also includes an open bull ride, team
penning, maiden campdraft, rides and sideshows, bush skill shows, Light
Horse display, music, bush dance, market and stalls.
For further information visit their website at
www.kingoftheranges.com.au.
Riverina Highlands Rail Trail (under
evaluation) tasmania
Trail Riders Action
Club Inc (TRAC) Over the years TRAC’s input and
lobbying has seen major changes in the allocation of public monies to
enable safe horse riding trails to be established in the Kingborough area.
This work continues and TRAC holds meetings and working bees as the
need arises. Maps of existing trails are available to members.
If you would like to suggest a future trail in your area, if you are
interested in hearing more about TRAC's activities, or would like to
become a member, please phone the secretary, Sarah Cope, on (03) 6267
1151. More information is
available at www.geocities.com/trailriders_ac/.
Equestrian facilities
needed northern
territory Sorry – nothing
to report! western australia Wild
Horses Kimberley “Hi, the latest is that there is a team of
ten people at the Paraku Aboriginal community at Lake Gregory signed up
for the trapping and training program which will be run by Sheila
Greenwell and Neil Innes. The horses are everywhere
Travel Report Their itinerary The comprehensive
details of the trip will be reproduced over the next few e-news. PART I appears
below …. Our float is
equipped with a camera and monitor, thus we can always see what is going
on in there. We consider this
an essential piece of equipment when travelling for any distance,
especially with your car packed to the hilt, as you are less stressed
about how the horses are travelling and can see any signs of restlessness.
We tow with our Landrover Defender Dual-cab diesel with a
long-range 120L fuel tank. We
like to stop every 2 to 3 hours and give ourselves and the horses a break
for 1/2 hour or so. This does
make for a slow trip but is worth it for lots of reasons, not to mention
that the horses get plenty of practice getting on and off the float and by
day 2, all we had to do was point and they got on themselves.
We always carry two
big cut-off drums for water for the horses, as you never know what
facilities the places you stay have, and a smaller 20 litre bucket for
giving water at road stops - keeping the water up is important.
We also carry a minimum of 100L of water in a sealed drum in the
float, as you never know when you might break down in the middle of
nowhere without a puddle in sight. The
little jigger hose siphon is your best friend.
On this trip we
were basic camping all the way. That
is we mostly just threw out a swag and cooked our own food.
Therefore all of the overnight stops were not at any hotels or
designated camping grounds. Something you need to know – NT to WA More information - WA to NT When we left ELQ,
we initially thought that we would take the horses to Katherine and use
Darwin Horse Transport to truck them to Adelaide, and pick them up from
there, in order to get the long hot stretch through the centre of OZ over
with quickly. Alan Saltmarsh
(Salty) runs his truck up and down from Darwin to Victoria fortnightly,
sometimes weekly as business demands.
We have used him twice before and his service is excellent. But, we decided
instead to do the big journey ourselves and have fun travelling with our
horses instead. So we loaded
up the JR EasyTraveller, and with a fair bit of forward planning, set off
on our adventure. Below are details
of our trip, all distances are approximate. Day 1, Sunday 7th August - ELQ/Kununurra (WA)
to Katherine (NT) 560km Travelling along
the Victoria Highway, we passed through Kununurra, the last town before
the WA/NT border, at around 9am. From
here it is about 500kms to Katherine, our first overnight stop.
Our first road stop
was at the small township of Timber Creek, about 230kms from Kununurra.
There is a large roadhouse on the left with plenty of space to park
a car and float, limited shade, but usually there is some grass for the
horses to pick. Our second stop was at the Victoria River Roadhouse, just
before the mighty Victoria River. The
owners don't seem to mind if you pull into the edge of the campgrounds and
let the horses off for a while. It’s
a good place to stop for lunch and a drink, and the public toilets are
fine. The pub is quite
interesting and you can see all the historical marks where the river has
flooded up to in the wet seasons. We rolled into
Katherine in the late afternoon. I
had arranged previously to stay at the Katherine Show Grounds, Murray
Street Entrance. We were
charged about $11 for each horse and $26 for camping fees.
Good hot showers and toilets were available. Ring the Katherine Town Council (08 8972 1322); I spoke
to a lady named Rose. It is a
little bit tricky to find so make sure you get specific directions from
her. There is a combination
lock on the gate. The yards
available are small and open, but safe, and you can camp anywhere.
One word of warning - the sprinklers came on in the middle of the
night so if you want to roll your swag out on the nice green grass you
might suddenly get a little wet…!
Collie-Darkan Rail Trail (in service) The Government narrow gauge railway line opened in 1907 and closed in 1986-97. Construction of the trail began in 2002 and it opened in October 2005. A section of the trail between Collie and Buckingham is currently the site of a coalmine and will be included in the trail once the mine is finished and the area rehabilitated. An alternative route may be made available in the mean time. There is also great interest by local communities for the trail to extend a further 48km to Williams and possibly another 32km to Narrogin.
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