Photojournalist David Savage travels Australia on the OZ Experience…
On the Bus…
From the Sheep Station in Nundle the big green OZ Bus took us to a Horse Station in Bingara. Our journey was via Tamworth, the home of country music in Australia. Every year Tamworth hosts a music festival and the population explodes as thousands of people turn up to listen to hundreds of performers. Tamworth has a ‘Country Music’ feel to it all year round with numerous buskers dotted along the main street. As a finishing touch the town has a giant golden plastic guitar that has become an ‘oh so lovely‘ icon.
The bus took us through some great NSW bush and the driver kept us entertained with interesting games that concluded with several bras and a pair of boxer shorts draped around the windscreen. The mood on the bus has so far been pretty lively making the journey pass swiftly.
Bingara
Bingara is a small and typical bush town, the main attraction is horse riding with Gwydir River Trail Rides, (02 6724 1562). To OZ Experience passengers, the fee is $30 for two and a half hours. This value is pretty outstanding, when most horse riding begins from $20 an hour. The route is pretty amazing and virtually all bush.
I was given a horse named ‘Nelson’. Everyone kept telling me what a fine horse I was sitting on. It may have been a fine horse but this horse wanted to run and it had tactics. It would slow down until there was a largish gap between us and the horse in front. Then it would spontaneously charge and catch up with me shouting,
“Whoa, I’m a beginner, you’re not supposed to run!”
I later found out that Nelson was an ex-trotting horse and had only recently finished racing. But soon enough I became one with the horse and we struck an understanding. At the halfway point on our ride, we crossed a river and found a good spot to swim. Two of the horses swam with us and John, the owner of Gwydir River Trail Rides, introduced us to a form of belly skiing whilst hanging on the horse’s tail.
There is no strict formation to the riding. People are encouraged to ride at what pace they want and move amongst the group. The ride home consisted of a slightly different route and a little canter, my horse Nelson continued to believe it was still on the race track.
Accommodation that night was at The Imperial Hotel fully equipped with bar, pool table and jukebox. The owners put on a ‘Barbie’ to fill our stomachs and take our minds off of our sore arses.
Staying On…
If you’re into horse riding and want to ride in real Australian Bush in true Australian fashion then Bingara is a good place to stay for a while. The riding centre is offering a seven day package for $225 that includes some meals, accommodation, a few farm activities, and a minimum of five rides.
Australian Saying
“Just Too Easy Mate!”
