Trail Riding in Australia (2) – January 2017
The Pilot Wilderness, Kosciuszko National Park, NSW, Australia
A recent change of policy has seen horse riders allowed back into Kosciuszko’s Pilot wilderness area – we were keen to explore.
(Title from the poem The Man from Snowy River by Banjo Patterson and more photos in the photo gallery The Ride from Snowy River)
Into the wild
Our horses were fresh as we followed the track alongside the rushing waters of the Pinch River. We were heading off into the Pilot wilderness area of Kosciuszko National Park, which lies immediately to the north of the Victorian border in NSW, Australia. It contains the remote Mt Pilot, rising to 1,829m. In 2014, after much lobbying, it was decided to allow riders back into some of the wilderness areas of NSW’s National Parks, and in Kosciuszko the area selected for the trial run was the Pilot wilderness.
Knowing how rapidly politicians can change their minds, we decided to grasp the opportunity. Base camp was at the Pinch River campground and it was an adventure just to reach that in our old truck. We had enjoyed 30 km of bitumen as we headed due south from Jindabyne on the Barry Way, but the second half had been a rough dirt road. Not only did it wind around and drop steeply, but it was narrow with precipitous drop offs to its side. As we crept down in first gear, we had ample opportunity to admire the hot, dry landscape, still heavily scarred from bush fires in 2003.
Finally we reached the bottom, to find the Snowy River in a picturesque valley, fringed by vivid green grasses. There is no habitation along here and it had a remote wild feel to it. The river only runs at 24% of its full capacity due to hydroelectric schemes, but that is still a generous amount of water and supports a varied fish population.
The Pinch River runs into the Snowy and the camping area had a large grassy flat area for our horses, shared with numerous friendly kangaroos as evening descended.
Stairway to Heaven
The first kilometre along the river was easy. As we stopped to look at the information board at the start of the Nine Mile Track, some horsey locals found us. Gary’s family had been in the area for generations, running cattle on the Pilot in the days before it became part of the National Park.
“It’s a long, hard climb up there”, he warned, and it did indeed prove to be the case. The track rises some 900 m in 10.4 km and we were soon on a hill so steep that when i dismounted, I had trouble walking up it in my smooth soled riding boots.
We rode the short distance to the locked gate, with a trappy little bar to one side which the horses had to step over. The track rose very steeply ahead of us, interspersed with anti erosion humps. These at least gave us all short flat areas to rest and get our breath back. We were walking ourselves by then as our horses were unfit and it would have been unfair to expect them to carry us up such terrain. Simon had more suitable footwear, so he led the way, while I discovered that hanging onto Toffee’s tail gave me a helpful tow.
On and on, up and up we went. “I think we are walking to heaven!”, Simon exclaimed as we turned another corner and still the road rose before us, a red scar through the gentle greens of the bush. Looking back, the valley looked a long way down and we could see tiers of mountains vanishing all around us to distant horizons. With numerous longer breaks, as well as shorter ones, some riding and some walking, we eventually reached the top after 5 hours. The track finally levelled out about 2 km from its end and we were able to relax at last and amble along enjoying the tall eucalypts that lined the way.
On the Old Stock Routes
The Nine Mile Track ended at the junction with the Ingeegoodbee Track. This had originally been an aboriginal trail, then in the 1830’s became the main stock route between NSW and East Gippsland in Victoria. We crossed straight over at the track junction to check out the Ingeegoodbee hut, built by Gary in the 1970’s as a base for brumby running. This is the traditional, highly dangerous, method of catching brumbies – or wild horses – and involves a high speed chase on horseback with a lasso. Unfortunately, Australian saddles do not have a horn to which to attach the rope, so the rider has to find a handy tree to wrap it around, making it all quite haphazard.
The hut was the usual ramshackle tin affair, tucked away over a little hill and near a small creek. A herd of brumbies scattered at our approach, the first of many we were to see up here. We stopped for afternoon tea, using their fireplace to boil our water. On this trip, we were using two packhorses, so after tea we proceeded a short distance to camp on the Ingeegoodbee river, tethering the horses out on the surrounding grassy flats and slopes. Only Custard, who is terrified of ropes, does not get tied up, but he never strays far from his family herd. However, being free to roam, he does enjoy his choice of the best grass.
Along the Top
The next day we followed the Ingeegoodbee Track some 20 km north to Tin Mine hut and Carter’s hut. The trail undulated along, pleasantly overgrown in places. Tall mountain ash soared majestically around us as well as the contorted shapes of snow gums. Water was plentiful with numerous creeks crossing our path, so the horses were able to drink their fill. Some sections had large expanses of natural grassy clearings, created by frost pockets that make the temperature too cold for tree growth. They are a welcome distraction to the monotony of the bush and their tantalising glimpses through the forest beg further investigation. They are heavily used by the brumbies, but we also glimpsed several deer and at night,heard the howling of wild dogs.
