Australia’s Bush and Beach Ride
2008 Itinerary
Day 1: On arrival, you will be transferred from the Sunshine Coast or Brisbane Airport to beautiful Amamoor Lodge in the heart of the Mary River Valley and introduced to your hosts for the next two days, Cynthia and John Hayes. Amamoor Lodge is nestled on 50 picturesque acres with mountain views. The facilities include queen size bedrooms opening on to wide verandas, a lounge area with open fireplace and a large resort style swimming pool. Amamoor Lodge has a working Cobb & Co. Coach, sulky and carriage, and resident harness horses driven by John. There are also resident wildlife – wallabies, koalas, echidnas, possums and birdlife. Lunch is in the early afternoon, and is followed by a chance to meet their wonderful Australian Stock Horses. You will have a short familiarization session on basic horsemanship and caring for your horse, with, time permitting, a short introductory ride. Dinner is in the beautifully appointed dining room.
Day 2: After breakfast, you’ll prepare your horse for a 9 am departure. You will ride through a beautiful state forest and rainforest country west of Kenilworth. The ride will be about 3 ½ to 4 hours. Lunch at the lodge or a nearby café. The afternoon offers a side trip to Montville, high on the Blackall Range, returning to Armamoor Lodge for drinks and dinner.
Day 3: Dressed for riding, you transfer to Kilkivan, to arrive at The Left Bank at Kilkivan where you will be staying for the next two nights. Kilkivan is the place where gold was first discovered in Queesnland which led to a gold-rush in the area, which finally centered itself around the historic town of Gympie (today the regional center for the district). The Left Bank is an historic building, as it was the former Union Bank in the Kilkivan. Today it is a multi-award winning bed and breakfast and café/restaurant facility owned and operated by the charming hosts, Bruce and Rae Hurley. After being shown to your rooms, enjoy a delicious morning tea. After tea you will start the Wongella Trail Ride, which is part of the trails which make up the annual Great Kilkivan Horse Ride. During this ride you will pas through a variety of open range country and the area called the Valley of the Grasstrees. You’ll ride about 4 hours. Lunch is a bbq served by Bruce Hurley at Mudlo National Park entrance. Local historian and bush poet, Mike Webb, may entertain the group with some of his talents. You are transported back to The Left Bank mid afternoon to explore the town or relax before dinner.
Day 4: You start the day at The Left Bank with a hearty country breakfast, then depart for ‘Jaylyn Downs’, an Australian Stock Horse Stud of over 10,000 acres and nearly 200 horses and quite a few cattle. Justin and Lyndal Hafey are your hosts today. You’ll mount up and ride through the property looking for herds of cattle or horses to be mustered. After lunch you’ll depart for a visit to Goomeri and the Emporium (riding store). Time permitting; the group will visit to Trevor Scott, local saddler and the country pub. Drinks on the balcony before another delicious dinner.
Day 5: After breakfast, you should be dressed for riding with your bags packed and ready to go. The group departs for Kin Kin in the heart of the Noosa Trail Network, to arrive around 9:30 am. You arrive at the Kin Kin’s Country Life Pub and prepare the horses for another great ride, this time on the Noosa Trail Network. You may do the Kin Kin Countryside Loop, complete with ocean and hinterland views, usually about 3 ½ hours long. You’ll have a light lunch and drink at the Kin Kin Pub. Around 3 pm you’ll depart for Noose to check in to your luxury accommodation for the next two nights at either Noosa Springs Resort and Spa, Noosa Blue or Montpellier Apartments. All have swimming pool and spa facilities. Dinner tonight will be at the resort or in one of Noosa’s exclusive restaurants.
Day 6: After breakfast you’ll head to Noosa North Shore to prepare your horse for today’s ride. You’ll ride through the bush to the spectacular Laguna Bay and Teewah Beach for a memorable ride along the pristine Noosa North Shore. Return to Noose for a light lunch, then back to your accommodations to spend the afternoon enjoying a massage, spa treatment or exploring Noosa’s famous Hastings Street, beach or national parks. (Spa treatments are an extra fee.) Alex will arrive to wrap up your week by taking you to Rasa’ Restaurant on Gympie Terrace along the Noosa River precinct for a memorable dinner to complement a wonderful week of riding.
Day 7: Today you transfer back to the airports with a chance (depending on flight departure times) to take in the unique Eumundi Markets or the Aussie Zoo.
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