HARNESS HOLIDAY FEATURE Harness holidays in focus
If the winter blues are getting you down, what better way to cheer yourself up by planning your next year’s harness holiday? Whether you’re planning on a harness holiday in the UK or want to venture further afi eld we have something to tempt you.
Australia by Carriage and Clydesdale Horse Miriam Blaker takes us on a journey down under
T
he road to the property is dusty, slightly remote and off the beaten track. It’s
fairly typical Australian bush in the Central Victorian Goldfi elds area of Rheola, approximately two hours north of the Australian metropolis of Melbourne. Yet up the driveway of this unassuming property and among paddocks of various horses and cattle awaits a memorable outback experience, and an outdoor holiday like no other. Forget about the tents and camper trailers on
this adventure. T is is one outback experience where you can pack away the car keys and park the car. For travellers who want to experience the best of outback Australia without the crowds, this holiday is the perfect way to slow down, take stock of what’s important and get back to absolute basics. T is is one holiday where it’s okay to get dirty, so leave the designer clothes behind. Expect no television, computers or retail outlets, just a ton of fun and quality family time at this place – hallmarks of a typical holiday at T e Colonial Way. Established in 1977 and still going strong,
the Colonial Way is unique in Australia, and today it’s the only horse drawn wagon holiday
January 2012
of its kind in the country. Overseas tour companies off er horse drawn holidays where guests can stay in pre-arranged pubs and bed and breakfasts each night, however in Rheola your horse drawn wagon really is your home away from home. Each night you will stay at a secluded campsite in the great outdoors with a cosy wooden wagon to retire to when the going gets too tough. Forget the fi ve-star city restaurants out here – underneath this magnifi cent outback sky you’ll enjoy a fi ve million star restaurant, all to yourself.
Back to basics
On arrival we meet the owner of this venture, Patrick Hedwards, and sense immediately that we’re in good hands. Patrick has been around horses his whole life and, as a former farrier who still makes shoes for his working horses, he has the utmost respect for them, as they evidently do for him. He’s spent years training his horses for this sort of work and ensuring they are thoroughly trained for the massive job of pulling a tonne and a quarter of weight, most with total novice drivers at the helm. He tells us that in the
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early days he walked 30 trips at 100 kilometres a day to adapt them. When we arrive he spends some time providing clear, easy instructions on handling our horse and it doesn’t take long to realise that driving a wagon with these supremely trained horses won’t be diffi cult. For us, the holiday was booked as a birthday
present for our horse mad daughter, whose fi rst word was “horsey”. We fi gured three days of living and breathing with these beautiful animals would be a memorable experience, but it
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