Horsey wanderings

Muscle memory is a fantastic thing - the ability of your muscles to learn and remember how to do something without you consciously thinking about it.

I bookended my Canberra wanderings with two weekends of horse riding. I used to ride a lot as a youngster. From the age of 10 to 19 I was very involved in pony club and had my own horses: Sketer, Bel Bel, Fury and Barcoo. (Poor photo quality, I know, sorry.)

But that was about 35 years ago. My preparation for these two full weekends of riding was just three 45 minute riding lessons in August and September. I was very pleased to discover that I could still ride! My muscles remembered how to do everything. But - they forgot how long it had been since those muscles were used in that way! I did get a bit sore, and I pulled or tore an inner thigh muscle on the second Saturday - ouch - but there was no way I was going to let that spoil the fun!

Loretta organised two weekends of riding with four other women. The first weekend was the Senior Saddle Club Sleepover at Burnelee Excursions on Horseback which consisted of a 3 hour ride to a shearing shed where we slept overnight, and a three hour return ride the following morning.

While Pen slept outside in her swag and the rest of us slept on the wooden floor on thin mattresses, except for Loretta who glamped in her swag with extra mattress and deluxe stretcher bed. There was no electricity and the toilet was a camp toilet in the lean-to.

Drinks and a three course dinner under the elm trees.

Burnelee is a working farm and three generations of the family joined us for dinner and marshmallow toasting.

 Tapper was my horse for the weekend. He liked to race the other horses when we cantered up hills.

That's me and Tapper on the right, and Loretta on the left. More photos here like this one and more, taken by one of our guides.

Burnelee was a great weekend of rediscovering my horse legs, and of apples and bananas, aka trotting and cantering. The horses were starting to trot and canter as soon as the lead guide said the words, instead of waiting to be told to by their riders, so we resorted to code words - apple for trot and banana for canter.

 



The second weekend was at up near Oberon, south of Bathurst, at Yarrabin, another three generation family working farm. We went to Jenolan Caves on the way. My new camera has a 'star' setting, apparently - for added sparkle. I must have bumped the setting dial.

Yarrabin was three nights of three course meals, somewhat more comfortable accommodation in motel style units, guest lounge and dining room, games room, swimming pool and spa, with super friendly hosts and guides, and numerous animals as well as horses. Five 2-3 hour rides, 3 nights accommodation with all meals included. Also included were sore muscles and a horse bite - for me at least. I don't think the other women were sore at all as they have all ridden much more than me in recent times.

Lucy and 5 week old Archie

 Very fresh and very local eggs for breakfast

 Tom and Jerry, "Good morning. You are up early. Open the door. Let us out. Come on..."

 Gracie - ute dog!

Each morning began with a walk with Tom (the cat) to bring in the horses, followed by a full cooked breakfast.

Ready to ride! Pen, Loretta, Lisa, Fiona and me

Is there anything more Australian than riding through the gum trees with lots of kangaroos and being swooped by the occasional magpie?

Maybe, riding through sheep paddocks with the Blue Mountains in the distance, to go to the pub for Sunday lunch?

 

We also helped move some cattle from one paddock to another, did lots of trotting and cantering, nearly galloped up one hillside and rode a fun jumps course twice. 'Yeehaa!!' as Loretta yelled out when jumping.

Riding in the back of the ute to help feed the horses at the end of the day.

Breaking two hay bales into at least 18 pieces for all the horses

Loretta brought licorice, carrots, flat bread and muesli bar treats for the horses

Cloud and Loretta

Lisa with Major and Cloud

Cloud following Pen, asking for treats

 Fiona, Loretta, Lisa and Pen hitting the hard stuff at the end of a long hard day

On the way back to Canberra we stopped at Mayfield garden for lunch. The cakes looked so good we decided to create our very own cake smorgasboard. We each bought a different cake and cut them all into small pieces. Yum! A delicious end to a wonderful weekend - 

 

A few more Yarrabin photos

Loretta and Bruce

Jess in the mounting yard

Cloud hoping the black thing in my hand was a large chunk of licorice. He loves licorice. Alas, it was my camera.

The Lookout

Releasing the horses in a paddock near the pub before we went for lunch

"King" Jerry

Archie and Lucy

Coming into the home paddock for dinner

Loretta and Major

Loretta with her favourite, Bruce. Thank you, Loretta - for organising the two weekends of riding and inviting me to come. It was amazing to be back in the saddle! I really enjoyed wandering around in the bush on horseback.

