Days 87-95, 1,535-1,725km Morgan to Jamestown

I'm just going to say it: I think this may have been the best week of the trip so far. So much landscape diversity, from the bare mallee country between Morgan and Burra to the lush green pastures surrounding Jamestown. So many long days, yet so many rest days. So many great chats with passing folk. And so much generous hospitality. SA, I think I'm in love.

It was a momentous day when we left Morgan. We had been following the Murray for around 1,300km, from when it was hardly more than a babbling mountain stream up in the Victorian High Country. We saw it transform from a muddy minor river into the Mighty Murray after its junction with the Murrumbidgee. We drank from it, sat beside it, searched for grass along its banks, were terriefied by its pelicans.... Did you know that the Murray is listed as being the 16th longest river in the world? It wasn't easy to leave. But we had to get across to Burra, over a stretch of barren mallee 85km long. So I loaded up the boys with feed and we set off for Bundy Bore Station, a massive 45km away. It was a big day, but pleasant, following quiet back roads away from the highway, and a welcome sight when I finally saw the windmill of the station ahead just as the sun set, and a distant figure waiting by the road to welcome us. Trish and Peter were the most perfect of hosts, feeding the boys hay, giving me a bed, and setting us up with a route for the next day, across more back roads and through their next property, where they had set up a water trough staging post for us. So kind.

The next day we climbed (!) up and over the first hills since.... oooh, probably back somewhere near Corryong, and looked out over World's End Highway and across the Goyder Line, into the land of milk and honey.... by which I of course mean the land of water and grass! The Goyder Line runs East-West across SA, a clear boundary of rainfall between North and South, on one side mallee, on the other grazing and cropping. For example, Burra receives approx. 430mm of rainfall each year, whereas Morgan, only 85km away, receives only 250mm. What does this mean? GRASS, And we all know the equation of horse travel: grass=happy horses= happy days.

Burra is a beautiful town, with a fascinating history and picturesque prospects around every corner. As I was grazing the boys by the road on the way through town, a car pulled over and my newest guardian angel, Bernie, jumped out to chat. Before I really knew what was happening, I found myself welcomed into her home, the boys munching on hay, myself freshly showered and sharing a brandy and a yarn with her husband Tim in a perfect English pub, built into a corner of their shearing shed. So great. I love horse travel.

The next two days were rest days for the boys, whilst Bernie and I went 4WDing.... kind of inadvertently. A casual scouting of possible routes towards Jamestown led to a full on slip and slide in red clay and perhaps some of the most terrifying moments of this trip. But sadly I couldn't stay in Burra forever, as much as I kind of wanted to, so reluctantly I saddled up the boys and we hit the road again.

And wow, if the past three days haven't been some of the nicest riding imaginable! Rolling hills, amazing vistas, grass up to the horses' fetlocks, and so much green it's making my eyes ache... Or maybe that's the wind. Because it is windy. Good training for the Nullabor, perhaps? South Australians are some of the nicest, friendliest people I have met. From chatting with farmers in utes to intriguing locals in small towns when stopping to by coffee, everyone has been hospitality personified. Take my current hosts in Jamestown, Chelsea and Scott. These folks hosted not only my horses but also myself, gave me a bed and fed me delicious foodstuffs, gave advice on a route plan, and made me feel so welcome.

So thank you, South Australia, for being so great.

From here, we stay in God's own country for a bit longer, heading towards Wilmington, then across to Port Augusta 🏇🌾🌾🌾🌄