July–August 2015 105DESTINATIONS
Author’s routelightning storm sparked small fires. A
few feeble coils of smoke rose in the
distance and a helicopter buzzed
overhead in a hazy pink sky as we were
given the all clear to continue through
the park and on to Kellys Hut. The
small weatherboard hut was purchased
for just £15 in 1958 and reassembled
at Wild Horse by Pat and Kelvin Kelly,
mountain cattlemen from Omeo. It
provided refuge during the musters,
but today is used by trekkers and
skiers travelling cross-country.
We were grateful for its presence as
we sheltered from the downpour –
which had hit us thick and fast at the
end of a day spent lazily loping across
the Plains – and Lin regaled us with
tales of stockmen caught, literally, out
in the cold. One such story was that of
legendary cattleman George Fitzger-
ald, the Kellys’ neighbour on the
Plains, and Billy Batty, who survived
two nights in the snow without food
or blankets before digging a 1.6km
trench to drive their mob home.
The following day, under a persis-
tent drizzle that caused our soaked
horses to shiver, we picked our way
through more local history. Track 107
led us south-east, from Wild Horse,
down to the Mount Wills Historic
Area and our next camp at Big River,
which rushes between the Bogong
High Plains and Mt Bogong.
Snaking through the Glen Wills
valley, 107 was hand-laid in the early
1860s by pastoralist Angus McMillan.
He was head of the Alpine Expedi-
tion, a government-funded project to
open tracks between goldmining areas
in the mountains, and he and his men
paved nearly 350km over 12 months.
McMillan was paid about “a pound a
mile”, Lin said, which doesn’t seem
like much for a job that saw him
crawling on his hands and knees in the
bush, often on his own after his men
had abandoned him to join the rush to
strike it rich. In the end “he died,
basically a broken man, trying to
complete his contracts”.
Some of the original stones were
still visible as the horses gingerly
negotiated the steep, slippery path,
just wide enough for a wheelbarrow to
be pushed along. They jumped over
fallen logs and we ducked to avoid
low-hanging branches. As the rain
eased and steam rose from the rumps
of the horses ahead of me, the only
sounds to be heard were their heavy
breathing and the crunch of leaf litter
under their hooves.CRADLE COUNTRY, TAS
Ride through the Vale of Belvoir in
the shadow of Cradle Mountain
on this multi-day trek.
http://www.cradleadventures.com.auDIGGER’S REST STATION, WA
Over 3–14 days, visit the spectacu-
lar Kimberley region on horseback.
http://www.diggersreststation.com.auMOUNT BUNDY STATION, NT
Join this 2.5-day horse trek to
experience the Adelaide River
region and the diverse landscapes
of the Northern Territory.
http://www.mtbundy.com.au/horsetreksVICTORIAN HIGH COUNTRY HORSE TREKSaddle up!
A horse trek is a unique way to
explore Australia, and experienc-
es can be found across the nation.OFF THE BEATEN TRACK
Travelling more than 100km
through the Victorian High Plains
and along historic routes to
cattlemen’s huts (above), this
seven-day horse trek exposes the
wilds of the High Country. Find out
more: http://www.bogonghorse.com.auAlpine NPVIC