 

 

Canberra wanderings

It is October and it is snowing in Canberra - soft fluffy specks are floating on the breeze, falling from the trees that line Lake Burley Griffin in front of the National Art Gallery, piling up on the grass and around the base of gum trees and native shrubs, coating the water surface around the floating woman in the sculpture garden.

 

Wandering around in our nation's capital is a bit like wandering in a city that is not a city, and feeling calm and suspicious at the same time. The buildings and gardens in the Parliamentary Zone, (yes - that is what the road signs call it) are well manicured, and neatly designed in a European way with an Aussie twist, whatever that is. Traffic and people move smoothly and purposely without any obvious rush, giving the impression of unseen secret important business being conducted all around. It is not crowded at all. It all feels deceptively sanitised, given the recent federal political history, and I suspect many people have been tranquilised into accepting it as truth. Wandering on foot, you see things you miss from a vehicle. That neat grass and tree lined road verge and lake shore is actually littered in places with rubbish hidden in the vegetation. I saw a decapitated snake hanging, deliberately placed, over a tree branch at eye level. Another metaphor for what lurks behind the public façade?

However, I have had a pleasant and relaxing few days wandering in Canberra. I choose to enjoy the beautiful aspects of the surroundings for my own benefit and ignore the rest, best not to analyse some things too deeply. I did not go to Parliament House, or the War Memorial and its excellent museum - been there, done that, on past visits with my sons. This time I treated myself to the National Library, the National Art Gallery and the National Portrait Gallery, and all of their excellent shops and cafes - things you can't do with bored boys in tow.

I also walked up Black Mountain to the Telstra Tower, which I only entered to use the Ladies loo. I had no desire to pay the entry fee to this concrete monstrosity as I had done that in the past too, with my sons. And you do not need to enter the tower to obtain excellent views of Canberra. I'd been looking at it from all directions during my walk up the mountain. I didn't bother taking a photo of the tower. It dominates the skyline in many Canberra photos so you can google if you really want to see it. Of course, it is a useful monstrosity as it does provide telephone, television and tourist fleecing services for Canberra.

Wandering through the bush in the heart of the city was rather pleasant, although hot at times. I enjoyed the musical accompaniment of a large variety of birdsong, although there was a constant backdrop of droning traffic noise. I wonder how many Canberra residents appreciate how lucky they are to share their city with so many wild birds and animals.

This huge male grey kangaroo was nervously standing very tall, keeping a wary eye on the cars pulling in to the carpark in case they threatened his hareem. I saw mobs and families of kangaroos in other areas too.

 

There were flocks of rosellas and sulphur crested cockatoos feeding in trees above me as I wandered up and around Black Mountain. Cheeky currawongs, slightly different to the Tasmanian currawongs in appearance, but behaving the same way, flying down on to low tree branches, watching me inquiringly hoping for some human food. I told them they were out of luck as I had no food with me.

 

I walked mostly alone except for when I met this wildflower rambling group of grey haired, loud talkers - "We haven't seen any orchids yet. We are a bit disappointed." I didn't have the heart to tell them that I was pretty sure I had seen several of the little purple beauties on Mount Jerrabomberra that previous day when walking up behind my brother's house. As I was coming from the opposite direction on the narrow track they all had to stand to one side while I walked past them.

 

Then I walked back down the mountain to the National Botanical Gardens for lunch. Many Canberran places have names beginning with 'National' or 'Australian'. My favourite part of the gardens is the rainforest gully as it is cool and green. The Tasmanian rainforest section almost brought a homesick lump to my throat, but perhaps it is a bit ambitious to attempt to recreate 'Tasmanian mountain lakes' vegetation in Canberra, as that section was a dismal failure.
Several water dragons, about a half metre long, live near the ponds in the botanical gardens. They were quite interesting to watch.

I have also enjoyed walking and mountain biking or Mount Jerrabomberra - or Jerra Hill as my brother more appropriately calls it. Although officially a mountain, it is really just a big tree covered hill.

 

 

October, after the school holidays, is a nice time to visit Canberra. The weather has not yet become fiercely hot and the children are occupied away from the places you might want to visit, and the wildflowers are putting on a show.