We found it ironic that the Parks worry about the impact riding will have on the area, when it is totally over run by brumbies and other feral animals. Our method of camping, with the horses tied out on long ropes which are either tied to a tree or onto an iron picket, has minimal effect. If the droppings are kicked around before departure, they will quickly break down and vanish. We do not carry any feed so there are no unsightly piles of hay or chaff left behind and the horses are moved frequently so the ground does not get damaged.
The two huts were built in 1936 and 1937 in conjunction with tin mining and have been lovingly restored by the Kosciuszko Hut Association. Tin Mine hut is a large rectangular tin hut and Carter’s a smaller cosier one, which was once occupied by the reclusive Charlie Carter who traded in brumby skins and did some prospecting until his death in 1959.
They sit in a large cleared area, merging into scattered scrub leading to a crystal clear stream. Trout fled for shelter on seeing our shadows and brumbies looked on with interest. We set up camp a little way down from the huts and enjoyed the tranquil spot. The trail carries on north via Cascade hut to Dead Horse Gap on the main Khancoben to Jindabyne road and is a popular route for mountain bikers in its southwards direction when they finish with the steep descent down to the Pinch River.
The Australian Alps Walking Track also comes in from Dead Horse, using the huts as a welcome overnight stop, before heading on towards Mt Pilot. This long distant walk extends from Tharwa near Canberra for 655 miles to Walhalla in Victoria. These buildings can literally be life savers in bad weather and many a wet, weary hiker has been grateful for their shelter and their fireplaces.
Heading south
We were allowed no further with horses and the next day had to retrace our hoofprints to another camp on the Ingeegoodbee Plain. Rather than go back down the steep Nine Mile Track, we decided to extend the ride into Victoria and create a more interesting circuit. The Ingeegoodbee Track drops down to the Snowy River valley just over the border in Victoria, the Barry Highway turning into the Snowy River Road after it leaves NSW. It was a much kinder route for the horses, initially following the ups and downs of the ridge top before reaching the Mt Menaak helicopter pad, a cleared area that gave us a great 360° degrees panorama over the surrounding mountains and valleys.
From there, the trail wound down to the Snowy Valley, from where we turned south on the gravel road some 7 km to Suggan Buggan. I had wanted to visit this small hamlet merely because the name intrigued me; it could be either aboriginal or gaelic depending on which version you believe, but denotes bags made from grass. It was actually in a pretty location nestled between rugged mountains.
We were able to camp near the bridge with the horses, the little area having just enough rough grass to keep them happy for a night . Soon after we arrived, the heavens opened and we had heavy rain for some three hours. Luckily we had enough time to get a fire going in order to cook our supper.
A scenic valley
The next day, we checked out the old wooden slab schoolhouse, a simple building with a fireplace to one end and a teacher’s bedroom to the other. It dates back to 1865 and was built by the owner of the grazing lease for the education of his 13 children. There are only three or four houses left in its vicinity, one with an extensive animal skull collection, and the scorched remnant of a corral.
On the hill above there is the lonely grave of Tom Dillon, who was a ticket of leave man, or an ex-convict, who had been given his freedom. There is an excellent view from the top of the hill near the grave.
From Suggan Buggan we headed north back to the Pinch River camp on the Snowy River road. This is gravel and very quiet so it was a nice enough route with the horses and we enjoyed fine views. We camped near the border and cooled off swimming in the wide waters of the Snowy. As we neared the Pinch, the river narrowed through small gorges, and following rough tracks down to the water we found some excellent swimming holes.
Finally we returned to our Pinch campsite after 5 nights and 6 days out with the horses. One of Gary’s friends was still in residence and was relieved to see us return safely. His camp was rather better equipped than ours and he pressed numerous cold beers on us: we really were out of the wilderness when the drinks came icy out of a fridge rather than the nearby stream.
All in all, it is an excellent trip, though the initial ascent on the Nine Mile Track is very tough. Once at the top, it is still 20km to the Tin Mine hut, so it is really only a practicable route if you are packing and can camp out. Feasibly, one could go up, camp at Ingeegoodbee, then go on to the Tin Mine huts the next day and camp there. It would then be possible to get back to the Pinch in a long day, so making it a three day trip. However, i preferred to extend it into a loop to make it longer and more interesting. The choice is yours and I am only grateful that the Parks are allowing us into the Wilderness again; if it could only be extended further, it would indeed be great news.
