Chapter 1: Glamping on an equestrian farm
After my work trip to Sydney and Brisbane, and my experience with Australian women (see "A trip Down Under"), I was interested in seeing more of the country, and its people. I decided to go on holiday to Australia. This time I wanted to explore at my leisure, not bound by other people's arrangements and demands on my time.
I wanted to see more of Queensland, and booked a 12-day holiday in November, before the real heat started, and since it fell outside of Australian school holidays. The plan was to drive from Brisbane to Airlie Beach for a four-day stay on a dive charter boat where I could explore the Great Barrier Reef. I booked an off-road camper van, as I planned to camp along the way. Knowing that I had more than a week to travel the 1,100 kilometers, I did so leisurely. I took every turnoff that was marked "scenic route", stopped at almost every roadside stall, and camped at well-appointed caravan parks on the Sunshine Coast. Because I was travelling during off-season, I always managed to find accommodation at short notice, but I knew from reading up on Queensland that even if the campgrounds were full, one could camp at any of the designated free camping zones on the side of the road.
On the third day, one of the turn-offs led me upwards into the Great Dividing Range, with quaint little towns on the way, each with at least one hotel and coffee shop, and interesting museums to visit. I wound my way deeper into the hills, and the road became gravel, gradually becoming steeper, and I thought that I had to stop sooner or later to check my atlas - if there was no through road, I may have to turn around because the sun was sitting low on the horizon already. As it happened, I stopped at the entrance of a nice-looking camp ground named Fig Tree Pocket Equestrian Farm and Camp Ground, and decided to drive in.
I followed the signs saying "Homestead / Office" and was met by a friendly middle-aged couple in the office, that was just a room in the foyer of the old farm house. They explained that although they were semi-retired, their whole family was involved in running the farm, which consisted of stabling and training horses and riders, apart from the camp ground. They showed me a map on which the camping areas were marked, but told me that if I wanted a little luxury, they could offer me one of the "glamping" tents that were not occupied. I have never done glamour camping, and was interested, and when I was told about the hiking trails around the farm, and the fact that they also offered horse riding, I booked a glamping tent for two nights, and arranged to go on a horse ride the next morning.
The glamping tent was just that - a canvas tent that was permanently pitched on a wooden deck on a hill overlooking the farm, with a glass-topped table and two chairs on the outside deck next to a steel firepit. The eight-sided tent was roomy, with a king-sized bed in the middle, a kitchenette on one side, and a little bathroom with a toilet and shower in the other. From the valley below, I could see plumes of smoke coming from the fires of campers and caravanners dotted around the farm rising above the trees. I've always loved an open fire, and quickly set about starting my own. I barbequed lamb cutlets that I had in the fridge of the camper van, and heated a prepared creamy potato dish in an aluminum tray on the side of the fire. I enjoyed my solitary dinner sitting outside on the deck, sipping on a delicious Australian Shiraz, and went to bed early.
The next morning, I was up at dawn, and took one of the marked hiking trails into the hills. The route was fairly strenuous, and although I was fit, I had to stop a few times to catch my breath. I arrived at the stables a good 20 minutes before 9, and found that there was a single female staffer busy tending to the horses. The first view I had of her was of a lovely backside, bent over to tighten the leather girth under a horse. Below the pair of tight buttocks, I was treated to a display of two long shapely legs, clad in tight black riding leggings with a wide pink stripe running down the outside of each leg. She had on a pair of bulky men's work boots, but that contrast just seemed to accentuate her shapely legs.
When she stood up and turned around, I saw that she was wearing a short military style jacket and a black baseball cap with a show jumping motif printed in pink on the peak. She was even more stunning from the front: a beautiful face with wide cheekbones, big blue eyes and a little button nose. She wore no makeup, and had her long blonde hair in a tight braid. The only adornments were a pair of earrings, but she was gorgeous in a wholesome, front-page-of-a-farming-magazine sort of way. As I walked closer to greet her, I realised that she was almost as tall as I was - close to 6ft, if not taller. I guessed her to be around 26, but learned later that she was 22 years old. When she smiled, her face lit up, and with it, my whole day.
She held out a hand, and greeted me with a customary Australian "G'day!". She introduced herself as Steph - short for Stephanie - and told me that she was to be my guide. I had expected there to be a group of riders, but could see that there were only two horses saddled. Steph apologized that I would be the only rider; it would just be the two of us. My day just got a lot brighter then!
After the compulsory health and safety briefing, which she did very professionally, she asked about my riding experience. I had to admit that although I had ridden often on my grandfather's farm when I was at school, I had not been on a horse in 15 years. To gauge my ability, she had me trot my horse around the arena a few times, and steer the horse left and right. When I halted, she said "You'll be 'right!", and mounted her own horse. When going through the camp ground, we rode at walking pace, because there were quite a few people walking about with prams and toddlers.
Steph appeared to be shy initially, but once I asked her about horses, she started animatedly chattering away. She told me that she had been riding since she was two years old, and that she regularly participated in show jumping competitions. Her mom was also a keen horsewoman, but a bit of a drifter, and when she grew up, they moved from town to town, wherever her mom could find work on equestrian farms. Her dad had left when she was a baby, and she never got to know him. Eventually, her uncle and aunt, the owners of the farm, took her in, and she now worked on the farm full time, earning her keep, and participating in wherever there was a show jumping event. She lived in the homestead with her uncle and aunt, except when she was participating in events out of town, in which case she most often slept in a hammock in the horse float.