The Shoalhaven Ride

This year's big trip began with horseriding and friends, and wonderful horses on the Globetrotting Shoalhaven Ride in NSW.

But first, I had to get to Canberra. I arrived at Launceston airport nice and early at 8.30, expecting to land in Canberra at 1.15 for a relaxed 'arvo of cultcha' in the nation's capital, but no - nature had other ideas. 

The fog was so thick in Launceston that no planes could land. The plane coming from Melbourne to collect me was delayed in the hope the fog would lift. Then they flew to Launceston, they tried to land, twice, but it was too dangerous so they returned to Melbourne. Then they had to wait for a new pilot to try again, finally landing after 3pm. We could only just see the bottom of the hills on the side of the runway, but we left. 

Now, I was too late for my flight from Melbourne to Canberra so they put me on the next and last flight of the day to Canberra. I was very happy to see Deb and Jack waiting for me at 10.45pm! And Loretta who flew from Cairns and had similar delays, arriving just before me. Our texts during the day were hilarious as we shared our details. We had to laugh.

The next four days went without a hitch. Perfect weather. Great friends. Just the four of us as that is their maximum group size, so it was a 'private' ride for Loretta, me, Anne and Deb. It began with our host, Tiff treating us to lunch st a winery.

There were more wineries over the four days wine tastings and meals, as well as fireside stories and scrumptous meals prepared by our hosts Tiff and her parents, Lorraine and Lenny. 

How's this for a lunch spot on our first ride? That's Lorraine setting up high tea on a cliff top overlooking Kangaroo Valley.

But of course the real stars were the horses.

Loretta on Simba, Anne on Phoenix, me on Apache and Deb on Shiloh.

My boy, Apache was a real little gentleman who looked after me and gave me plenty of fun too. He is an Australian Heritage Stockhorse with a pedigree that can be traced back to the 1840s. Pretty special.

Apache didn't like wine, but he did love his treats at the end of each day's ride - carrots, dates and licorice.

Thinking about a splash in the river before lunch.

There were plenty of long trots and canters through the bush and along gravel roads.

We were taken to Bundanon, a beautiful property set up by artist Arthur Boyd which hosts a gallery, art workshops and events and a restaurant on the banks of the Shoalhaven River.

That was on the way to a beach ride on different horses with another trail riding company. 

Everyone loves a canter on the beach. 

And yet another wine tasting after riding, of course.

Two dinners at local reaturants and two at Tiff's home where we stayed. Excellent food and even better company.

I had a room in the house.

The Shoalhaven Ride with Eqwine Escapes (yes, that is the correct spelling!) was a wonderful five days of indulgence, the prefect way to begin my seven weeks of wandering. Here are a few more photos, just for fun.

Loretta enjoying the views.

My first dessert. There were more. Yum!

Great friends.

Splashing in the river. Apache thought it about it for awhile before he joined in.

Relaxing at a winery.

Picnic lunch on the river bank.

Apache, my new best mate.

Kati Thanda - Lake Eyre

My reason for venturing so far into South Australia's far north, began months ago with floods in Queensland. That water has been flowing into Kati Thanda for a few months.  

Lake Eyre South remains dry, white-crusted with salt.

But Lake Eyre North, the largest part of Kati Thanda has filled to an estimated depth of 3 metres.

Some parts are green due to algae and silt.

The northern inlet creeks. The Warburton Groove.

There are birds down there. A few pelicans, not many as they somehow seem to know the water will not remain long enough for their chicks to hatch and mature. How do they know? 

We also saw flocks of Arctic Terns and black ducks but they were too small to show in photos.

The shadow of our plane, a tiny speck on the water below.

Sunshine glistens on the surface.

In places the water is developing a pinkish tinge due to increasing salt levels and salt-loving bacteria.

In other places the water appears very blue.

It is massive. Over 9000 square kms. Lake Eyre North is 144kms long and 77kms wide.

Also massive is The Marree Man. The world's largest art work, according to our pilot. 4 kms long, 28 kms in circumference, carved into the landscape by persons unknown, discovered by a pilot in 1998. It would have required someone with a bulldozer, a GPS system and a lot of diesel to create. 

Our plane. A Cessna fully loaded with 14 passengers. Everyone had a window seat.

Thanks to Arid Air and pilot Tek for a fabulous, probably once-in-a-lifetime experience.

After two hours of flying, I refuelled Sally and we headed south for a few days with my granddaughters and then home Tassie.