The Snowy River Ride

Day 1: Arrival day

Today’s the day, globetrotters – your Snowy River Ride is about to begin! You’ll need to arrive at tonight’s accommodation, Karoonda Park in Gelantipy, between 3 and 6pm. Here you’ll meet your guides and fellow guests, and settle into your private room, before tucking into a shared dinner.

Day 2: Native Dog Flat

This morning begins with the first of many heavenly breakfasts. Over the course of the trip, you’ll be treated to such delights as fresh fruit salad, chia pudding, eggs and bacon, smoked salmon bagels, sourdough bread and granola. When everyone’s had their fill, you’ll be driven to the trailhead to meet the fine, fit horses who will carry you for the next five days, and head out for a scenic test ride. This is your chance to get to know your horse, and familiarise yourself with the tack and riding style the horses are used to.

Back at the trailhead, you’ll enjoy a cuppa and a few tasty, homemade morsels before jumping into the four-wheel-drives and following the horse trucks to Native Dog Flat. Nestled among boulders, eucalypts and bottlebrush, with kangaroos and wallabies hopping to and fro, this is your base for the next two nights. The horses will be unloaded and have a rest while your guides whip up lunch. Loosen your belt buckles, globetrotters – these guys go all out with the catering!

The afternoon ride is a loop from Native Dog Flat along Brumby tracks that weave through groves of ghostly snow gums crowning hills and vying for space between speckled boulders. Returning to camp, you’ll find your tents set up and a crackling fire beckoning.

Day 3: Summit Mount Cobberas No. 1

Waking up bright and early, you’ll warm up over coffee and breakfast, then pack your bags and get ready to ride. The aim of today’s trek is to ride to and from the summit of the oddly-named Mount Cobberas No. 1. Standing 1,834 metres high, this peak is crowned by a jumble of ancient rocks. Leaving your horses tethered on the slope, you’ll scramble up in pursuit of the sweeping view from the summit, which stretches from the Cobberas down to the Snowy River and even, far in the distance, the peaks of Kosciuszko National Park.

After lunch on the mountain courtesy of the trusty packhorse, you’ll ride back along a narrow ridge and densely forested slopes, eventually re-emerging at Native Dog Flat in the late afternoon. Here you’ll be able to enjoy a camp shower before digging into dinner while the horses, kangaroos and wallabies all graze nearby.

Day 4: Wulgulmerang Recreation Reserve

After a cosy night in your safari tent, and hopefully a sleep-in, you and the horses will savour a relaxed morning at camp. Everyone has earned a rest after yesterday’s trek up and down the Cobberas! Your guides will take you to Wulgulmerang Recreation Reserve for some horsemanship lessons tailored to your interests, a 4WD excursion and a short walk to ‘Hanging Rock’ on Worlds End Spur. This lookout offers remarkable views across the Alps, including the area where you’ll be riding tomorrow.

Day 5: Ingeegoodbee Track

This morning you’ll warm up over coffee and another delicious breakfast, then pack your bags and get ready for a transfer via the historic ghost town of Suggan Buggan. Back in the saddle, today is one for the history buffs: you’ll ride along the famous Ingeegoodbee Track, which predates European settlement by untold centuries! During the colonial era, this track was the first gateway into Victoria for those who built the first settlements and, later, for drovers moving cattle from Monaro to East Gippsland. Currently also used as a vehicle track, there will be chances to spread out and enjoy a canter as you climb towards a clearing now used as a helipad. If the weather is fine, you’ll have lunch here, looking out over the Alps.

In the afternoon, you’ll descend along Lighthouse Ridge, then across to another ridge near the windswept slopes of Middle Mountain, where you’ll find canvas teepee tents, a camp shower, and a hot meal cooking on the coals.

Day 6: Middle Mountain

Today your guides will lead the horseback climb up Middle Mountain, which rewards your efforts with its glorious panoramic outlook across the Snowy River and beyond. While you snap some photos to share back home, your guides will serve scrumptious baked goodies for morning tea.

The remainder of the day’s riding is a gradual descent through gnarled, wind-sculpted native pine forests that eventually leads to a beautiful, serene campsite on the banks of the Snowy River. There will be enough daylight left to take a swim, if you’re feeling brave, or explore your surrounds on foot while the team takes care of the horses and rustles up another moreish meal.

Day 7: Summit Mount Phillips

It’s your last day in the saddle, boo! But don’t worry, globetrotters, it’s a day to remember: following Brumby tracks, you’ll ride up and over Mount Phillips – some of the steepest and most thrilling riding of the whole trip. Keeping an eye on the often-rocky trail your horse deftly navigates, you’ll spot delicate, vibrant wildflowers blooming between the roots of native pines. Then, looking up as you reach the summit, you’ll be greeted by another glorious view over the land you’ve traversed in the past few days.

The journey ends at Willis campground, where you’ll bid a fond farewell to the horse who has carried you all this way. Then you’ll be driven back to Karoonda Park for a celebratory dinner and a well-earned rest.

Day 8: Departure day

After one last delicious breakfast, it’s time to say goodbye to your guides, crew and fellow guests, and head for home.